The Pac-12’s Stanford Cardinal will meet the Big Ten’s Maryland Terrapins in the 2014 Foster Farms Bowl, it was announced today by Bowl Executive Director and co-founder Gary Cavalli.

 The two teams, each with 7-5 records, will square off on Tuesday, December 30 at Levi’s® Stadium in Santa Clara, CA, the new home of the NFL San Francisco 49ers and site of the 2016 Super Bowl.

The game is scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. [PST]/10:00 p.m. [EST] kickoff and will be shown to a national audience by ESPN. This year’s kickoff marks the third prime time exposure in the last five years for the game, founded in 2002 and previously known as the Fight Hunger Bowl and Emerald Bowl.

 This will be the first meeting between the two schools.

Stanford, under third-year head coach David Shaw, has played in BCS Bowl games the past four years. The Cardinal finished the 2014 season in impressive fashion, thrashing Cal 38-17 in the Big Game and then upsetting No. 8 ranked UCLA in the regular season finale, 31-10.

Maryland posted a 4-4 league record in its first season as a member of the Big Ten, including wins over Iowa, Penn State and Michigan. The Terps had a 5-1 road record.

“We’re thrilled to match these two high-quality teams in the Foster Farms Bowl,” Cavalli said. “Stanford is one of the premier programs in the country and has never played in our bowl before. They are located right down the road from Levi’s® Stadium and have a huge fan base here in the Bay Area. We’ve been looking for an opportunity to select Stanford since the Bowl was founded 13 years ago.

  “Maryland is on the rise under coach Randy Edsall. They also travel well and pull big TV ratings. We selected the Terps in 2007 and had a great experience. Our staff and volunteers look forward to welcoming these two fine teams and providing them with a memorable week in San Francisco.”

The 2014 contest marks the emergence of Foster Farms as the game’s new title sponsor. “We welcome these two great teams, Stanford and Maryland, to the inaugural Foster Farms Bowl,” said Bryan Reese, Foster Farms senior vice president of marketing, sales and R&D. “This has shaped up to be a great matchup between two powerhouse college football programs. Whether you are for Stanford or Maryland on game day, we all want the same thing – a great game and great food to go along with it.”

The Foster Farms Bowl appearance marks Stanford’s sixth straight year in a post-season bowl. Most recently, the Cardinal played in the past two Rose Bowls, losing to Michigan State 24-20 on Jan. 1, 2014 and beating Wisconsin 20-14 a year earlier.

 “We’re really excited to play in the Bay Area,” said Stanford head coach David Shaw. “It is one more game for our seniors in front of our fans. We are very excited to play a game against the Big Ten in the new Levi’s® Stadium. It’s going to be a great experience for our players, their families and all Stanford fans.”

Stanford senior QB Kevin Hogan completed over 65 percent of his passes [218-332-2,603 yards-17 TD-8 INT]. He was particularly effective at UCLA, completing 16 of 22 attempts for 155 yards and one score in leading Stanford to the upset victory.

Senior WR Ty Montgomery is Stanford’s top receiver [61-604-3 TD]. Montgomery also returned two punts for touchdowns, notably a 60-yard runback in the season opener against UC Davis.

The Cardinal boasts one of the nation’s strongest defensive units. Junior LB Blake Martinez led the team in stops with 96 and added 4.5 sacks. Senior DE Henry Anderson is Stanford’s top sack specialist [7.5] and also led in tackles for loss [14.0]. Right behind is senior LB Kevin Anderson [5.0 sacks, 11.0 TFL]. Kevin Anderson came to The Farm from Palo Alto High School, located across El Camino Real from the Stanford campus.

“We are honored to be selected to play in the Foster Farms Bowl,” said Maryland head coach Randy Edsall. “This is a great opportunity for our team to play in Levi’s® Stadium and experience all of the special events that the bowl game and the city of San Francisco have to offer. It will be a well-deserved reward for our student athletes for their commitment to the program.”

Maryland’s rushing game is a 3-player effort, centered around senior QB C.J. Brown [148-791-7 TD] along with junior RB Brandon Ross [77-387-4 TD] and sophomore RB Wes Brown [97-341-5 TD]. Brown completed 174 of 327 pass attempts for 2,083 yards and 13 touchdowns. He had a long of 90 yards on a completion to Ross.

Junior K Brad Craddock was the Big Ten kicker of the year, converting on 18 of 19 field goal attempts and all 41 PAT attempts for 95 total points.

Senior DL Andre Monroe led a Terrapins defense with 9.5 sacks and 56 total stops. Senior LB Cole Farrand and junior DB Sean Davis were the tackles leaders with 111 and 108 respectively. Sophomore DB William Likely led the team with six interceptions, including two for touchdowns.

Maryland’s most recent bowl appearance came last year in the Military Bowl, losing to Marshall. The Terrapins came to San Francisco in the 2007 Emerald Bowl, matched up against Oregon State. The Beavers prevailed 21-14.

This year’s game is the first postseason bowl to be played at Levi’s® Stadium. The Foster Farms Bowl, originated in 2002, played the first 12 games at AT&T Park, home of the 3-time World Series champion San Francisco Giants. The game was previously known as the Diamond Walnut Bowl (2002-2003), Emerald Bowl (2004-2009), Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl (2010-2012) and the Fight Hunger Bowl (2013).

The Bowl and the 49ers reached agreement in November 2012 to move the game to Santa Clara. The Bowl was the first non-49ers event to commit to the state-of-the-art, $1.3 billion stadium, located in suburban Santa Clara, CA.

This game is the first under terms of an agreement forged in June 2013 between the Big Ten and Pac-12 Conferences. The Big Ten agreed to send at least five different Big Ten schools to the Foster Farms Bowl through 2019.

The Bowl previously hosted the Big Ten & Pac-12 for the first time when Illinois beat UCLA 20-14 in the 2011 game.

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