The University of Maryland?s football game Saturday against Middle Tennessee does not offer a lot in way of pregame hype. It is only the second meeting between the two schools, with the latter only being in Division I-A since 1999.
However, it is also a contest that the Terps cannot afford to take lightly, especially since they will have a short week with a game at nationally ranked West Virginia Thursday and the brutal Atlantic Coast Conference slate of games only three weeks away.
Maryland did enough on both sides of the ball to hold off William & Mary last week, 27-14. But there are still plenty of question marks for the Terps, including their quarterback play and how their inexperienced wide receiving corps will develop over the course of the season.
Terps coach Ralph Friedgen said he saw enough after viewing the film of the William & Mary game that he is confident his young squad, which has only 13 seniors on the roster, will continue to improve.
“You go from one day to the next,” Friedgen said. “I was pleasantly surprised when I watched the tape that we were very sharp up front, especially with our landmarks, how well we played and how precise we were. I don?t think we have done that for awhile, but what I want to see us do is sustain that.
“I just want to see us continue to get better. We have a chance to be a good football team. We?re not that good if we go out and just go through the motions. We have to improve.”
This week, Maryland faces a team in Middle Tennessee that won its season opener in a low-scoring affair to Florida International, 7-6. The Blue Raiders, who have a new coach in former South Carolina assistant Rick Stockstill, are 0-4 all-time against ACC schools, including a 46-27 loss at Maryland in 2000, the year before Friedgen took over the program.
Middle Tennessee, which plays in the Sun Belt Conference, brings to College Park a number of solid players, including running back Eugene Gross and quarterback Clint Marks on offense and safety Jonathan Harris and linebacker Justin Rainey on defense.
Gross led his team last year with 724 yards rushing and was tops among backs in the conference with 33 receptions. Marks has thrown for at least 2,000 yards the previous two seasons, while Harris played every defensive play and Rainey had six tackles and forced a fumble against Florida International.
As for Maryland, Friedgen will look to get more out of a passing game that had quarterbacks Sam Hollenbach and Jordan Steffy go a combined 25-for-41 for 226 yards and no touchdowns through the air last week. At the same time, the Terps averaged 5.3 yards per carry on the ground against William & Mary.
“I?d like to improve our passing game. I?d like to continue to run the ball the way we did,” Friedgen said.
Friedgen added that there is also room for improvement on both the defensive end and special teams.
“I think we have to tackle better and play the pass better,” he said. “We have to contain the football better. We?re still not doing as good a job as we need to on that. On special teams, I think we need to cover better, and I think we will. We have to try to put the right pieces of the puzzle together so that we have our best players on the field.”
Maryland vs. Middle Tenn. St.
Where: Byrd Stadium
When: Saturday, 6 p.m.
TV: None
Radio: 1300 AM/105.7 FM
