Wednesday September 24, 2008

Maryland Preview

Maryland Preview
This Maryland team has been Jekyll and Hyde this season. The offense awful for two games but has come alive in their past two contests. The Terps have played OK at home but looked pitiful on the road in the loss to Middle Tennessee State. The run defense is not bad but the pass defense is pathetic partly due to injury. Maryland was an eye sore for football enthusiasts against MTSU but played the game beautifully against Cal.

It has truly been an up and down effort so far for Ralph Friedgen’s bunch in 2008.

In the areas where Maryland is good, they are very good but they have deficiencies that teams have been able to exploit so far this season.

The Terps are very good along the offensive line and wide receiver. If Da’ Rel Scott is healthy then they are good at running back. If Chris Turner gets into a rhythm, they are good but not great at quarterback.

The Terps have a big, physical and experienced offensive line. Edwin Williams (6-3, 315, Sr) might be the best center in the Atlantic Coast Conference. We all know what Alabama did with an NFL prospect at center. Three other seniors, left tackle Scott Burley (6-5, 335), left guard Jamie Thomas (6-4, 330) and right tackle Dane Randolph (6-5, 300) are seniors. Junior right guard Phil Costa (6-3, 300) rounds out what might be the best offensive line in the conference.

Maryland always features huge tight ends and this year’s group of Dan Gronkowski (6-6, 255, Sr) and Tommy Gault (6-5, 260, Jr) join a couple of freshmen in making this a very good group of tight ends.

The biggest weapon to be concerned about Saturday is speedy wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey (6-3, 206, Jr). This is perhaps a first round draft pick who could stretch almost any defense in America. Maryland is solid with the supporting casts of wide outs with Isaiah Williams (6-3, 200, Sr) and Danny Oquendo (6-0, 190, Sr).

Da’Rel Scott (5-11, 192, So) is the best Terrapin back I have seen under this staff. He has all of the tools to have a huge season but missed the Eastern Michigan game with a shoulder injury. Scott is expected to be back for Saturday’s game in Death Valley. Davin Meggett (5-8, 210, Fr) is a talented freshman but there is a drop off in ability from Scott to Meggett.

The Terps offense has looked better in the past two games because Chris Turner (6-4, 210, Jr) has settled back in at quarterback. Turner’s game is built upon confidence. When he has confidence Maryland can be explosive on offense. They also have a package for backup Josh Portis (6-4, 210, Jr) who is the more athletic of the pair.

Part of Maryland’s problems on defense comes from injuries. Free safety Terrell Skinner is likely to return from a high ankle sprain. Cornerback Nolan Carroll is questionable with an ankle injury. Reserve safety Drew Robinson has had shoulder issues but should be back. The Terps’ cornerback Richard Taylor and safety Dominique Herald were lost to season ending knee injuries also.

The Terps say defensive end Mack Frost of Columbia, SC (knee) and linebacker Adrian Moten (wrist) are questionable for Saturday but defensive tackle Travis Ivey (foot) is probable.

Maryland has not engineered much of a pass rush to help the secondary thus has yielded 279.3 yards a game (109th in the country).

Senior defensive end Jeremy Navarre (6-3, 285, Sr) and linebacker Trey Covington (6-3, 240, Sr) join All-ACC candidate Dave Philistin (6-2, 231, Sr) to give the Terps three senior leaders on defense.

Maryland has enough issues on defense though that Clemson should be able to exploit them and put up yards and points Saturday. Eastern Michigan had 25 first downs, 453 total yards and 282 yards through the air against Maryland last Saturday. Cal had 26 first downs, 461 yards of total offense and 423 yards through the air on the Terps.

I keep going back to the stat that I just can’t get out of my mind. Against Middle Tennessee State the Terps had the ball only 20 minutes while MTSU controlled the ball 40 minutes in the Blue Raiders 24-14 win. One observer of that game told me the score was not indicative of just how dominating Middle Tennessee was.

Since Monday I have flip-flopped on the idea of this being a big game. It is an ACC game. It is a home game and it is not against a D-IAA team.

I go back and remember some of the things Maryland fans said and did to us in recent trips to College Park and try to convince myself that this is a big game.

I try to tell myself that Maryland is the kind of team that gives Clemson fits because they are physical bunch.

I keep trying to say this is a 3-1 team coming to Death Valley Saturday.

I keep telling myself that Ralph Friedgen has been a thorn in Clemson’s side.

I keep repeating in my head that Saturday may be a war because Clemson is so young and so banged up on the offensive line.

But I also realize Maryland is 11th in the league in total defense. They give up 63 more yards through the air per game than the 11th place team in the ACC. I keep remembering that Maryland special teams have struggled including 3-8 on field goal attempts.

This is a must win because without this win Clemson’s game with Wake Forest means much less. It is a must win for Bowden because he does not need to go through a week trying to convince players, fans and the media that this is team that is still in contention to win the league.

Simply stated Clemson has to win this football game. But it will because it is in Death Valley and Clemson is the better football team. This year we do not need James Davis to guarantee a win. I will handle that chore for him.

This game is bigger than The Citadel and SC State. It is even bigger than NC State because Maryland is better than the Wolfpack. But this is only a big game because a loss would take away the chance at true big games that wait right around the corner.

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