Maryland poised to reach ACC championship game
Maryland linebacker Moise Fokou still doesn’t think the rest of Atlantic Coast Conference views his team very favorably, even if the No. 22 Terrapins are one win away from playing for a league title and berth in the Orange Bowl.
“I think they always keep us at the end of the line,” the senior said with a smile before a recent practice. “I hope we jumped a couple of spaces now. Hopefully this weekend, getting to the top, will open up a lot of eyes and change the perspective again.”
Maryland (7-3 overall, 4-2 ACC) can clinch the division crown Saturday with a win over Florida State (7-3, 4-3), and a Wake Forest victory over Boston College. In doing so, the Terrapins can spurn the preseason prognostication they would finish fifth in the six-team Atlantic Division. Instead, the Terrapins would head to conference title game on Dec. 6 in Tampa Fla., and play for a bid in the Bowl Championship Series, earning the school $17 million.
“It seems like [Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen] has gotten better as the season goes,” Florida State coach Bobby Bowden said. “Things seem to fit together. He’s one of those coaches whose very sound at what he does and doesn’t beat himself. He’s got good football players, and a very solid program. I don’t see them having highs and lows. They seem to play good every Saturday.”
Jeff Jagodzinski, whose Boston College team was picked to finish fourth, said he hasn’t forgotten what he’s seen on Maryland’s game film.
“Ralph does a good job coaching those kids,” he said. “No, [their success] doesn’t surprise me.”
Now, the Terrapins are on the verge of making their first trip to the ACC championship game. Maryland won the 2001 title in Friedgen’s first season as head coach. The conference added the championship game in 2005 after the league expanded to 12 teams and split into the Coastal and Atlantic divisions.
