Is Maryland any good after beating two softies?
Does No. 5 West Virginia deserve its ranking following two chump opponents?
We’ll find out tonight before a national TV audience and a hostile Mountaineers crowd as formidable as any in college football.
Welcome to the best local rivalry aside Maryland-Duke men’s basketball. Both teams lack an interstate rival so the border series has become the season’s early rallying cry. When Gator Bowl officials feared low turnout in 2003 because Maryland and West Virginia play regularly, Terrapins coach Ralph Friedgen said “if we played four times a year we’d sell the place out.” They did, too, though Mountaineer fans were gone by halftime in the Terps’ blowout.
Maryland hasn’t done much since that Gator Bowl blowout with two straight 5-6 marks while the Mountaineers have reloaded against the new Big East. The Terps face a killer late-season stretch with three ranked opponents so West Virginia is the first taste of how the season may really become.
“If we can win this football game it would do tremendous things for our confidence,” Friedgen said. “This team is going to have to win a game like this to develop. If it doesn’t happen [tonight] this time we’re going to get more opportunities.”
Maryland is still talking rebuilding after three seasons. Its receivers are so young they wear bibs. However, they have a senior quarterback in Sam Hollenbach and enough experience throughout the roster to finally return to contention. A 7-5 season should be theminimum expected given three freebie non-conference games.
West Virginia will provide insight into whether Maryland can upset Florida State, Miami, Clemson or Boston College later this year.
An upset victory or close loss means Maryland is for real.
A blowout has everyone wondering.
And there have been ridiculous rumblings that Friedgen should be replaced if the Terps miss another bowl so avoiding a whipping by the neighboring program has added significance.
Surprisingly, Friedgen remains unsure whether his program is ready to return to its heighty days of 2001-03 when winning 31 games.
“Hopefully, we’ll push through one of these days,” he said. “I don’t know when it’s going to come, but I believe it’s going to happen. … It seems to be more of a struggle for me and our team than when I first came here. I don’t know why.”
The answer may come against West Virginia.
Rick Snider has covered local sports for 28 years. Contact him at [email protected].
