The state of the Maryland football team depends on how you view the opening two weeks.
On one hand, the Terps are 2-0 heading into West Virginia ? right where they hoped to be.
But the two wins over lesser opponents were lackluster and not as decisive as most would hope heading into a nationally-televised Thursday night game with the No. 6 Mountaineers.
Saturday, Maryland won its final West Virginia tune-up, 24-10, over Middle Tennessee before 47,704 at Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium.
“It was a good win,” Maryland head coach Ralph Friedgen said. “I thought it was hard-fought game on both sides. Offensively, we took care of the ball better.”
While Maryland did not turn the ball over as an offense, it couldn?t seem to put the game to bed.
“We still need to tackle better,” Friedgen said. “I told our team afterwards, it seems like we?re playing on eggshells. We play much more aggressively when we?re playing ourselves.”
Maryland yielded 321 yards of total offense to Middle Tennessee. Meanwhile, West Virginia put together a 591-yard offensive effort in a 52-3 win over Eastern Washington.
“We have to bring a new level of focus, so we just have to concentrate on West Virginia,” junior linebacker Wesley Jefferson said.
“We?ve been looking forward to them since last year,” Jefferson said. We?ll be ready to go.”
Hollenbach was efficient in the first half, going 7-for-10 for 89 yards, while adding his first rushing touchdown of the season on a goal-line leap.
The Terps ran for 135 yards behind senior Lance Ball?s two touchdowns and some big gains from junior Keon Lattimore.
Senior kicker Dan Ennis missed a pair of field goals (31 and 43 yards), but the Terps had scoring opportunities on nearly every possession and were 4-of-5 in red-zone scoring opportunities.
“Overall, we?re right where we want to be at 2-0 with a big game coming up this week,” Friedgen said.
Maryland has had success over West Virginia in the past, but the Mountaineers have won the past two meetings, including a 30-19 win at Byrd Stadium in 2005. The all-time series with WVU is tied (21-21-2).
Before Saturday?s win over Middle Tennessee, Maryland looked to rekindle some good karma, introducing former quarterback Scott McBrien as an honorary captain in front of the Byrd Stadium faithful.
McBrien, a transfer from WVU, led the Terps to a 41-7 Gator Bowl win over the Mountaineers in 2004.
This meeting comes early in the season, just before the ACC schedule kicks into full gear.
“Morgantown is an exciting place to play,” Friedgen said. “It?ll be great preparation for the rest of the season.”
