FACTS & STATS: Site: Floyd Stadium (30,788) -- Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Television: CSS. Home Record: Maryland 1-0, MTU 0-1. Away Record: Maryland 0-0, MTU 0-0. Neutral Record: Maryland 0-0, MTU 0-0. Conference Record: Maryland 0-0, MTU 0-1. Series Record: Maryland leads, 2-0.
GAME NOTES: The Maryland Terrapins go blue for the second week in a row as they challenge the Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee on the road at Floyd Stadium this weekend.
Last Saturday, the Terps hosted the Blue Hens of Delaware and barely survived a 14-7 decision in College Park. Following this weekend's road test Maryland is back home for two more non-conference battles against the likes of California and Eastern Michigan before beginning ACC slate versus Clemson on the road near the end of the month.
In front of the sixth-largest crowd in Floyd Stadium history, the Blue Raiders failed to give the loyal faithful what they came to see and bowed to the Troy Trojans in Sun Belt Conference play right off the bat, 31-17, on Thursday night. So now, not only is Middle Tennessee working towards its first win of the 2008 campaign, the squad is also trying to rebound from a conference loss just out of the gate.
As far as the all-time series is concerned, Maryland won both of the previous meetings, including a 24-10 decision at home over the Blue Raiders in 2006.
Against the runner-up for the FCS title a year ago, the Terrapins focused their efforts on running the ball on Saturday, chipping away at the Blue Hens with 271 yards on 45 attempts. Additionally, Maryland used that constant pounding to make its way into the end zone twice. Da'Rel Scott did much of the damage with his game-high 197 yards on 26 carries, but it was Davin Meggett and Darrius Heyward-Bey who made their way into the end zone.
Quarterback Jordan Steffy had a game that he'd probably rather forget, converting just 10-of-18 for 115 yards, while being sacked once and picked off twice. Although, giving up just the one sack is a huge step in the right direction for the Terps, a team that ranked ninth in the ACC and tied for 105th in the country a year ago with just over three sacks allowed per game.
In 2007 Maryland had one of the worst run defenses among the ACC institutions, permitting 147.3 ypg, but the squad looked just a little bit tighter to open this season by giving up just 121 yards on 34 attempts by Delaware. Perhaps most impressive of all was the third-down defense for the Terps, which held the visitors to just 4-of-12 in those situations. Then again, the Blue Hens were breaking in a new signal-caller after Joe Flacco left for the pros.
Alex Wujciak tallied a team-best eight tackles for the home team, while Terrell Skinner posted six stops, one behind the line of scrimmage, and logged one of the unit's two interceptions. Better yet was the effort put forth by Kevin Barnes who had an INT of his own and also forced a fumble in the tight matchup. The team totaled just two TFLs in the contest, which was far below the 5.5 TFLs from a year ago that had the team ranked last in the ACC and 90th in the nation.
As one of the first teams to hit the field this season, the Blue Raiders may have been better off taking a few more days to prepare for Troy after scoring just three points through the first three quarters on Thursday night and then posting a couple of insignificant touchdowns in the fourth. Despite averaging less than two yards per rushing attempt, leading to 84 yards overall, the Blue Raiders still insisted on keeping the ball on the ground for a ridiculous 50 plays. Phillip Tanner was one of only two players to finish with positive yardage on the ground with his team-best 61 yards, leading to one of the squad's late scores. Desmond Gee added 60 yards on 18 carries as well.
Joe Craddock and Dwight Dasher combined to complete 20-of-34 passing for 200 yards and a TD, but between them they were also brought down for five sacks. With just 284 yards of total offense stemming from 84 plays, the Blue Raiders were far below their average of 336.8 ypg from a year ago, a number that had the team ranked a disappointing seventh in the Sun Belt and 96th in the nation.
The Middle Tennessee defense posted one interception and recovered all three of the fumbles it forced on Thursday night versus Troy. Add to that the fact that the Blue Raiders permitted the Trojans to convert only 4-of-13 on third down and the game should have fallen in favor of the home team based on those stats alone, but it simply wasn't to be. Part of the problem was that MT allowed the visitors to score on all four of their red zone chances in the contest. Jeremy Kellem made all of his team-high seven tackles unassisted, while Desmond Gee was credited with a forced fumble and a fumble recovery from a defensive standpoint.
Last season, the Blue Raiders had a huge problem stopping the run, allowing an average of 199.8 ypg to rank 102nd in the nation, but that number wasn't a true representation of what the unit was capable of week in and week out. In fact, the team allowed a season-low 22 yards rushing to Arkansas State, thanks to a hefty 12 TFLs, but then permitted UL-Lafayette to generate 376 yards rushing three games later.
Given that Delaware is in a rebuilding phase as it tries to find a new quarterback and that the Terps beat the Hens by just a few points, Maryland should be worried once the ACC schedule kicks in. However, this week the Terrapins should be alright with what they have, even though they are on the road.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Maryland 24, Middle Tennessee 14
Game Date and Time
Saturday, September 6th, 7:00 p.m. (et).
