The 2008 Humanitarian Bowl was a postseason college football bowl game between the Maryland Terrapins and the Nevada Wolf Pack on December 30, 2008. It was the two teams' first meeting. The game featured two conference tie-ins: the University of Maryland represented the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and the University of Nevada represented the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). The game was played at Bronco Stadium in Boise, Idaho and was the 12th edition of the Humanitarian Bowl. It was sponsored by the New Plymouth, Idaho-based company Roady's Truck Stops, which claims to be the largest chain of truck stops in the United States.Truck stop chain to sponsor Humanitarian Bowl , Idaho News Now, KTVB.com, May 30, 2007, retrieved January 8, 2009.
The featured match-up was between what was called a "wildly inconsistent" Maryland team and the third-best rushing defense and fifth-best total offense of Nevada.Vanquished in Va., Los Angeles Times, October 5, 2009, retrieved January 7, 2009. The result was an offensive shoot-out. The final score of 42–35 in favor of Maryland exceeded total-points predictions by as much as 17 and tied the all-time Humanitarian Bowl record.
Before the kickoff, seven Maryland players, including six starters, received partial-game suspensions for violating the team's curfew. Maryland took a quick lead within the first two minutes of play, but repeated errors allowed Nevada to remain competitive and the lead changed hands five times. In the second quarter, Nevada's dual-threat quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, was hobbled by an ankle injury that altered the complexion of the game. Nevertheless, Kaepernick remained in the game for almost its entirety and was able to scramble for a touchdown. Halfway through the third quarter, Maryland's leading running back, Da'Rel Scott, made his first appearance of the game. He had been one of the suspended players, but scored twice in the final quarter to help secure a victory for the Terrapins.
Team selection The ACC had a contractual tie-in with the Humanitarian Bowl that afforded the bowl organizing committee the eighth pick of the conference's bowl-eligible teams.2008-2009 Bowl Matchups , Scout.com, College Football News, December 7, 2008, retrieved January 3, 2009. An ACC team participated in the game every year from 2003 to 2008. Before the selections, the ACC announced that 2008 would be the final year of its tie-in with the game due to travel and cost considerations.Brian Murphy, H-Bowl's ACC era coming to an end after this year's game, The Idaho Statesman, December 9, 2008.
The other conference tie-in was with the WAC, which has generally fielded its champion in the game. The WAC has provided a team for the Humanitarian Bowl every year since 2001.Bowl History , Roady's Humanitarian Bowl, retrieved January 3, 2009. Initially, it was speculated that the WAC championship team, Boise State, would make its fifth appearance in the bowl played in its home stadium.Mark Schlabach and Bruce Feldman, Bowl Projections, ESPN, retrieved February 7, 2009.
Potential "Battle of the Unbeatens" At the end of the regular season, there were three undefeated teams from non-Bowl Championship Series (BCS) conferences, and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rules required only one to be given a berth in a BCS game. These three non-BCS teams were Ball State, Boise State, and Utah. The Utes were considered heavy favorites for that berth. In a preemptive move, Humanitarian Bowl officials conducted negotiations with Ball State of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) in an effort to arrange a "Battle of the Unbeatens" with Boise State.David Augusto, H-Bowl no battle of the unbeatens on the blue , Idaho News Now, KTVB.com, December 3, 2008, retrieved January 2, 2009. If Ball State accepted, presumably with the consent of the ACC, it would have forced a team from the ACC to find an at-large bid. However, Ball State officials were unhappy with the home-field advantage that would have been given to Boise State and the expenses associated with traveling to Idaho.H-Bowl we want Boise State and Ball State , Idaho News Now, KTVB.com, December 1, 2008, retrieved January 2, 2009.Chadd Cripe, Boise State likely headed to Poinsettia Bowl, Tri-City Herald, December 3, 2008, retrieved January 2, 2009. Ball State, which lost the MAC Championship Game and ended its perfect record, declined the overtures and instead met Tulsa in the 2009 GMAC Bowl.2008–09 Bowl Schedule/results, ESPN, retrieved January 24, 2009.Jon Wilner, WAC football: The Poinsettia Bowl signs up (and that's big for San Jose State) , College Sports Hotline, Mercury News, October 20, 2008, retrieved January 8, 2009.
ACC team selection In 2008, the ACC experienced a season of unusual parity and fielded an NCAA-record number of ten bowl-eligible teams.NCAA-Record 10 ACC Teams Head to Bowls , Atlantic Coast Conference, December 7, 2008, retrieved January 21, 2009. Six of those had identical 4–4 conference records, and the remaining four had 5–3 conference records. Among the eligible teams, N.C. State (6–6) had the only non-winning overall record and was therefore forced by NCAA rules to find an at-large berth outside of the ACC tie-in games."Bowl Invitations" (PDF), NCAA Postseason Football Handbook, National Collegiate Athletic Association, 2008, retrieved January 22, 2009.J.P. Giglio, NCAA rule might limit State's bowl options , The News & Observer, December 1, 2008, retrieved January 22, 2009.
For the 2008 season, the ACC had nine tie-in games. The Orange Bowl was the conference's BCS game and granted an automatic bid to the winner of the ACC Championship Game. The Chick-fil-A Bowl in Atlanta, Georgia had the first-pick of eligible ACC teams after the BCS game, followed by the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida and the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando, Florida. The Music City Bowl in Nashville, Tennessee; the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte, North Carolina; and the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco, California submitted their preferences together, and selected in that order if an agreement between them could not be reached. A special clause also guaranteed that, with a minimum of eight wins, the loser of the championship game would be selected no lower than by the Music City Bowl. The Humanitarian Bowl had the eighth-overall choice followed by the inaugural EagleBank Bowl in Washington, D.C.2008 Bowl Selection Process for Atlantic Coast Conference Teams , Atlantic Coast Conference, November 25, 2008, retrieved January 22, 2009.
That season, an economic recession factored into the selections. In general, bowl officials attempted to select teams in close geographic proximity to compensate for an anticipated drop in ticket sales. Maryland, however, stated that they would not accept a berth to face in-state rival Navy in the nearby EagleBank Bowl due to a conflict with the school's final exams.Heather Dinich, Navy, Maryland – meant to be rivals , ESPN, December 2, 2008, retrieved November 4, 2018. The Emerald Bowl was not seen as a viable choice due to Maryland's participation in it the year prior.Maryland Awaits Bowl Destination , University of Maryland Terrapins Official Athletic Site, December 5, 2008, retrieved January 22, 2009.
Maryland head coach Ralph Friedgen made his case to bowl officials by saying that the Terrapins had beaten four of the other five 4–4 teams and not played a game against the fifth, Miami.Patrick Stevens, The immutable logic of Ralph Friedgen , The Washington Times, November 30, 2008, retrieved January 17, 2009. Three of those teams were selected ahead of Maryland: the Meineke Car Care Bowl selected the nearby North Carolina team; the Gator Bowl chose Clemson, a school with a traditionally well-traveling fanbase;Patrick Stevens, Bowl season leaves Terps feeling blue, The Washington Times, December 7, 2008, retrieved January 17, 2009. and the Emerald Bowl selected Miami. After the higher-priority bowl games made their selections, the Humanitarian Bowl had the choice of either Maryland or Wake Forest, the school with the smallest enrollment in any BCS football conference.Wake Forest facing higher expectations this season, ESPN, August 23, 2007, retrieved January 3, 2009. Humanitarian Bowl officials chose Maryland in light of its larger alumni base, well-traveled fans, and greater television marketing potential.
In week 12 of the 2008 season, Maryland had a 7–3 record and stood atop the ACC Atlantic Division. However, the Terps lost their final two regular season games and slid to a four-way tie for third place in the division.Maryland Terrapins Team Report , FOX Sports on MSN, December 31, 2008, retrieved January 2, 2009. Earlier in the season, Maryland defeated four ranked opponents, a feat surpassed only by the two teams that played in the BCS National Championship Game, Florida and Oklahoma—and those each played an extra game with their conference championships. Maryland spent three weeks ranked in the top-25 of the Associated Press Poll.Maryland 2008 AP Football Poll , AP Poll Archive, retrieved January 3, 2009.
WAC team selection At the end of the 2008 season, the WAC had six bowl-eligible teams, five of which participated in bowl games. The WAC had three conference tie-ins: the New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque, New Mexico; the Hawaii Bowl in Honolulu, Hawaii; and the Humanitarian Bowl. Additionally, the WAC had provisions for conditional participation in the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego, California; the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, Louisiana; and the GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Alabama.
In the past, the Humanitarian Bowl usually selected the WAC championship team. However, Boise State was not content to play a middle-grade ACC team after negotiations with Ball State failed. The WAC commissioner said that the Broncos would look for another match-up that had "the same type of sizzle" as a match-up against Ball State. The Idaho Statesman added that "The Terrapins don't 'sizzle.'" Boise State traveled to the Poinsettia Bowl, where they faced 11th-ranked TCU, which had lost only to the BCS-bound Oklahoma and Utah teams.Boise State likely headed to Poinsettia Bowl, Idaho Statesman, December 4, 2008, retrieved January 17, 2009.
In Nevada's final regular season game, Kaepernick led the Wolf Pack in a second-half comeback to defeat Louisiana Tech. The seventh win guaranteed Nevada a berth in one of the three WAC tie-in bowls.Graham Watson, Nevada win alters WAC bowl picture, ESPN, November 29, 2008, retrieved January 22, 2009. The Wolf Pack finished the season in a three-way tie for second place in the WAC alongside Hawaii and Louisiana Tech. Hawaii had a standing contract with the home-town Hawaii Bowl where it played Notre Dame. Louisiana Tech, having lost to both Nevada and Hawaii, appeared unlikely to be selected for a bowl at all. However, the Bulldogs were able to take advantage of a provisional WAC berth in the Independence Bowl since neither the Big 12 nor the Southeastern Conference could provide eligible teams.N. Illinois-Louisiana Tech Preview, ESPN, December 28, 2008, retrieved January 17, 2009. Two other WAC teams achieved bowl eligibility with 6–6 records. Fresno State secured a slot in the New Mexico Bowl, but San Jose State was unable to find an at-large berth.This Week in WAC Football-Dec. 8 , Western Athletic Conference, December 8, 2008, retrieved January 22, 2009.