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

Dominant Defense Downs Demon Deacons

Before we start: Note the alliteration in the post title.

Moving on.

Unless you were hiding under a rock, you probably heard the Terps absolutely crushing No. 21 Wake Forest last Saturday, 26-0. Grinding offense, stifling defense, another upset victory... shocking, right?

Weeeellllllllll, I don't know. I mean, isn't this kind of typical of the Terps? Win a game against a ranked team at home? Besides, it was only a matter of time before Wake started losing conference games: Last week, they only won against Clemson because of a fourth-quarter touchdown. Their offense has only scored 24 points in three ACC games. Definitely underwhelming for a ranked team. In addition, their receiving corps was so terrible, it made you wonder what else Wake could be doing with the money it takes to give those players scholarships.

I'm not hating on what the Terps did by any means, though. It was a spectacular performance. Chris Turner threw for 321 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions. OC James Franklin apparently heard something about this Darrius Heyward-Bey guy, because they actually threw to him yesterday. He ended up with a career-high 11 catches for 101 yards and a TD. The defense combined for four sacks and the front seven held the Demon Deacon offense to 73 net yards rushing.

So, what can the Terps against a really terrible N.C. State team to not have another letdown UVA style? Well, keep it going - in more ways than one.

1) Keep up the stiff defense and rolling offense and the five-game winning streak at home.

2) Keep up the recent ownage of the Wolfpack. Maryland has won 6 out of the last 8 in this match up. I know it's hard to remember, but Maryland did have bigger victory than Wake Forest last year. They stomped N.C. State 37-0 to become bowl eligible.

It should be a good one, but considering Maryland killed a weak team like Eastern Michigan at home, and considering we routinely own N.C. State, I'm going to predict a victory.

Back me up, Terps.

Photos by Adam Fried

Yeah, We're Gellin'

So if you happened to catch the Maryland game last night, you were treated to a pretty good game that (understandably) got passed over by the major networks. Really, neither Maryland nor NC State is a power player right now, and the ACC is a huge mess anyway.

But it honestly was a great game - close enough to make you nervous, but Maryland played well throughout for the most part. Even when they were behind, there were rollouts galore. And in the end, they finish the Wolfpack with a game-closing finish that put them to bed long before the final seconds. Terps pick up a W, taming the Pack 84-70.

The game was marked by tremendous individual performances. Check out these stat lines:

- James Gist: 30 pts, 9 rbds, 3 blks, 13-18 from the field
- Greivis Vasquez: 13 pts, 15 asts, 9 rbds, only 4 turnovers

Gist had a career-high in points, and Gravy tied the school record held by Terrell Stokes for assists in a game. In addition, all starters scored in double digits, the team went 6-10 from long range, and shot 85.7% from the charity stripe. They also outrebounded NC State 36-26, gave up a scant 11 turnovers, and generally dominated after a case of the misses. Add a free T-shirt to that mix, and wow, what a game!

Anyway, it was clear to me that Maryland had a solid all-around effort, and for the first time, I was very comfortable watching Greivis run the offense. He looked very in control throughout gameplay and a 15-4 assist-turnover ratio is really good.

So just so we're clear, I want everyone to realize that Greivis is good. Last night, I was sitting next to someone who said, "Gosh I hate Greivis." I quickly helped explain why she really shouldn't hate him.

In the conference, he's fourth in scoring, second in minutes played, and first in assists. In fact, in the last national rankings, he showed up at No. 11 in assists per game (which will go up after the latest game). It's true that Eric Hayes has an excellent ATR, but Greivis' is set at 1.5, which isn't too bad, and will probably improve. In addition to all that, he's good for over 5 boards per game, third-best on the team. What I'm really trying to say is that I was right back when everyone wanted him benched, and I'm right now. Try and find another point guard who averages 17.1 ppg, 6.35 apg, and 5.2 rpg. Even if you do find a player like that, it will be pretty hard.

Gist, by the way, is pushing for all-conference honors right now. In conference play, he's averaging 18.3 ppg and 8.6 rpg, and he's also playing more minutes, too. Bambale Osby is another guy who's exploded in ACC play, averaging a very respectable 14 ppg and 9.1 rpg. Even Landon Milbourne is doing better now.

I'm very excited for this team - they're making me regret leaving them for dead on the NCAA bubble. Yes, there's a lot more work to do, but before conference play, I estimated that they needed a 10-6 record in the ACC to make it in to the tournament. Well, they only have to go 4-3 the rest of the way to reach that once-lofty goal, and besides a game versus Duke in Durham and one against Clemson at Comcast, there's not much fight left in the schedule. Of course there is still the ACC tournament to consider, and I think that we should win at least one game to make it in the dance, but that's still a ways off.

Not that ESPN's projections mean anything, but Maryland is starting to show up in them. In bubble talk, Andy Glockner has essentially scooped the Terps into the bracket as the 4th ACC team. In the recent Bracketology, Joe Lunardi has Maryland as a 10-seed. Ohio and American seem like a season ago, don't they?

Have a great day and Go Terps!

Photo Credit: Baltimore Sun, AP

The ACC Schedule Preview, Pt. 2

I'm letting you guys know that my finals are definitely holding back some of my blogging activity, but it's not like finals are important or anything, so I'm sticking to my word and bringing you Part II today, just like I promised.

First of all, I just want to say that the review of the BC game was written in a very angry state of mind. In the second half, the Terps definitely played their best basketball of which they are capable. Eric Hayes, James Gist, Landon Milbourne and Cliff Tucker are all guys that made me look like a fool and outperformed my expectations. Even though Maryland racks up a loss (which is still very hard on my heart), those guys definitely deserve a little bit of respect. That's why it's such a shame that the refs had to give that game away ( 35 foul shots in the 2nd half? Really?)

Anyway, the show must go on:

PART II

GEORGIA TECH (4-4)

KEY STATS: The absolute dead last in scoring defense, with 10 ppg more than anyone else. They score, but they're pretty much the pits in rebounding and any kind of defense.
GO-TO GUY: This team was emaciated by the loss of Thaddeus Young and Javaris Crittendon. The only guy left is Anthony Morrow, who averages 16.4 ppg, 6 rpg and not much else.
BIGGEST GAME SO FAR: A close loss to Indiana, 83-79. They were close, but got rained on by Eric Gordon. While we're digging back, let's not forget their loss in GT home opener to the mighty UNC-Greensboro.
AGAINST MARYLAND: I assume by now that all of you readers know we should win this game. While Maryland's sitting at 6-4, the Yellow Jackets are sitting at a lowly 4-4. Isn't it fun to pick on the kids that are smaller than you. The Terps should rack up a win, even on the road.

MIAMI (8-0)

KEY STATS: I know these guys can shoot 3-pointers, so I wasn't surprised to see them at the top of 3FG%. But I am absolutely shocked to see that Miami is now the top scoring and field-goal defense in the ACC. Yes, it is true.
GO-TO GUY: I'm gonna have to go with Jack McClinton (straight out of B-More, by the way) who is leading the team in points and is one of the elite 3-point shooters in all of college basketball. He was out for a bit, but Miami didn't sweat it. I would also definitely watch Dwayne Collins, as he scored a combined 26 points and 24 rebounds in the two Maryland losses last year.
BIGGEST GAME SO FAR: Two games tie - a win over VCU (a team we lost to) and a win over Providence (a team that beat BC) to give them the Puerto Rico Tip-Off Title.
AGAINST MARYLAND: Miami beat Maryland twice last year, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but look for the Terps to struggle in a tough road game at "the U" again this season. The Hurricanes are really starting to become a force of nature in the ACC (har har).

N.C. STATE (4-3)

KEY STATS: If there's a team that I don't understand, it's this one. They are dead last in rebounding and scoring. Their scoring margin is 0, they're the only ACC team with a negative rebounding margin, and they have the worst turnover margin in the league.
GO-TO GUY: Here's where I start to scratch my head: Last year, the team had three guys (Ben McCauley, Brandon Costner and Gavin Grant) who all averaged over 14 ppg and 5 rpg. Now the scoring and rebounding leader is uber-frosh J.J. Hickson, but all of last years starters have regressed a lot. McCauley is only good for 4.3 ppg and 2.9 rpg now in 20 minutes per game. No real go-to guys on this team, save maybe Hickson - but he hasn't created success for the team.
BIGGEST GAME SO FAR: An 81-58 drubbing at the hands of Michigan State. The Spartans were hot-handed with the ball and the Wolfpack put up brick after brick.
AGAINST MARYLAND: This team, a trendy ACC pick at the beginning of the season, has really shown itself to be a poor rebounding and scoring team. If the Terps even show up for this one at home, it should be a blowout.

Alright, that's all I have time for today. Look out tomorrow (or maybe Wednesday) for the final installment of the Terps' ACC schedule preview!