This Blog is a Lie

As many of my readers felt it necessary to point out, I'm a big, fat phony.

This past Saturday, it did rain in College Park. A lot. I know. I was there. My clothes are sitting in the basement next to a dehumidifier and I'm praying they don't grow mold. So sue me. Or do something constructive and think of another name for this blog.

The game itself was fairly good. Lots of running, lots of gritty play and mud - everything you want in a rainy football game. Plus, it was a win for the Terps, as they beat N.C. State with a last second field goal, 27-24.

I found it a little disappointing Maryland couldn't clobber the Wolfpack like the crappy team they are. Freshman quarterback Russell Wilson found plenty of room to run for 53 yards, and frankly, most of the time he made the Terp defense look slow. They gave up 155 rushing yards and 187 yards through the air. Luckily for them, the Wolfpack defense was worse.

Da'Rel Scott tore through like a tornado for 163 yards and a TD. Davin Meggett (who appears to be generating his own fan base) ran for a tough 34 yards and a TD carry, plus a 31-yard reception to set up the game-winning score. Honorable mention also includes tight end Dan Gronkowski, who managed three catches for 37 yards and a TD in unfavorable passing conditions. He's been a relatively consistent performer on a team bereft of consistent performers.

A win is a win, no? And even moreso, this win sets up a Terps bowl appearance and puts us in the lead for the Atlantic Division. Yeah girl.

Maryland has a real shot at winning this division, but the schedule doesn't exactly favor it. A victory over Virginia Tech next Thursday is doable, but not altogether likely. Beyond that, North Carolina and Florida State are tough games, but they will be at home. Boston College is winnable game on the road, and the Eagles always choke toward the end of the season. After that, the ACC championship.

Two wins and two losses seem reasonable to end this year, but three wins and one loss? That's potentially an ACC championship berth, depending on who loses and who gets tiebreakers.

So in short, this win puts the now-No. 25 Terrapins in terrific position for real success this season (as opposed to the fake success of the last few years). Even though it doesn't feel like a strong team and the defense is next to last in almost every category, Fridge now has some of the pressure off of him to be bowl eligible and he can focus on winning rather than saving his job (for once).

Potentially, this is a good team, it just remains to be whether or not they can live up to their billing in the tough games ahead.

Photos by Adam Fried

Reality Check - Going to Death Valley

Don't get me wrong, I love to celebrate wins. I think it's great that we're 3-1, and that's really the best we could've hoped for in the first four weeks of our schedule. I think it's great that we just put up 51 points on Eastern Michigan. I think it's great that every College Park resident gets 12 free toppings on their pizza at Papa John's.

But just look on the schedule: Next up, Clemson. I hope that name makes you wince.

They crushed the Terps last year. They blighted them. At home, no less. It was a miserable game. I left at halftime. The final score of 30-17 didn't reflect how horrific the game was.

When thinking about going on the road against Clemson, the home pummeling of Eastern Michigan doesn't give me that much comfort. The Tigers are ranked No. 20 in the AP poll, and for good reason:

- They're scoring 34 points per game and only allow 15 points per game.
- They have the third-best red zone offense in the ACC.
- They have the second-best passing defense and fifth-best rushing defense in the conference.
- They have Cullen Harper, one of the most efficient passers in the ACC (and who kind of looks like a tool on the Clemson site), and James " I guarantee it" Davis and C.J. Spiller, two of the most explosive backs in the ACC.

I think the best way to react to the Maryland victory is to think about all the positive things we learned and apply it to how we can beat Clemson. So let's take a walk on the positive side...

- Maryland has the ACC's most efficient passer. No, it's not Chris Turner. No, it's not Josh Portis. Answer is: (dun dun dun) Danny Oquendo! All he does is throw 43-yard touchdown passes!

- Morgan Green is finally doing something. Green was spotted actually running into the end zone, not once, but twice! He finished with 40 yards on the day to go with his two scores. Now he only has to rush for 3,883 more yards and score 50 more touchdowns and he'll finally prove he was worth taking over Steve Slaton!

- Da'Rel Scott is still the ACC's leading rusher. Hilariously, he hasn't moved from the top spot after missing a week of work, and his YPG looks even better.

- Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a kicker. Obi Egekeze came out of a coma and went 3-for-3, shattering his season-high mark of zero field goals in a game.

Ok, ok, ok - I know none of those observations are helpful at all.

However, Maryland can beat Clemson. Da'Rel Scott is expected to return this week, and James Franklin seems to be getting a spark out of this offense. Between 51 points against Eastern Michigan and 35 points against Cal, there's promise here yet.

Turner did throw two interceptions this week, but also had two touchdown passes. Josh Portis once again didn't complete a pass, but he did rush for an astonishing 98 yards, which is more impressive when you consider teams know he can't throw the ball. The running game overall was still fantastic without Scott: 231 yards ain't bad at all, and we're still the second-best rushing team in the conference.

The biggest problems we face are on defense. The Terps are just giving up waaaaay too many passing yards. Cal quarterback Kevin Riley skinned us to a near-comeback, and the Eagles' Kyle McMahon still threw for over 275 yards, which is a good total by any standard.

The return of Terrell Skinner will help, but Kevin Barnes and company have to play some tight ball. Harper can toss the ball on a defense and at least keep them honest enough to set up the run. James Davis and the Clemson o-line will test Maryland's undersized front seven.

In order to be successful, the defense has to be able to penetrate the pocket. Against Cal, Maryland had five sacks. They'll need that kind of pressure again to really bring the heat to the hot-handed Harper. Should Clemson choose to run the ball straight at the defense, the Terp linemen and linebackers have to finish their tackles. If you allow James Davis and C.J. Spiller to run at your secondary, they will end you.

Really, there's little room for error in this ACC dogfight. The last two years, this has been a game for the road team, and Maryland will hope to keep that particular streak going on Saturday. Should they succeed, a national ranking might be in the works for a tough Terrapin team. Should they fail...

... well, let's not worry about it.

Photos courtesy of baltimoresun.com sports.

Da'Rel Scott - Best Back in the ACC

When the season started, more than a few questions were raised about how the Terps running game would go on without the tag team of Keon Lattimore and Lance Ball that basically carried the Maryland offense on their shoulders in 2007.

Da'Rel Scott, a sophomore with blazing speed, had been a hero against Boston College the year before, but would he be able to do it with a full load of carries?

Although it was not a foolish question given the lack of evidence, it does seem rather foolish now: Da'Rel Scott is the ACC's leading rusher at week three. And he's leading by a lot.

Scott is averaging 135 yards per game. That's almost 50 YPG more than the guy behind him, Josh Nesbitt of Georgia Tech (who's the quarterback in a triple-option offense). Actually, he's the fifth-leading rusher in the country in YPG so far.

As a result, Maryland is fourth in the ACC in rushing, just six yards behind Virginia Tech's season total. That's fairly impressive considering that quarterback Chris Turner is immobile and Scott's backup is a true freshman.

Also, you have to consider that he only ran in half of last week's matchup against the Golden Bears. He had already had accrued 87 yards and two touchdowns. If Davin Meggett still went on to gain 82 yards in Scott's absence by running at defenders, imagine what Scott could've done with his speed and agility running around defenders. It's hard to doubt he would've easily gone over the century mark for the third week in a row.

This week against Eastern Michigan, Scott is questionable because of his shoulder injury (from the Cal game), but his running ability will be needed to set up the passing routes in James Franklin's offense. Meggett is serviceble, but no one confuses him for the guy that could take it to the house on any given hand off. Scott gets that kind of respect - he's the best back in the ACC (for now).

Photos by Adam Fried