To ring in the new season, and celebrate FEAST WEEK, we bring you the Coors Light SIX PACK O QUESTIONS, in leiu of an outright season preview. But it's not questions, it's more like topic/question hybrids. These responses will appear here with the original copy storied in a hermetically sealed mayonaisse jar on Funk & Wagnall's front porch. Without further whimsy, away we go.
1. How Will Terrell Stoggins Adapt - It's no secret early on that there has been something of an adjustment period between the Turge and Stogs (see Parker over Stogs in Sunday's starting five). It's also no secret that this team - both now and at least for next year - will only go so far as Stoglin takes them. There's no doubt that he's going to be a great scorer for the Terps. Only five men - Smith, Branch, Lucas, Rhodes, and King - scored more points for the Terps as freshmen. The real question is whether he can move beyond that and be a great leader. The Turge has moved him off the ball in favor of Nick Faust, himself better suited to play on the wing, but Stoglin will only become an elite player if he proves capable of running the offense again, this time in a way that maximizes his teammates opportunities as well as his own.
2. Ashton "The X-Factor" Pankey - New nickname! I have to admit that I never really envisioned Pankey doing much here. He signed as a fairly lightly regarded recruit, picking the Terps over Houston, then injured himself and missed his last year of high school ball. He played one minute last year in the season opener against Seattle and injured himself again, earning a redshirt season. It's never good when you have a big man two years removed from competitive play and a growing history of lower body injuries. So far, however, Pankey has been outstanding, having 13 and 8 against UNC-Wilmington in his de-facto debut.. Granted it was one game against a weaker opponent, but even the very solid Dino Gregory rarely did that, to say nothing of your Braxton Duprees or Steve Goins. A good performance in Puerto Rico would be very interesting indeed.
3. How will this team play? - After 20 years at Maryland and 30 as a head coach, it was pretty easy to know what you'd get with Gary as your coach. A fast pace, the flex offense, man to man defense, lots of pressure, and eight or nine man rotation, and a postseason berth. Now in comes Mark Turgeon who will make us acclimate ourselves to a whole new style. His teams at both Wichita State and Texas A&M played a slower, grind it out pace, and while Turge has said he would play differently if he had the personnell, his track record doesn't really indicate that. I'm not so sure a slower style is better for the long term, but on the other hand, even if it isn't, perhaps the team will be better able to use a zone defense, even if only as an occasional gimmick to throw at teams that can't shoot. Of course we won't really know much about this until next season because given the lack of scholarship bodies available, a more deliberate pace is almost an absolute necessity.
4. Recruiting - Lefty once said that recruiting is like shaving - you need to do it every day or else you look like a bum. There's no doubt that this staff adheres to that adage, but the results so far have been mixed. Not bad at all, mind you, but given the overall deficiencies in the program right now, there's no doubt that they have more to do. Jake Layman and Shaq Cleare are an awesome start, but the team needs another guard, preferably a ballhandler, and another big or two, depending on the development of the current roster. 2012 has a few possibilities, but this year's juniors are where to look for the next earth shattering committment. If either the Harrisons or Nate Britt were to commit during the winter, or perhaps a similar name not currently off the radar, it would give the program a huge boost both on the court in a few years, but also immediately in the buzz-susceptible world of recruiting.
5. Fan Support - Fans surely realize that this will be a tough year, but hopefully that doesn't deter them from coming out and supporting THEIR team as Mark Turgeon tries to build the progam up once again. Early results seem less than promising, and of course results could dictate how attendance looks in the new year. If the team can remain competitive early on and get a boost from the returns of Alex Len and MVPe', Comcast could be difficult in February. On the other hand, a dismal showing in Puerto Rico followed by a loss to, say, Florida International (already having nightmares about this one) could mean a sea of open red seats in the Castle.
6. Can this team go .500 or better - It's been a long time since Maryland finished with a sub .500 overall record, but this year it will be a challenge to extend that streak. Given the givens, even my somewhat optimistic predictions only cranked out a 15-15 record for the regular season. There's also the equally long streak of winning at least 7 games in the ACC, which probably goes hand in hand with the former goal this season. Neither "streak" is really much to be proud of or care about, but it will be an interesting benchmark nonetheless.
Happy watching, Terps fans!
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Sunday, November 6, 2011
A New Era
A new era dawned, unofficially at least, on Friday night at the Comcast Center when new coach Mark Turgeon led a skeleton crew of eight scholarship players into an exhibition battle against the Northwood Seahawks of Big Faced Rollie Massimino. The atmosphere was a bit odd, with a surprisingly sizable, if quiet, student crowd surrounded by a nearly non existent general public. The game seemed to lack fanfare, and the Terps seemed lethargic at times. They went up by almost 20 early in the second half, but never really blew the doors off of Northwood the way they should, allowing them to come nearly all the way back before holding them off for a single digit win.
Of course there's no reason to panic for two reasons:
a) More than one team has already lost an exhibition game this preseason, including Arizona, Butler, West Virginia, and Utah. Even Duke beat the powerhouse from Shaw University by only 14 and
b) We're simply not going to be that good anyway, so why get too heated about anything. There really can't be any concourse games if the expectations are nil.
That's not to say you have to give up, but the first two months of the season without Alex Len and Pe'Shon Howard will be rough. The point guard situation is pretty dire, what with the backup spot being held down by a committee of freshman SG Nick Faust and walk-on Jonathan Taylor Thomas of Tiger Beat fame. The big man situation will not be much better with a three man rotation. The walk ons didn't even get a minute last night, so it would seem that if foul trouble hits the lineups will get really unconventional. Nick Faust may have to do his best Magic Johnson impersonation and play every spot on the floor at some point.
Let's focus on the good things here. Nick "Swag" Faust did quite a bit to live up to his advanced billing, scoring 14 points in 27 minutes before missing most of the second half. His scoring included 4 threes, one of which was a highlight half court (plus) buzzer beater. Bmore what up. Even with the great seasons put up the past two years by Stogs and Jordan Williams as freshmen, it doesn't seem like a stretch to say that Faust could have the most impact of any freshman in College Park since Joe Smith, at least statistically. With the lack of depth and scorers, Faust could very easily average a dozen a night, even without being particularly efficient.
Sean "Bonecrusher" Mosley and Stogs also looked pretty nice offensively, combining for 43 points. You can't expect that to happen every night, but you almost have to expect that in most wins they'll be closer to that then the 20 or so they combined for last season.
Ashton Pankey also looked pretty great. Maybe not great, but damn good. This guy was a lightly regarded recruit coming in who hadn't really played (save for one single minute against Seattle last year) in the past two years due to various injuries, but he showed a lot last night. He's got the size and build to be successful, and he showed a lot of toughness. He scored a dozen points, doing everything from post moves to putbacks to face up shots.
Inspector Padgett also had a nice game, nearly getting a double double and missing only one shot on the night. Also of note is that he recorded two assists. As you may (not) recall, he somehow failed to get a single assist last year despite playing nearly every game. It seems pretty hard to do that even if you tried. Even the great Ekene Ibekwe managed to record double digits in that category every season of his career.
We also got our first taste of Alex Len which will be, of course, our last taste for another seven weeks or so. He's clearly a mountain of a person, living up to his 7-1 listed height. He wound up with 4 and 6 in 16 minutes, not exactly setting the world on fire, but showing enough potential that we will all eagerly anticipate the first game after Christmas to see what he can do in a real game.
As for the negatives, well, there were a few. The team was extra sloppy with 23 turnovers, 10 of them by Mosley and Stogs. The defense was also lacking. Berend Weijs may have gained ten pounds, but still wasn't much of a factor, playing only 11 minutes. He'll certainly play much more with Len out for a few months, but as much as I like him, it's tough to hope for much more than a few blocks and about 15 minutes a game.
Mychal Parker had a pretty awful game. Actually it wasn't so much awful as completely uneventful. He had only 4 points on 3 shots in 26 minutes. At times it was tough to remember that he had even been in the game. It's tough to remember at this point that he was a consensus top 50 recruit who was highly sought after. Of course he'll play quite a bit no matter what and will have plenty of chances to prove me wrong here, but he will have to improve if he wants to still get that time when and if Howard comes back later this winter. It was pretty striking to compare him to Faust last night, a guy who is a year younger and a similarly touted recruit.
I don't think we really learned too much about the team after this game. Time will tell. The conversation we had was how many wins it would take to make this a satisfying season. Not necessarily one that you're happy with, but one you won't starting bitching about Turge after.
It's a tough question. You can start by chalking up 8 wins against the cupcakes. Even though recent history has shown us that these games do indeed sometimes end up as losses, it's not unrealistic to think that even with a weak team we should beat every team that we pay to come to Comcast Center. The field in Puerto Rico is not especially strong so winning one of the final two games - likely to be a weak Colorado team and then either Iona or Western Michigan - is realistic. Let's say the team loses at home to Illinois, at the BB&T against Notre Dame (of course), and then against Temple at the Palestra. That puts us at 9-5 in the non conference. Given how week the ACC is, let's shoot for six wins there - let's just say Wake, UVA, Boston College at home, a sweep of Georgia Tech, and one wild card in there somewhere. Totally believable, right?
So there you have it. Here in College Park we're shooting for 15-15. Average starts here?
Of course there's no reason to panic for two reasons:
a) More than one team has already lost an exhibition game this preseason, including Arizona, Butler, West Virginia, and Utah. Even Duke beat the powerhouse from Shaw University by only 14 and
b) We're simply not going to be that good anyway, so why get too heated about anything. There really can't be any concourse games if the expectations are nil.
That's not to say you have to give up, but the first two months of the season without Alex Len and Pe'Shon Howard will be rough. The point guard situation is pretty dire, what with the backup spot being held down by a committee of freshman SG Nick Faust and walk-on Jonathan Taylor Thomas of Tiger Beat fame. The big man situation will not be much better with a three man rotation. The walk ons didn't even get a minute last night, so it would seem that if foul trouble hits the lineups will get really unconventional. Nick Faust may have to do his best Magic Johnson impersonation and play every spot on the floor at some point.
Let's focus on the good things here. Nick "Swag" Faust did quite a bit to live up to his advanced billing, scoring 14 points in 27 minutes before missing most of the second half. His scoring included 4 threes, one of which was a highlight half court (plus) buzzer beater. Bmore what up. Even with the great seasons put up the past two years by Stogs and Jordan Williams as freshmen, it doesn't seem like a stretch to say that Faust could have the most impact of any freshman in College Park since Joe Smith, at least statistically. With the lack of depth and scorers, Faust could very easily average a dozen a night, even without being particularly efficient.
Sean "Bonecrusher" Mosley and Stogs also looked pretty nice offensively, combining for 43 points. You can't expect that to happen every night, but you almost have to expect that in most wins they'll be closer to that then the 20 or so they combined for last season.
Ashton Pankey also looked pretty great. Maybe not great, but damn good. This guy was a lightly regarded recruit coming in who hadn't really played (save for one single minute against Seattle last year) in the past two years due to various injuries, but he showed a lot last night. He's got the size and build to be successful, and he showed a lot of toughness. He scored a dozen points, doing everything from post moves to putbacks to face up shots.
Inspector Padgett also had a nice game, nearly getting a double double and missing only one shot on the night. Also of note is that he recorded two assists. As you may (not) recall, he somehow failed to get a single assist last year despite playing nearly every game. It seems pretty hard to do that even if you tried. Even the great Ekene Ibekwe managed to record double digits in that category every season of his career.
We also got our first taste of Alex Len which will be, of course, our last taste for another seven weeks or so. He's clearly a mountain of a person, living up to his 7-1 listed height. He wound up with 4 and 6 in 16 minutes, not exactly setting the world on fire, but showing enough potential that we will all eagerly anticipate the first game after Christmas to see what he can do in a real game.
As for the negatives, well, there were a few. The team was extra sloppy with 23 turnovers, 10 of them by Mosley and Stogs. The defense was also lacking. Berend Weijs may have gained ten pounds, but still wasn't much of a factor, playing only 11 minutes. He'll certainly play much more with Len out for a few months, but as much as I like him, it's tough to hope for much more than a few blocks and about 15 minutes a game.
Mychal Parker had a pretty awful game. Actually it wasn't so much awful as completely uneventful. He had only 4 points on 3 shots in 26 minutes. At times it was tough to remember that he had even been in the game. It's tough to remember at this point that he was a consensus top 50 recruit who was highly sought after. Of course he'll play quite a bit no matter what and will have plenty of chances to prove me wrong here, but he will have to improve if he wants to still get that time when and if Howard comes back later this winter. It was pretty striking to compare him to Faust last night, a guy who is a year younger and a similarly touted recruit.
I don't think we really learned too much about the team after this game. Time will tell. The conversation we had was how many wins it would take to make this a satisfying season. Not necessarily one that you're happy with, but one you won't starting bitching about Turge after.
It's a tough question. You can start by chalking up 8 wins against the cupcakes. Even though recent history has shown us that these games do indeed sometimes end up as losses, it's not unrealistic to think that even with a weak team we should beat every team that we pay to come to Comcast Center. The field in Puerto Rico is not especially strong so winning one of the final two games - likely to be a weak Colorado team and then either Iona or Western Michigan - is realistic. Let's say the team loses at home to Illinois, at the BB&T against Notre Dame (of course), and then against Temple at the Palestra. That puts us at 9-5 in the non conference. Given how week the ACC is, let's shoot for six wins there - let's just say Wake, UVA, Boston College at home, a sweep of Georgia Tech, and one wild card in there somewhere. Totally believable, right?
So there you have it. Here in College Park we're shooting for 15-15. Average starts here?
Monday, October 24, 2011
Maryland Football Has Left the Building
It's really bad when you write a "Maryland Football has Arrived" post and then have to immediately rescind it upon emerging from your two month disappearance. But hey, that's what happens when you go ahead and get beaten...by Temple...by 31...at home...in week 3...with Randy Edsall at the helm.
Now, let's be real, things haven't been ALL terrible. The games against Georgia Tech and (especially) Clemson and West Virginia could easily have been wins. Even with the blowouts against Florida State and Temple, this team could easily be 4-3 coming out of the tough part of the schedule and well in line to at least make another bowl. And, realistically, that should have been the expectation this season. Some people will say that winning at least 9 games again with Danny O'Brien back under center should have been no problem, but even with DOB (and Kenny Tate) back, the team lost plenty, including it's three most relevant receivers - Adrian Cannon and the Raven's duo of Torrey Smith and Laquan Williams - plus several key defensive players, most notably Alex Wujciak who had about six billion tackles in his four years here as the starter at the MIKE LB spot.
Of course, I'm going to stop right there before this seems like any kind of an excuse for how piss poor the Randy Edsall era has started. It began with Sarge hiring two coordinators that were on thin ice at their old schools, with one of those schools being Southern Mississippi. It continued with moving future first round pick Kenny Tate from his natural safety position to linebacker where it became clear that the smallish Tate was physically overmatched. Its first year will be punctuated in the winter with a recruiting class that currently ranks tenth in the league, behind even Wake Forest.
This really isn't anymore than a rant. The team started out with so much excitement, and now, no one cares. There are two home games left against North Carolina State and Wake, and those two games could be as poorly attended as any in the latter years of the Fridge. The team will need a minor miracle just to pull out another Military Bowl bid, which, even at 6-6, would not be a certainty.
I wanted to become a season ticket holder back in August, but now the incentive just isn't there. That's not to say I'm off the bandwagon or anything like that, but it's clearly not a good sign for the long term health of the program that would-be diehards aren't connecting with the program the way they should. What is most galling is that the Athletic Department replaced the Fridge because of a lack of excitement around the program and then immediately replaced him with someone seemingly incapable of generating any himself. I'm not still bitter that we didn't hire Mike Leach, but that didn't mean we had to find his polar opposite. Even James Franklin has VANDERBILT possibly on its way to a bowl game, and with him at the helm you can bet that Danny O'Brien wouldn't have had as poor a year as he's had so far.
Moral of the story - 11 days until hoops.
Now, let's be real, things haven't been ALL terrible. The games against Georgia Tech and (especially) Clemson and West Virginia could easily have been wins. Even with the blowouts against Florida State and Temple, this team could easily be 4-3 coming out of the tough part of the schedule and well in line to at least make another bowl. And, realistically, that should have been the expectation this season. Some people will say that winning at least 9 games again with Danny O'Brien back under center should have been no problem, but even with DOB (and Kenny Tate) back, the team lost plenty, including it's three most relevant receivers - Adrian Cannon and the Raven's duo of Torrey Smith and Laquan Williams - plus several key defensive players, most notably Alex Wujciak who had about six billion tackles in his four years here as the starter at the MIKE LB spot.
Of course, I'm going to stop right there before this seems like any kind of an excuse for how piss poor the Randy Edsall era has started. It began with Sarge hiring two coordinators that were on thin ice at their old schools, with one of those schools being Southern Mississippi. It continued with moving future first round pick Kenny Tate from his natural safety position to linebacker where it became clear that the smallish Tate was physically overmatched. Its first year will be punctuated in the winter with a recruiting class that currently ranks tenth in the league, behind even Wake Forest.
This really isn't anymore than a rant. The team started out with so much excitement, and now, no one cares. There are two home games left against North Carolina State and Wake, and those two games could be as poorly attended as any in the latter years of the Fridge. The team will need a minor miracle just to pull out another Military Bowl bid, which, even at 6-6, would not be a certainty.
I wanted to become a season ticket holder back in August, but now the incentive just isn't there. That's not to say I'm off the bandwagon or anything like that, but it's clearly not a good sign for the long term health of the program that would-be diehards aren't connecting with the program the way they should. What is most galling is that the Athletic Department replaced the Fridge because of a lack of excitement around the program and then immediately replaced him with someone seemingly incapable of generating any himself. I'm not still bitter that we didn't hire Mike Leach, but that didn't mean we had to find his polar opposite. Even James Franklin has VANDERBILT possibly on its way to a bowl game, and with him at the helm you can bet that Danny O'Brien wouldn't have had as poor a year as he's had so far.
Moral of the story - 11 days until hoops.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
This...is ACC Football!
So here at the Says Things Blog, there will be a renewed emphasis on two things this fall. The first of which is actually blogging more frequently (than never) whilst the second is focusing on football. Or at least not making it completely secondary to basketball. Now that we are in the Under Armour Age (briefly the Edsall Era, formerly Fridge Fever until the Fever broke in about 2007), it's important to recognize the football team's greatness lest anyone think that we're jumping on the bandwagon when the teams wins its first BCS Title in 2014. So today I begin the weekly* ACC Power Rankings wherein you can track your favorite team in this sack of crap league known officially as the Food Lion Raycom Woodmen of the World ACC sponsored jointly by Bojangles and Havoline! (FLRWotW ACC sjbBaH~!)
*almost assuredly NOT weekly
1. FSU - They're the preseason favorite, and while they've played two directional schools so far, they've won convincingly (96-10 total), which actually counts for a lot in this league. EJ Manuel is the only QB in the league standing in DOB's path to the awards, and unfortately he's been awesome so far (581 yards). A win next week would probably make FSU a heavy favorite for the BCS Title game.
2. VT - Tech crushed App State the first week but struggled big time in a 17-10 win at ECU this saturday. It's a road win against a bowl team, but one that had maybe the worst defense in I-A last season. If the Pirates could have caught the ball they would have won handily. From what I saw they dropped two interceptions (one that would have gone for six) as well as an easy touchdown on a pass inside the redzone. Not that impressive for a possible the presumptive Coastal champ.
3. Maryland - Granted that Miami was without its starting QB and several other key players, Maryland largely dominated in everything but the score, getting two defensive TDs and making it into the red zone seven times in eight offensive possesions. The Terps, had they been a little bit more efficient in the RZ, could easily have scored 45-50 points.
4.Miami - The 'Canes are in disarray, but still managed to be a few minutes away from a win against the Terps on the road in a great atmosphere. This week will show a lot about them as they return home for a huge game against a very beatable Ohio State team (ask Toledo), one of four (WVU-MD, Auburn-Clemson, FSU-Oklahoma) huge nonconference games for the ACC against ranked teams. They do get their starting QB Jacorry Harris back, although realistically Morris could well be starting for them again by October.
5. North Carolina - This is mainly a default spot (though they could arguably have been ahead of Miami I suppose) for displaying mere competence in the first two weeks. They handled James Madison and slid by a bad Rutgers team at home. The main reason for optimism is a still exceedingly talented defense (even after losing Austin and Sturdivant) plus QB Bryn Renner who has been outstanding (42-49) so far this year.
6. Georgia Tech - Tech has smashed a I-AA team and a team from the Sun Belt in the first two weeks, a year after returning just 12 starters from a sub-.500 team. They may very well be a good team, possibly capable of contending in the Coastal this season, but I'll reserve some judgment until they show they can beat Kansas and North Carolina at home the next two weeks.
7. Virginia - The Cavs missed their third straight bowl last year, but they're 2-0 this season including a win at Indiana this week. Granted, Indiana might well be the worst team in the Big Ten, but Virginia failed to win a road game all last season, so that's big. That's particularly bad when you consider that they played Duke on the road last year - and allowed 55 points in a loss. The Cavs get UNC (road), Southern Miss and Idaho heading into their bye so 5-0 isn't off the table. But then, neither is 2-3, in reality.
8. Wake Forest - This is when you get into the bag of crap that is the ACC...even moreso. The good news is that the Deacs thoroughly outplayed Syracuse on the road and NC State at home for most of the game the first two weeks. The bad news is that the Orange came back to win that game and State almost did as well. Sophomore Tanner Price (586 yards) has been greatly improved so far as compared to last year when he led an aerial attack that generated more yards than only Georgia Tech's triple option attack amongst ACC teams.
9. Clemson - I'm inclined to think Clemson finishes a bit higher, if only because they do have more talent than several of the teams above them, and haven't failed to qualify for a bowl since the '90s. The year started off badly when they struggled with Troy, which wasn't so bad when you consider that they're the perennial Sun Belt champions. But struggling with Wofford, and only coming away with a narrow eight point win, is pretty bad. Seriously, Wofford? With Auburn, FSU and @VT the next three weeks, things could get really ugly for this team.
10. North Carolina State - Are you ready for another NC State coaching search? Chairman Yao may be leading another one, sure to be a roaring success, given the way that Tom O'Brien's team has looked, struggling with Liberty and playing a largely uncompetitive game against Atlantic bottom-feeder Wake Forest. Even worse for their delusion fanbase, this team could have contended had Heisman candidate Russell Wilson not transferred to Wisconsin (who themselves are now a National Title contender). NC State actually has to get to 7-5 to go bowling. That ain't happening.
11. Boston College - OK, they're missing their top rusher, but they've now lost at home to Northwestern and gotten waxed by UCF (30-3) in their first two weeks. So, uh, yeah, congrats to all the Mensa members that picked them ahead of the Terps this season. Given that they were last offensively in the ACC last year, maybe this seasons early struggles should be expected without perhaps their best weapon. Next week they have Duke at home, and if they can't win that, well, that ain't good.
12. Duke - The answer here is Duke, Duke, a million times Duke. The fact that they only lost 44-14 at home the Andrew Luck and Stanford has to count as a success. They managed to lose to I-AA Richmond in week 1, which isn't so bad when you consider how good they are for a I-AA team. What is so bad is that this is the third time in six seasons that Duke has lost to Richmond. Maybe stop scheduling Richmond guys? Not that anyone in Durham or New Jersey really cares what Duke football does.
*almost assuredly NOT weekly
1. FSU - They're the preseason favorite, and while they've played two directional schools so far, they've won convincingly (96-10 total), which actually counts for a lot in this league. EJ Manuel is the only QB in the league standing in DOB's path to the awards, and unfortately he's been awesome so far (581 yards). A win next week would probably make FSU a heavy favorite for the BCS Title game.
2. VT - Tech crushed App State the first week but struggled big time in a 17-10 win at ECU this saturday. It's a road win against a bowl team, but one that had maybe the worst defense in I-A last season. If the Pirates could have caught the ball they would have won handily. From what I saw they dropped two interceptions (one that would have gone for six) as well as an easy touchdown on a pass inside the redzone. Not that impressive for a possible the presumptive Coastal champ.
3. Maryland - Granted that Miami was without its starting QB and several other key players, Maryland largely dominated in everything but the score, getting two defensive TDs and making it into the red zone seven times in eight offensive possesions. The Terps, had they been a little bit more efficient in the RZ, could easily have scored 45-50 points.
4.Miami - The 'Canes are in disarray, but still managed to be a few minutes away from a win against the Terps on the road in a great atmosphere. This week will show a lot about them as they return home for a huge game against a very beatable Ohio State team (ask Toledo), one of four (WVU-MD, Auburn-Clemson, FSU-Oklahoma) huge nonconference games for the ACC against ranked teams. They do get their starting QB Jacorry Harris back, although realistically Morris could well be starting for them again by October.
5. North Carolina - This is mainly a default spot (though they could arguably have been ahead of Miami I suppose) for displaying mere competence in the first two weeks. They handled James Madison and slid by a bad Rutgers team at home. The main reason for optimism is a still exceedingly talented defense (even after losing Austin and Sturdivant) plus QB Bryn Renner who has been outstanding (42-49) so far this year.
6. Georgia Tech - Tech has smashed a I-AA team and a team from the Sun Belt in the first two weeks, a year after returning just 12 starters from a sub-.500 team. They may very well be a good team, possibly capable of contending in the Coastal this season, but I'll reserve some judgment until they show they can beat Kansas and North Carolina at home the next two weeks.
7. Virginia - The Cavs missed their third straight bowl last year, but they're 2-0 this season including a win at Indiana this week. Granted, Indiana might well be the worst team in the Big Ten, but Virginia failed to win a road game all last season, so that's big. That's particularly bad when you consider that they played Duke on the road last year - and allowed 55 points in a loss. The Cavs get UNC (road), Southern Miss and Idaho heading into their bye so 5-0 isn't off the table. But then, neither is 2-3, in reality.
8. Wake Forest - This is when you get into the bag of crap that is the ACC...even moreso. The good news is that the Deacs thoroughly outplayed Syracuse on the road and NC State at home for most of the game the first two weeks. The bad news is that the Orange came back to win that game and State almost did as well. Sophomore Tanner Price (586 yards) has been greatly improved so far as compared to last year when he led an aerial attack that generated more yards than only Georgia Tech's triple option attack amongst ACC teams.
9. Clemson - I'm inclined to think Clemson finishes a bit higher, if only because they do have more talent than several of the teams above them, and haven't failed to qualify for a bowl since the '90s. The year started off badly when they struggled with Troy, which wasn't so bad when you consider that they're the perennial Sun Belt champions. But struggling with Wofford, and only coming away with a narrow eight point win, is pretty bad. Seriously, Wofford? With Auburn, FSU and @VT the next three weeks, things could get really ugly for this team.
10. North Carolina State - Are you ready for another NC State coaching search? Chairman Yao may be leading another one, sure to be a roaring success, given the way that Tom O'Brien's team has looked, struggling with Liberty and playing a largely uncompetitive game against Atlantic bottom-feeder Wake Forest. Even worse for their delusion fanbase, this team could have contended had Heisman candidate Russell Wilson not transferred to Wisconsin (who themselves are now a National Title contender). NC State actually has to get to 7-5 to go bowling. That ain't happening.
11. Boston College - OK, they're missing their top rusher, but they've now lost at home to Northwestern and gotten waxed by UCF (30-3) in their first two weeks. So, uh, yeah, congrats to all the Mensa members that picked them ahead of the Terps this season. Given that they were last offensively in the ACC last year, maybe this seasons early struggles should be expected without perhaps their best weapon. Next week they have Duke at home, and if they can't win that, well, that ain't good.
12. Duke - The answer here is Duke, Duke, a million times Duke. The fact that they only lost 44-14 at home the Andrew Luck and Stanford has to count as a success. They managed to lose to I-AA Richmond in week 1, which isn't so bad when you consider how good they are for a I-AA team. What is so bad is that this is the third time in six seasons that Duke has lost to Richmond. Maybe stop scheduling Richmond guys? Not that anyone in Durham or New Jersey really cares what Duke football does.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Maryland Football has Arrived
Since I first came to Maryland in 2005, there have only been two games at Byrd Stadium with close to the hype of last night's game against The U - the 2006 game over thanksgiving against Wake Forest and 2008 against FSU, both of which had divisional title implications. Last night's atmosphere was ridiculous, especially considering that the weather was awful and the game was on a Monday night. Add in that it was the first game of the Edsall era, and last night felt like a turning point for the program.
And oh yeah, there were THE UNIFORMS. After unveiling a whole new line of Under Armour unis two weeks ago, the team debuted an alternate before ever wearing any of the sixteen (!) new combinations. The team ran out of the tunnel wearing white on white - but with a twist. On one side of the helmet and shoulder yokes was the white and red cross of the state flag while the trademark black and gold bars of the other half of the flag adorned the other side. It was, in some ways, incredibly simple yet at the same time it broke completely new ground in uniforms.
We could debate the aesthetics of the uniforms (although not really because those who didn't like them are wrong), but what is certain is that they did their job, which was to get the Terps noticed. Needless to say we've all seen the reactions by now, much of which was negative. ABC asked if they were the ugliest uniforms ever on their national, prime time newscast. LeBron James took time out from being the most hated basketball player alive to tweet his disapproval. ESPN dedicated a large swath of SportsCenter following the game to the design. Carmelo, Deion Sanders and the Today Show chimed in as well.
When was the last time Maryland FOOTBALL was this relevant? Never. The reality is that Ralph Friedgen was fired not because he didn't win enough but because the program had stagnated to the point where even a 9 win season and a great freshman QB still resulted in dismal attendance and no buzz. Now the stadium is packed and people are talking about us. Even if they're talking shit, do we care? We're Maryland, and they're not. We're used to our role as the black sheep. Let's keep embracing it.
the Fighting Kevins, Anderson and Plank, have a threefold goal as it relates to athletic department as a whole and the football program in particular. One is to establish Maryland as the flagship Under Armour program and to reap the mutual benefits resulting. The second is to increase recognition around the program as a whole. The third is to rebrand the athletic department from a marketing standpoint as the school representing Maryland as a whole to increase pride in our teams everywhere from the mountains in Western Maryland to the Eastern Shore. I'd say last night was a great first step. Go terps!
And oh yeah, there were THE UNIFORMS. After unveiling a whole new line of Under Armour unis two weeks ago, the team debuted an alternate before ever wearing any of the sixteen (!) new combinations. The team ran out of the tunnel wearing white on white - but with a twist. On one side of the helmet and shoulder yokes was the white and red cross of the state flag while the trademark black and gold bars of the other half of the flag adorned the other side. It was, in some ways, incredibly simple yet at the same time it broke completely new ground in uniforms.
We could debate the aesthetics of the uniforms (although not really because those who didn't like them are wrong), but what is certain is that they did their job, which was to get the Terps noticed. Needless to say we've all seen the reactions by now, much of which was negative. ABC asked if they were the ugliest uniforms ever on their national, prime time newscast. LeBron James took time out from being the most hated basketball player alive to tweet his disapproval. ESPN dedicated a large swath of SportsCenter following the game to the design. Carmelo, Deion Sanders and the Today Show chimed in as well.
When was the last time Maryland FOOTBALL was this relevant? Never. The reality is that Ralph Friedgen was fired not because he didn't win enough but because the program had stagnated to the point where even a 9 win season and a great freshman QB still resulted in dismal attendance and no buzz. Now the stadium is packed and people are talking about us. Even if they're talking shit, do we care? We're Maryland, and they're not. We're used to our role as the black sheep. Let's keep embracing it.
the Fighting Kevins, Anderson and Plank, have a threefold goal as it relates to athletic department as a whole and the football program in particular. One is to establish Maryland as the flagship Under Armour program and to reap the mutual benefits resulting. The second is to increase recognition around the program as a whole. The third is to rebrand the athletic department from a marketing standpoint as the school representing Maryland as a whole to increase pride in our teams everywhere from the mountains in Western Maryland to the Eastern Shore. I'd say last night was a great first step. Go terps!
Friday, July 8, 2011
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Like a Rock
24 hours ago, Maryland Basketball was rocked by the news of Jordan hiring an agent and staying in the draft. It hurt, but nothing could compare to the devestation that's spreading from Comcast Center this afternoon.
My first reaction was that it's better to have Gary go out on his own terms, rather than having the press and some terrible fans asking for his resignation during the epic 15-12 season that is facing the Terps this season.
But then I watched this video. 5 times in a row. Tell me it doesn't give you goosebumps and bring a tear or two to your eye. Or this one...
Thank you, Gary for 22 amazing years. You took the program from its darkest hours to the top of the college basketball world, and always brought a tremendous amount of passion and dedication to campus every day. You have been the face of Maryland basketball for years and your retirement will be felt by all Terp fans. In other words, you will be missed. In this lig, there were none classier, and none who I'd rather have on the sidelines of Comcast. *FIST PUMP!*
My first reaction was that it's better to have Gary go out on his own terms, rather than having the press and some terrible fans asking for his resignation during the epic 15-12 season that is facing the Terps this season.
But then I watched this video. 5 times in a row. Tell me it doesn't give you goosebumps and bring a tear or two to your eye. Or this one...
Thank you, Gary for 22 amazing years. You took the program from its darkest hours to the top of the college basketball world, and always brought a tremendous amount of passion and dedication to campus every day. You have been the face of Maryland basketball for years and your retirement will be felt by all Terp fans. In other words, you will be missed. In this lig, there were none classier, and none who I'd rather have on the sidelines of Comcast. *FIST PUMP!*
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