It has been 101 years since Maryland beat William & Mary.
The Tribe has a two-game winning streak over the Terrapins, though the two haven’t met since the end of War World II. Maryland certainly owes William & Mary a payback after that 41-7 pasting some two score and 10 years ago.
This is your great-grandfather’s rivalry. A matchup closer to the Civil War than the new millennium. A century of shame is about to end in College Park.
OK, you gotta come up with reasons to watch when Maryland opens against William & Mary on Saturday. It should be a blowout, but that’s what it has come down to for the Terps — beating up small schools to help reach those needed six victories for a bowl bid after consecutive 5-6 seasons.
Maryland hosts Middle Tennessee on Sept. 9 and Florida International on Sept. 23 with national title contender and traditional rival West Virginia in-between. The Terps are playing three teams in the opening month they should crush instead of more interesting contests like Navy and Notre Dame in recent years.
Every major program schedules a few lopsided games and Maryland was equally guilty with wins over Eastern Michigan and Temple in past years along with a split against Northern Illinois. Remember when Nebraska’s average score was probably 70-7 in September before facing a brutal conference schedule? All the big boys schedule Little Sisters of the Poor.
Maryland’s weak schedule is a testament to its strong ACC slate. The Terps figure they can no longer stomp out 10 victories in a 12-team league among the nation’s strongest. Adding Virginia Tech, Miami and Boston College in the last two years means three nationally ranked teams are on the schedule. The non-conference slate is for easy wins. The Terps can’t afford to risk anything worse than 3-1 in non-league games or their bowl chances are jeopardized.
“How many bowls teams are we playing [eight]?” coach Ralph Friedgen said. “We’re playing 12 games now, possibly 14. The fact that we’re playing West Virginia, who many people are picking to win the national championship … how much do you expect these guys to go week in and week out and have a good season.
“We’re at the point in our program where we have to play [well] each and every week. Every team we play is a valuable win for us. If we want to get to a bowl game we have to win every game we have a chance to win and then some.”
Maryland supported the ACC’s expansion even though it meant adding three ranked teams with Miami and Virginia Tech often national contenders. A high tide floats all boats and the Terps figured if 10-1 didn’t gain a high ranking against the smaller ACC, the same mark in the new ACC would put the Terps in the national title hunt.
“The ACC is the best conference in the country,” punter Adam Podlesh said. “If we can beat these teams, we’re in competition with anybody inthe country.”
Unfortunately, the new ACC is much harder and programs like Maryland, N.C. State and Georgia Tech have suffered. Instead of 8-3 marks, they’ve barely .500. There are few conference lightweights, forcing the Terps and other ACC brethren to fatten more on small schools.
“Every [ACC] team is pretty much as good or better than they were two or three years ago,” offensive tackle Stephon Heyer said.
So get ready for the feel-good portion of the schedule. The Terps should open 3-1 before conference play begins. A 6-1 or 5-2 start is possible before facing Florida State, Clemson, Miami and Boston College.
By then, William & Mary is a memory.
Rick Snider has covered local sports for 28 years. Contact him at [email protected].
