Maryland Travels to BC for Noon Game on ESPN

Nov. 13, 2006

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The University of Maryland plays its final road game of the season in the next of a seemingly endless string of crucial Atlantic Coast Conference matchups this Saturday when it travels to Boston College for a noon game. The contest will be televised live nationally on ESPN and broadcast on the Terrapin Sports Radio Network (105.7 FM and 1300 AM Baltimore; 630 AM Washington, D.C.) with radio pregame starting at 10:30 a.m. The game is the 11th of the season for the Terrapins and the 7th straight against ACC competition.

The Game

Maryland (8-2, 5-1) picked up its fifth straight win with another exciting finish last Saturday when it edged Miami, 14-13, on Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium. The Terrapins went ahead 14-0 early in the second quarter on a pair of long touchdown passes from QB Sam Hollenbach to WR Darrius Heyward-Bey (65 yards and a school-record 96 yards), then held on for the victory. Again, special teams made a huge difference, as CB Isaiah Gardner forced a Miami fumble while covering a late punt, ending the Hurricanes' bid for a comeback.

Boston College (8-2, 4-2) used a second-half rally to beat Duke, 28-7, last Saturday in Chestnut Hill. The Eagles earned a 14-7 halftime lead with a touchdown in the final minute of the first half. Early in the third quarter, Duke failed to get a first down on 4th-and-1 from the BC 2-yard line, then the Eagles went 97 yards on a decisive scoring drive. Both L.V. Whitworth (13-for-118) and Andre Callender (15-for-105) went over the 100-yard mark on the ground for BC, which got 2 touchdowns on a 23-for-37 passing day by Matt Ryan.

Maryland remains tied for first place in the Atlantic Division with Wake Forest at 5-1. Boston College is a game behind the leaders at 4-2. The winner of the Atlantic Division will play Coastal Division champ Georgia Tech in the Dr Pepper ACC Championship Game in Jacksonville on Dec. 2. For BC to earn that berth, the Eagles must win their final two games (home vs. Maryland, at Miami) and hope Wake Forest loses twice (home vs. Virginia Tech and at Maryland). Most tie-breaker scenarios have the Wake Forest-Maryland game on 11/25 (7:45 p.m. on ESPN) being a deciding factor in the Atlantic Division race.

With the win at home against Miami, the Terrapins reeled off their fifth straight victory. The streak is the longest since Maryland won five straight to close the 2003 season (including a Gator Bowl victory over West Virginia). Only nine teams in the nation have winning streaks longer than the 5-game string by Maryland, including Ohio State's 18-game streak. Maryland's 5-game win streak is the longest current string in the ACC. The last time the Terps won six straight in a season was in 2002 when they reeled off 8 straight between 9/21/02 and 11/16/02.

Maryland moved up two spots in the Associated Press poll and three spots in the USA Today ranking this week, now sitting 21st in each ranking. Maryland was also 21st in the Harris Interactive poll this week. Factoring in the computer averages, the Terrapins moved up to 19th in the Bowl Championship Series standings this week. Boston College is 20th in all three major rankings and is also 20th in the BCS standings as of 11/12.

Series Notes -- Terps vs. Eagles

Saturday's game is the 4th in the all-time football series between Maryland and Boston College. The Eagles hold a 2-1 edge in the all-time series and have won the last two meetings.

The teams have never met in Chestnut Hill, with the only non-College Park meeting coming in 1985. In that meeting, the first between the Terrapins and Eagles, Maryland won 31-13 in Sullivan Stadium in Foxboro, Mass. Stan Gelbaugh engineered a Terrapin offense that started touchdown drives with two fumble recoveries and a pair of missed field goals. Rick Badanjek led Maryland with 89 rushing yards and a touchdown.

A year ago, Boston College beat Maryland, 31-16, in the first matchup between the schools as conference rivals. Each team created four turnovers, but the Eagles turned two into touchdowns as Jolonn Dunbar went 94 yards with a fumble and Ray Henderson iced the game with a 35-yard interception return with 4:36 to play.

BC's Andre Callender had 121 yards rushing and a touchdown, while L.V. Whitworth added 89 yards rushing and a touchdown. Lance Ball had 135 yards on 28 carries to lead the Terps, who got 230 yards and a touchdown from Sam Hollenbach.

Quick Hits -- Week 10

Maryland edged Miami, 14-13, on a warm November Saturday at Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium in the fifth straight close game played by the Terrapins during their winning streak. The Terrapins scored on their first possession when QB Sam Hollenbach found WR Darrius Heyward-Bey with a 65-yard touchdown pass, with just 3:15 elapsed in the game. The pass was the longest play of the season to that point. On Maryland's third series of the game and the first of the second quarter, Hollenbach found Heyward-Bey with a 96-yard scoring strike, giving the Terps a 14-0 lead. Maryland then used its bend-but-don't-break defense to hold on to claim the one-point win. Trey Covington picked up an interception on the Maryland 32 with 3:08 to play to thwart the last Miami drive. After the `Canes forced Maryland to punt, Isaiah Gardner created a turnover with great coverage on the kick and the Terps held on for the win.

The 96-yard touchdown pass from Sam Hollenbach to Darrius Heyward-Bey erased a school record that had stood for 57 years. Stan Lavine hit Ed Bolton with a 92-yard touchdown pass in 1949 for the previous longest pass in Terrapin history. The 96-yard pass is tied for the longest in NCAA Division I-A this season. Chase Holbrook found Chris Williams for 96 yards as New Mexico State struck for a long touchdown pass against Idaho. It is the second-longest play from scrimmage at I-A this year, as Terry Caulley of Connecticut went 98 yards on a TD run against Army on 10/14.

Heyward-Bey had 175 yards on 5 catches in the game, his best as a Terrapin. He was just 7 yards short of making the top-10 list in single-game receiving yards. He had a pair of TD catches, the second time in three games (2 vs. Florida State) that he had two scoring catches in a game. It was also Heyward-Bey's second 100-yard game of the season.

The Terrapins ran just 37 offensive plays to Miami's 73. Still, Maryland's defense allowed the Hurricanes only 320 yards in total offense, holding them to a 4.4 average per play. Miami went 13-for-21 on third downs, though, allowing drives to continue throughout the game. The Hurricanes ended the game with 37:09 in time of possession.

Maryland became the first team since 1985 to beat Florida State and Miami in the same season. Florida beat the Seminoles 38-14 and the Hurricanes 35-23 that year. The last time a non-Gator squad beat both UM and FSU in the same year was in 1975 when Georgia Tech performed the feat.

Of Comebacks

Maryland's 20-point comeback at Virginia created a scramble through the record books to find the following nuggets:

Head coach Ralph Friedgen was the offensive coordinator on 11/10/1984 when Maryland recovered from a 31-0 halftime deficit at Miami to score a 42-40 triumph.

The last time Maryland came from 20 points down to win a game was on 11/20/1993 at Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons scored the first 23 points of the game before Maryland rallied to take a 33-32 victory.

Before the win at Virginia, Maryland had earned two 14-point comebacks during Friedgen's tenure as head coach. Maryland trailed 21-7 at Wake Forest on 11/29/2003 before winning 41-28. Also, the Terrapins trailed 21-7 against NC State on 11/9/2003 before rallying for a 24-21 victory.

Of Drama

Maryland has won five straight games by a combined total of 13 points. Each game has featured some fourth-quarter drama and have kept Terrapin fans on the edge of their seats:

After losing their ACC opener, 27-23, at Georgia Tech, Maryland trailed 20-0 at Virginia (10/14) when the teams broke for halftime. The Terrapins got a 56-yard TD by Keon Lattimore and a 45-yard interception return by Erin Henderson in a run of 28 unanswered points over a stretch of 6:11. Virginia pulled within 28-26 with a touchdown with 2:37 to play, but Josh Wilson tipped away the Cavaliers' two-point conversion attempt.

Maryland used two turnovers by NC State to earn a 20-0 lead early on 10/21, then held on for a 28-26 Homecoming win over the Wolfpack. NC State pulled within two points with a touchdown with 58 seconds left, but the Terrapins covered an onside-kick attempt to pull out the win.

Sam Hollenbach threw three TD passes en route to a 27-14 lead in the third quarter on 10/28 against Florida State. The Seminoles closed to within 27-24 with 8:49 left on a 24-yard field goal by Gary Cismesia. Lining up for a potential game-tying field goal from 46 yards out, DE Jeremy Navarre broke through the middle to block the kick and give Maryland the win.

The fourth field goal of the day by Clemson's Jad Dean gave the Tigers a 12-10 lead over the Terps with 2:25 left on 11/4. But Sam Hollenbach went 5-for-5 on a game-winning drive that set up a 31-yard field goal by Dan Ennis as time ran out, giving the Terrapins a 13-12 road victory.

Maryland took an early 14-0 lead against Miami (11/11), but held on for a 14-13 win. Trey Covington had an interception at the Maryland 32 with 3:08 to play and Isaiah Gardner forced a fumble on a Miami punt-return attempt with 1:14 remaining to preserve the win.

Terps Own Nation's Longest Streak

In special teams coach Ray Rychleski's six years, Maryland has had two punters (Brooks Barnard and Adam Podlesh), two long snappers (Jon Condo and Andrew Schmitt) and zero blocked punts.

The Terrapins' streak without a blocked punt goes back 83 games, now the longest streak in college football.

The Terps have not had one blocked since Nov. 13, 1999 (Florida State). That amount of time became the longest in NCAA football two weeks ago when Georgia, which last had one blocked earlier in the 1999 season, had a punt blocked by Ole Miss. Turning The Tables

While the Terrapins are not yielding blocked punts, they are doing their best not to return the favor to their opposition.

In the last two years, the Terps have blocked four punts. They opened this season with a Josh Wilson block against William & Mary.

Select Company

Ralph Friedgen's 41 wins in his first five years as a head coach ranked tied for second in Atlantic Coast Conference history among coaches in their first five years. Friedgen is working his way up the charts for sixth-year ACC coaches.

Though he was the top second-, third- and fourth-year coach in ACC history by wins, Friedgen's win total after last season fell short of the mark of 44 wins set by Clemson's Danny Ford from 1979-83. That mark, however, tied him for second with former Terrapin great Jerry Claiborne (1972-76) on the list of fifth-year mentors.

Friedgen (49-22) will need two more wins this season to match the six-year ACC mark of Ford (51-15-2).

Last weekend's win moved Friedgen into a tie for 2nd place on the list of career victories in a coaches' 6th year at a school. Dick Crum was 48-20-1 at North Carolina from 1978-82, and Friedgen is now tied with Claiborne, who was 49-20-2 at Maryland from 1972-77.

New Old Faces

The loss of two experienced coordinators this past season left what would seem to have been a gap in experience on the Terrapin coaching staff. With Friedgen taking over at offensive coordinator and Chris Cosh on the defensive side, Maryland is far from green, however.

The Maryland staff (head coach and full-time assistants), overall, possesses a combined total of 202 years of full-time experience at either the collegiate or pro levels.

That total includes seven coaches (Friedgen, Cosh, Brattan, Rychleski, Seamonson, Sollazzo and Zacharias) who have been at it for 20 years or more, and the 202 years means an average of over 20 years of experience per coach on the 2006 staff.

Only quarterbacks coach John Donovan (four years) has less than 10 years as a full-time assistant coach. Donovan's time around football is not quite so brief, however, as he spent four years at Georgia Tech as Friedgen's graduate assistant and four years with the Terps as an assistant recruiting coordinator.

Back in the Saddle

This season will be Ralph Friedgen's first coordinating the Maryland offense while also serving as head coach. Prior to this year, Friedgen had not called offensive plays since leaving Georgia Tech in 2000.

In his last stint in college as a coordinator (1998-2000), Friedgen guided a Georgia Tech offense unit that averaged 36.7 points and 444 yards of total offense per game. During that span, the Yellow Jackets posted a record of 27-8 (.771)

This run is Friedgen's second coordinating the Maryland offense as he served in the same role under head coach Bobby Ross from 1982-86. In his time with Ross at Maryland, Friedgen helped lead the Terps to three ACC Championships and was instrumental in the development of quarterbacks Boomer Esiason, Frank Reich and Stan Gelbaugh.

Tough Road

The Terrapins road back to a bowl game has been a challenging one, as their schedule is one of the toughest in the nation this season. An initial look shows that the Terps play (or have played) four teams ranked in this week's Top 25, but a second look proves that the midseason stretch will be among the toughest in the nation.

Maryland has eight 2005 bowl teams on the its `06 slate.

Now finished with their non-conference slate, the Terps are in the midst of eight straight games against Atlantic Coast Conference opponents.

The NCAA maintains weekly an updated list of toughest schedules in the nation based on opponents' won-lost records. Currently, Maryland's dozen opponents for 2006 are 56-37 (.602), ranking 7th on that list. Cincinnati owns the nation's toughest schedule, with opponents winning at a .641 pace (59-33). The next-highest ACC team is Boston College (15th, 56-40, .583).

Maryland's two upcoming opponents and their 15-3 combined record rank 5th on the list of toughest remaining schedules. Not surprisingly, Ohio State and Michigan top that list, facing a remaining team that comes into the big 1-2 showdown unbeaten.

In his online column in the preseason, ESPN.com's Bruce Feldman ranked the Terps schedule as the 10th-toughest in college football this season.

Sam I Am

For just the second time in the last six years, Maryland has started a season with a returning starter at the quarterback position. And though the success Sam Hollenbach (pronounced HALL-en-bock) had a year ago is not that of Scott McBrien (the last QB to return as starter) in 2003, his experience and knowledge of Friedgen's offense suggests that he he is the man to lead the Terp offense this season.

Through 10 games this season, Hollenbach has yet to have a breakout performance but has cut down on the mistakes that plagued him a year ago. In 2006, he is 147-for-236 (62.3 completion percentage) for 1,717 yards with 12 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. In his last four games (since NC State), Hollenbach has thrown 7 touchdowns and has just 1 interception.

Hollenbach's career completion percentage heading into this week's game is 61.5 percent (361-for-587). Now with 4,485 yards passing in his career, Hollenbach is 6th on the all-time list at Maryland. Next on the list is Dan Henning, who threw for 4,560 between 1985 and 1987.

On career lists, he also ranks 7th with 587 attempts (594, Brian Cummings, 1994-97), 4th in completions with 361 (387, Neil O'Donnell, 1987-89) and 5th with 25 passing touchdowns (Neil O'Donnell, 1987-89).

Hollenbach is the only returning ACC quarterback to rank in the top five in pass efficiency, total offense and passing yardage last year. The lone QB who achieved that feat along with him was the now-departed Charlie Whitehurst of Clemson.

Entering this week, Hollenbach is 14-7 in his career as a starter.

Terple Threat

Heading into last season, Maryland was -- for the first time since 2001 -- in search of a tailback. Mario Merrills, Lance Ball, Keon Lattimore and J.P. Humber were all vying for the job and midway through last season, no single back had been named the every day starter. A year later, the Terrapins are as deep and talented at tailback as any team in the ACC and the only issue at hand is splitting up the carries.

This year, the team has made regular use of Ball, and Lattimore while also mixing in veteran Josh Allen.

Ten games into the season, the trio has rushed 276 times for 1,215 yards (4.4 average) and 9 touchdowns.

Still only a junior, Ball established himself as one of the league's top backs a year ago, rushing for 903 yards despite starting only four games. He rushed over 100 yards four times in the team's last seven games in 2005 and was ultimately named second team All-ACC.

Ball currently leads the team in rushing with 630 yards on 143 carries (4.4 per carry). He is 8th in the ACC in rushing and rushed for the fifth 100-yard game of his career at Georgia Tech (23 carries, 116 yards).

Junior Keon Lattimore missed spring recovering from a shoulder injury, but has returned and looks like a different player this season. He is second on the team in rushing (104 carries, 499 yards) and his 4.8 yards per carry leads the team. Lattimore had the first 100-yard rushing game of his career at Virginia.

Now completely healed from an injury suffered in the final game of 2004, Josh Allen returns to give the Terps yet another threat. Allen enters this week tied for 6th on the school's all-time list for rushing touchdowns and moved into the career top 10 for rushing yards with 1,946. He is now 9th on that list, passing Billy Lovett (1966-68) against NC State.

Receivers Coming Along

In Vernon Davis, Danny Melendez, Jo Jo Walker and Derrick Fenner, Maryland lost 76 percent (160 of 210) of its receptions due to graduation or the NFL draft. It is not a mystery that players will have to step up in their absence.

The Maryland two-deep returned just one senior (Drew Weatherly) and no other players with the exception of special teams guru Greg Powell with any more experienced than a sophomore. What the team does have that it did not have even last year in its talented trio of wideouts is an abundance of physical talent.

The average height and weight of this year's top five receivers is 6-2, 203. In that group, the average time in the 40-yard dash in spring drills was 4.46 with Darrius Heyward-Bey and Isaiah Williams each sub-4.4.

Through 10 games, Maryland's top three wide receivers are all second-year players (Danny Oquendo, Williams and Heyward-Bey). The only non-receiver to sneak into the top four is another first-year starter, TE Joey Haynos.

Heyward-Bey had an outstanding game at Georgia Tech, often getting yards where there seemingly were none. He finished the day with five receptions for 111 yards, the first 100-yard effort of his young career and first of the season for the Terrapins.

His 175-yard game against Miami featured catches of 65 and 96 yards on which he was able to display his showcase speed. His 175 yards are the second-best game by an ACC receiver this season, behind only Jomar Wright's 10-for-176 game for Duke against Miami.

Heyward-Bey went from out of the top 10 on the ACC's receiving yards list into 3rd with his big game against the Hurricanes. He's now averaging 53.9 receiving yards per game, behind only Georgia Tech's Calvin Johnson (80.8) and UNC's Hakeem Nicks (60.3).

In game three (at West Virginia), the trio of Heyward-Bey, Williams and Oquendo accounted for eight more receptions (12) than they had in their collective careers prior to this year. Heyward-Bey and Williams each posted then career highs in receptions and yards and Williams caught his first career touchdown, a 35-yarder.

Noting the Terp Defense

When he was hired to come to Maryland, the talk about the mark Ralph Friedgen would make in College Park was all about offense. For the majority of his tenure, however, the most consistent Terp unit has been the defense.

Since 2001, the Maryland defense has allowed an average of 18.9 points per game. The 2005 campaign was the team's first in that time finishing a season with a scoring average above 20.0.

Maryland's defense in the past few games has been outstanding in the red zone. On Terrapin opponents' last eight trips to the red zone (2 vs. Miami, 4 vs. Clemson and the last 2 vs. FSU), the Terrapins have allowed 0 touchdowns, 7 field goals and have blocked 1 field-goal attempt.

Last year's defensive scoring average of 25.0 points per game was somewhat deceiving. The Terrapins gave up 42 points without the defense even being on the field (four interception returns, one punt return and one fumble return). Factor that in and the team averaged 21.1 points allowed per game, which would have ranked 26th-best in the nation as opposed to 55th.

Since 2001, 45 of Maryland's 71 opponents (63%) have been held to 20 points or less.

Since 2002, Maryland has held its opposition scoreless in 101 quarters (including 14 in 2006).

Prior to the first-half shutout of NC State, the last time Maryland held an opponent scoreless in the first half was 11/27/2004 when the Terps posted a zero on the scoreboard at Wake Forest. Maryland won that game 13-7.

Maryland has held nine opponents to 100 yards or less passing since 2001 (one in 2006).

Since `01, Maryland has held its opposition below 100 yards rushing 16 times. The Terps have accomplished the feat twice in `06 (William & Mary and FIU).

Just 4 times since game two of 2003 has a quarterback been able to pass for more than one touchdown against the Terrapins (Virginia Tech's Bryan Randall in 2004, Clemson's Charlie Whitehurst in 2005, Virginia's Jameel Sewell and Florida State's Xavier Lee in 2006).

Turnover Low in `06 and `07

Maryland had just 15 seniors on its roster last season, with two of those seniors -- OT Stephon Heyer and TB Josh Allen -- back in uniform this year after redshirting due to injury.

Only seven of those 15 seniors from last year were listed as starters (three offense, four defense).

Just four players from the entire defensive two-deep from last year were lost to graduation.

This season's team has a total of just 13 seniors.

LB Unit Home of the Hardware

Three of the last five years, the Atlantic Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year has been a Maryland linebacker. This season the Terps have had to replace last year's honoree after losing eventual NFL second-round pick D'Qwell Jackson (currently the Browns' third-leading tackler), so it may come as a shock that Maryland's LB corps may be better this season.

Focus this year has been on junior Wesley Jefferson as he is filling the spot where E.J. Henderson (2001 and 2002) and Jackson (2005) earned their hardware while also garnering national award attention at season's end. Jefferson -- who is currently T2nd in the ACC in tackles with 9.0 per game -- has a deeper and possibly more talented surrounding cast than either All-American was afforded. Henderson, for example, is tied with his teammate for 2nd in tackles, and the Terp duo trails only Virginia Tech's Vince Hall (9.5 per game) on that list.

In game one of 2006, the Terps got eight players in at their four linebacker positions with four of the team's top five tacklers being linebackers. Between Jefferson, Dave Philistin, Erin Henderson and Trey Covington, 28 tackles, three TFLs and two sacks were accounted for.

LBs have led the Terps in tackles in 9 of the 10 games (CB Isaiah Gardner had a team-high 8 vs. Middle Tennessee). Jefferson has led the Terps 5 times in games (W&M, FIU, UVa, NC State, Miami), while senior David Holloway topped the tackle chart against West Virginia and Georgia Tech. Henderson topped the tackle chart for the first time this season against FSU, finishing with 13, then surpassed that total with at Clemson.

Jefferson had a career-high 13 against NC State, while Henderson's 18 tackles moved him atop the Terrapins' tackle chart for one week. Jefferson had 14 last week at Miami and Henderson finished with a 4-9-13 chart.

Jefferson (W&M, UVa, NC State, Miami), Holloway (GT) and Henderson (UVa, FSU, Clem, Miami) have posted games in double figures this season.

Turtles in Name Only

The last two years, Maryland has seen an increased level of speed and athleticism among its players as the players on this years team have shown in offseason testing. (Last season was the first year that there were no remaining players from the previous regime's recruiting efforts).

The Terrapins had 14 players run in the 4.5-or-better range in the 40-yard dash in spring testing (note that all times are an average of six stopwatches on the same sprint).

Four of the 11 wide receivers who tested in the spring ran 4.44 or faster and six defensive backs ran under a 4.5.

Some notable times from players other than wideouts and corners who ran well include linebacker Dave Philistin (4.55), quarterback Josh Portis (4.53) and punter Adam Podlesh (4.44).

One other notable time, though it has as much to do with weight as it does speed, was the 4.83 time of 312-pound defensive tackle Dre Moore.

Podlesh Moving Up the Charts

Adam Podlesh is rated by NFL scouts as one of the top senior punting prospects this season. He has earned that distinction with as complete a resume as a punter can possess -- gross average, net average, directional punting and consistency -- and he has done it throughout his career at Maryland.

In 10 games this season, Podlesh is averaging 43.9 yards per punt on 47 attempts with 20 balls inside the 20-yard line and 14 fair catches.

Podlesh is ranked 13th nationally in gross punt average this week.

On 207 career punts, Podlesh has dropped 39 percent (80) inside the opponents' 20-yard line and 16 percent (34) inside the opposition's 10.

Podlesh has earned second-team All-ACC honors in each of his three years at Maryland. In each of those seasons, he was ranked just behind last year's Ray Guy Award winner Ryan Plackemeier of Wake Forest.

In being named the second team All-ACC punter in 2003, Podlesh became the first freshman in school history to be recognized by the league.

Heading into 2006, Podlesh's career average was ninth-best in ACC history and just a half-yard shy of Brooks Barnard's school record of 43.7. Podlesh currently carries a 43.4 career average.

Iron Terps

Maryland's strength numbers over the course of the last six years have been off the charts. This season, 22 players earned "Iron Terp" status, an honor that is based on a player's strength index (determined by a strength/weight formula).

Team averages (in categories used to measure index) this season include an average bench press of 338 pounds; an average squat of 489 pounds; an average clean of 294 pounds; and an average vertical jump of 33-1/2 inches.

Not only were new individual records set, but the team as a whole improved dramatically, as 78 percent of the players on this year's team elevated their personal bests in strength index.

Nine different all-time records were set for players at their given position. Among those records were the 40-yard dash time of punter Adam Podlesh (4.44), the vertical jump of linebacker Rick Costa (42 inches) and the bench press of quarterback Jordan Steffy (355).

Arguably the most amazing record set was by offensive tackle Jared Gaither. At 6-9 and 350 pounds, Gaither posted a 36-inch vertical jump.

ACC Football Power

Now in its second year as a 12-team conference with a championship game, the Atlantic Coast Conference is widely recognized as one of the premier conferences in the country.

Last season, eight ACC teams earned bowl bids.

The conference's schools have posted a 21-12 mark in postseason play in the last five years, best among all Division I-A conferences in that span.

With 10 of its 12 teams in the Sagarin ratings final top 45 last season, the ACC was ranked second among all conferences in the final Sagarin poll in 2005. Three of its schools were rated by Sagarin to have among the toughest 20 schedules in the country before the season (UNC, 5th; Maryland, 10th; Georgia Tech, 16th).

Scouting the Eagles

Boston College (8-2, 4-2) enters this week ranked 20th in all three major polls. The Eagles have won 5 of their last 6 games, with only a 21-14 loss at Wake Forest marring that streak. The Eagles' other loss came at NC State (17-15 on 9/23).

BC has now posted at least eight wins in each of the past six seasons.

The Eagles have a balanced offensive attack, with two outstanding running backs and a seasoned passer. L.V. Whitworth is 6th in the league in rushing with a 67.0 ypg average, while running mate Andre Callender is averaging 50.7 yards per game. Each of them have surpassed the 500-yard mark on the ground this season.

Junior QB Matt Ryan leads the ACC in total offense (14th nationally at 253.0 ypg) and passing yards per game (253.6). He is completing 61.8 percent of his passes (207-for-335) and is the only QB in the ACC who has thrown more than 275 passes this season. He has 12 TDs and only 7 interceptions. Kevin Challenger is his favorite target, with his 41 receptions ranking 3rd in the league.

Defensively, the Eagles are similarly strong. They rank 4th in the league in scoring defense (14.7 ppg) and are led in tackles by junior LB Jolonn Dunbar, who has 64 stops. CB Larry Anam is second on the BC tackle chart with 52 stops.

A Look Back

Maryland has 49 wins in its six seasons under Ralph Friedgen (in Friedgen's first 5 seasons, the team averaged 8.2 wins per year).

The Terps' total of 36 wins from 2001-04 was the second-highest four-year win total in school history. Maryland's top effort was 37 wins under Jerry Claiborne from 1975-78.

In the 108 years of football prior to Friedgen's arrival, Maryland had never put together three straight nine-win seasons. The Terrapins won 10 games in each of Friedgen's first three seasons (2001-2003).

Since 1892, Maryland has had eight 10-win seasons, four of which have come in Friedgen's six years.

Protecting the House

Despite a sub-.500 record in 2005, the Terrapins are 30-7 at Byrd Stadium under Ralph Friedgen. The Terps are 6-0 at home this season.

The Terps finished the 2003 season with a perfect 6-0 record at home, marking the second time in three years the team finished its home slate unblemished.

In 113 previous seasons of football, Maryland has finished undefeated at home 19 times. Just eight of those occasions, however, have come since 1950 (when Byrd Stadium opened) and just three times has it happened since 1975 (`76, 2001 and `03).

The Terrapins' 6-0 mark in 2003 was a tie for the second-best record at home in school history. The 1976 team was also 6-0, only to be trumped by the 2001 team which won all of its games on a 7-game home slate.

More on Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium

Now in its 57th year of operation, Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium continues to serve as the home of the Terps. Opened on Sept. 30, 1950, and constructed for a sum of $1 million, Byrd was named after Dr. H.C. "Curley" Byrd, a multi-sport star at Maryland who later became the school's head football coach and ultimately its president.

The Terrapins are 185-104-1 within the friendly confines of Byrd.

With temporary bleachers installed again this season, Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium can hold up to 51,500.

Ticket Information

For additional info or to order by phone, call (800) 462-TERP.

Terp Alley

In an effort to restore some tradition on gameday in College Park, the football staff created Terp Alley in 2001, a tradition that has become a part of the gameday experience outside Byrd Stadium.

For every football home game, the entire football team makes its first appearance of the day at "Terp Alley." The team is dropped off at the circle at the top of Field House Drive (between the football press box and Ludwig Field) approximately two hours before kickoff and is led past fans gathered along the street to the football complex by the Maryland band and cheerleaders.

Dinner with the Turtles

Most Maryland football games are replayed on Comcast SportsNet every Sunday evening at 7:30 p.m. Fans can also tune in at 7:00 p.m. Sundays and catch the Ralph Friedgen Show.

Once more this season, the date and time will change for the show and replay -- Miami (Tuesday, 11/14, 7:00 p.m.).

Fans can also see game highlights by tuning in to FridgeTV on the UMTerps.com website every week.

Players Mentioned

Lance Ball

Rick Costa

Trey Covington

Isaiah Gardner

Joey Haynos

Erin Henderson

Darrius Heyward-Bey

Keon Lattimore

Dre Moore

Jeremy Navarre

Danny Oquendo

Dave Philistin

Josh Portis

Andrew Schmitt

Jordan Steffy

Isaiah Williams

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