Maryland football to face Virginia Tech in Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium

For the first time since 2016, the Maryland football team is playing in a bowl game.

The Terps will face Virginia Tech in the Pinstripe Bowl on Dec. 29 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. The 42 bowl game pairings, including the College Football Playoff semifinals, were announced Sunday.

It’s the first postseason game for Maryland (6-6, 3-6 Big Ten) since a 36-30 loss to Boston College in the 2016 Quick Lane Bowl in former coach DJ Durkin’s first season.

After starting this season 4-0, the Terps lost six of their next seven games before defeating Rutgers, 40-16, in the regular-season finale to clinch bowl eligibility. It’s the team’s first bowl game appearance under coach Mike Locksley, who’s 11-18 in his three seasons at Maryland.

“I came here to build a program that our former players and all of our fans could be really proud of,” Locksley said after the win over the Scarlet Knights. “This is just one step. We talked about taking the next step, and that’s being bowl eligible. Now, the next step for us is to build upon what we’ve established. I love the way our seniors are leaving a foundation of what leadership looks like as we bring in the right kind of players.”

Perhaps most importantly, it’s the first time in five years that the team will get a few extra weeks of practice at the end of the season, which will go a long way toward developing young players. It also sends a group of seniors that have endured losing seasons, the death of offensive lineman Jordan McNair and the firing of Durkin out on a high note.

“This was going to be my Christmas gift to them,” Locksley said. “This is the end of our [2021] season. But also gives us the start of the [2022 season], which is the bowl prep.”

Junior quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa will also get another chance to build on a record-setting season. The Alabama transfer set the program record for completions (308) and passing yards (3,595) in a single season and has thrown a touchdown pass in 15 consecutive games, the longest streak in the nation.

He’ll go up against Virginia Tech dual-threat quarterback Braxton Burmeister, who threw for 1,960 yards with 14 touchdowns and four interceptions and rushed for 521 yards and two scores. The teams’ statistical profiles are very similar, with Maryland ranked 65th in ESPN’s SP+ rankings — a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of efficiency — and the Hokies ranked 63rd.

This will be Maryland’s first game against its former Atlantic Coast Conference rival since 2013. The Hokies (6-6, 4-4 ACC) went 5-5 before firing six-year coach Justin Fuente, but, like Maryland, won their regular-season finale against Virginia, 29-24, to become bowl eligible for the first time since 2019. Virginia Tech went 5-6 in 2020, ending the nation’s longest active streak of consecutive bowl appearances at 27 years.

The Hokies recently hired Penn State defensive coordinator Brent Pry as head coach. J.C. Price, the interim coach, will lead Virginia Tech in the Pinstripe Bowl.

Pinstripe Bowl

MARYLAND VS. VIRGINIA TECH

Dec. 29, 2:15 p.m.

TV: ESPN Radio: 105.7 FM