Saturday, Sept. 29

Maryland (2-2, 0-1 ACC)

at

No. 10 Rutgers (3-0, 0-0 BIG EAST)

Kickoff: 3:30 p.m. (ET)
Location: Piscataway, N.J.
Stadium: Rutgers Stadium

TV: ABC - Terry Gannon (play-by-play), David Norrie (color analyst) and Quint Kessenich (sideline reporter) will call the action.

Radio: Terrapin Sports Radio Network - Johnny Holliday (play-by-play), Jonathan Claiborne (color) and Tim Strachan (sidelines) have the call. XM Satellite Radio Channel 191. Pregame with Gary Stein and Scott McBrien begins at 2 p.m. The Terrapin Sports Radio Network (10 affiliates): LIVE 105.7 FM (WHFS) - Baltimore (Flagship); ESPN Radio 1300 AM (WJFK) - Baltimore (Flagship); WJFK 106.7 FM - Washington D.C.; WTBO AM 1450 - Cumberland; WFMD AM 930 - Frederick; WARK AM 1490 - Hagerstown; WMSG AM 1050 - Oakland; WQMR FM 101.1 - Ocean City; WMED 1460 AM - Easton; WPTX 1690 AM - Lexington Park, Md.

In the Red Zone...
• The University of Maryland goes out of conference Saturday to face nationally-ranked Rutgers, after opening Atlantic Coast Conference play last weekend with a heart-breaking 31-24 overtime loss to Wake Forest. Kickoff from Rutgers Stadium is set for 3:30 p.m. ET and the game will be televised to a regional audience on ABC. The Terps will look to snap a two-game skid against the Scarlet Knights, who have opened the season 3-0. The Terrapin Sports Radio Network will handle the broadcast of the matchup with pregame starting at 2 p.m. The game will be replayed at 7:30 p.m. Sunday on Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic.
• Maryland is led by the second-ranked defense in the ACC as the Terps allow just 298.2 yards per contest. That mark also ranks 21st nationally. The pass defense, which is allowing 142.8 ypg, is first in the ACC and ninth nationally. Junior linebacker Erin Henderson is the Terps' top playmaker. He is among the top tacklers in the league again, ranking third in stops and tied for 14th in the country (11.0 pg). He has led the team in tackles each game this season. He ranked second in the ACC and 31st nationally in tackles (8.8 per game) in 2006. The junior is a preseason All-American and on the watch lists for the Nagurski Trophy, Bednarik Award and Butkus Award. Junior LB Dave Philistin, a first-year starter, is second on the squad in tackles (24). Senior tackles Dre Moore and Carlos Feliciano lead the rush defense which is allowing 156.0 yards per game. Moore has also tallied a pair of sacks. Junior cornerback Kevin Barnes, in his first season as a starter, is tied for first in the league in interceptions (0.75 pg). He has three of the team's six interceptions.
• The Terps offense is led by a solid ground game, which features senior backs Lance Ball and Keon Lattimore. Lattimore ranks second in the ACC and 32nd nationally in rushing (102.3 ypg), and has tallied a league-high seven rushing TDs. Maryland's 161.2 rushing yards per game ranks third in the ACC. Ball matched his season high with 56 rushing yards vs. Wake Forest. Sophomore WR Darrius Heyward-Bey, a member of the 2007 Biletnikoff Award watch list, leads the team in receptions (14) and receiving yards (197). Senior guard Andrew Crummey, a preseason All-American and candidate for the Lombardi Award and Outland Trophy, headlines the offensive line which has three new starters. Junior quarterback Jordan Steffy is in his first year as a starter after taking over for two-year starter Sam Hollenbach. Steffy ranks seventh in the ACC in passing efficiency (119.6 rating) and first in completion percentage (69.6).
• The Terps special teams has distinguished itself well after four games despite three new starters. True freshman Travis Baltz took over for Adam Podlesh at punter and junior Obi Egekeze replaced Dan Ennis as the place-kicker. Baltz ranks ninth in the ACC in punting average (39.6) and is coming off his best game. He averaged a career-best 44.7 yards per punt vs. Wake Forest. Eight of Baltz's 23 punts have gone inside the opponent's 20-yard line. Egekeze, meanwhile, has hit 3 of 4 field goals, with his lone miss coming from 52 yards out. Redshirt freshman Da'Rel Scott, a backup running back, saw his first career action Saturday, serving as the kickoff return specialist where he averaged 25.2 yards on four attempts. Junior Danny Oquendo is lone returning specialist. He ranks eighth in the ACC in punt return average (8.0 ypr).
• Maryland owns a 4-3 advantage in the all-time series with Rutgers, but the teams have not met since the 1942 season. Rutgers, a member of the BIG EAST Conference, are in the midst of five-straight home games to open the season, though they are coming off a bye week. The Scarlet Knights rank in the top 10 nationally in both total offense and defense. For the Terps, Rutgers is their second top-10 opponent of the season. Maryland is one of just five teams in the country to face two teams ranked that high in the polls.

Quick Hitters...
• The Terps are facing their second top 10 team in the past three weeks. It marks the first time since 2004 and only the second time over the last eight years that Maryland has played a pair of top 10 teams in the same season.
• Maryland's last victory over a team ranked in the top 10 came in 2004, when the Terps defeated the No. 5 ranked Florida State Seminoles 20-17 in College Park.
• The Terps have won 12 of their last 16 games versus non-conference opponents.
• Maryland is 8-5 under Ralph Friedgen in non-conference games on the road or at neutral sites.
• Lance Ball needs 110 yards to become the ninth back in school history to reach 2,000 career rushing yards. He also needs just 23 yards to move into the all-time top 10 in rushing yards.
• Keon Lattimore needs seven yards to reach the top 20 on the Maryland career rushing yards chart.
• The crowd of 53,107 vs. West Virginia (Sept. 13) was the fifth largest all-time at Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium. Four of the top 14 crowds at Byrd Stadium have watched Maryland play West Virginia, including the last three times the Mountaineers have visited College Park. (2007, 2005, and 2003).
• Three true freshmen - P Travis Baltz, OL Bruce Campbell and DB Dominique Herald - have seen action so far this season.

Rutgers at-A-Glance...
• With a 3-0 start to the 2007 season, Rutgers has now won 14 of its last 16 games dating back to the start of last year.
• Rutgers enters Saturday's game fresh off a bye week. In its last action, Rutgers shut out Norfolk State 59-0, after the Scarlet Knights scored 42 points in the second quarter.
• Rutgers ranks ninth in the country in total offense with 525.3 yards per game. The Scarlet Knights have been equally adept at moving the ball through the air (297.0 ypg) and on the ground (228.3 ypg). • The Knights are averaging 46.00 over their first three games, the 11th best figure in the country.
• On the defensive side of the ball, Rutgers has held opponents to only 215.3 yards per game, the third lowest total in the NCAA. • Rutgers also ranks sixth in the country in scoring defense at 9.0 points per game.
• Heisman Trophy candidate Ray Rice hasn't done anything to hurt his cause yet. Through three games the junior running back is averaging 143.67 yards and has scored nine touchdowns. His 18 points per game places him atop the national leaderboard for scoring.
• Quarterback Mike Teel owns the best passing efficiency rating in the country (236.7 rating). The junior is completing nearly 67 percent of his passes, and has eight touchdowns to only one interception. • Junior wide receiver Tijuan Underwood, ranks fourth in the NCAA in receiving yards per game (166.7).
• Under Coach Greg Schiano, Rutgers has been transformed into a top 25 team. Schiano has led the school to consecutive bowl berths for the first time in its history.
• Last year, the Scarlet Knights finished 11-2, marking only the second time in 137 years of football they had finished with 11 wins or more.
• Schiano was named the BIG EAST and national coach of the year for his work last season.

Maryland-Rutgers Series History...
• Saturday's game will mark the first meeting between the two teams since Oct. 10, 1942 when the Terps downed the Scarlet Knights 27-13 in a game played at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium.
• Maryland owns a 4-3 edge all-time in the series. The Terps are 1-3 all time at Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights have never played in College Park.

Offensive Notes...
• Maryland has done an excellent job holding the ball and keeping it away from their opponents. The Terps are second in the NCAA in time of possession, holding the ball for an average of 34:16 minutes per game.
• In the first quarters of games this season, Maryland is outscoring its opponents 36-10.
• With seven touchdowns on the season, running back Keon Lattimore has now more than doubled his season total from each of the last two seasons (three).
• In his last six games, stretching back to last season, Lattimore has rushed for 613 yards (119 vs. Wake Forest, 85 vs. Purdue, 106 vs. Villanova, 111 vs. FIU, 80 vs. WVU, and 112 vs. WFU.).
• At 10.50 points per game, Lattimore is currently the second leading scorer in the ACC, and is tied for 18th in the NCAA.
• His 102.25 rushing yards per game rank second in the conference and 32nd in the country.
• In each of his last three games against Wake Forest, Lattimore has set a season-high in rushing yards. As a sophomore in 2005, Lattimore ran for 76 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries, for what was a career high at the time. Last season he set a new career high with 23 carries for 119 yards and a score. Against Wake Forest last Saturday, Lattimore ran for 112 yards on 27 carries. He has more career yards against Wake Forest (307) than any other team.
• When Lattimore finished with 111 yards on 12 carries against Florida International in week two, he became the first Terrapin back to open the season with back-to-back 100-yard rushing games since Bruce Perry opened with five straight 100-yard games in Maryland's ACC Championship season in 2001. Lattimore now has five career 100-yard rushing games (119 vs. Wake Forest and 114 vs. Virginia in 2006, 106 vs. Villanova, 111 vs. FIU and 112 vs. WFU in 2007).
• Prior to the FIU game, Lance Ball was the last Maryland player to record back-to-back 100-yard rushing performances when he did it in three straight games in 2005 (at Florida State, at North Carolina, Boston College).
• Sophomore wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey has caught a pass in each of the Terps last 16 games, the longest active streak on the team. He has led the team in receiving yards in seven of those contests (Georgia Tech -111, Florida State - 57, Miami - 175, Purdue - 81 in 2006), including the first three games this season (Villanova - 81, FIU - 48, and WVU - 56). • Heyward-Bey is currently tied for 12th in the ACC in receptions per game (3.50) and ranks 12th in receiving yards per game (49.25).
• Quarterback Jordan Steffy has been efficient and accurate while directing the Terrapin offense. He is 64-of-92 (69.6 percent) for 604 yards on the year. His completion percentage of nearly 70 percent leads the ACC.
• In his first four games as a starter, Steffy owns a pass efficiency rating of 119.60, which ranks seventh in the conference and 71st in the NCAA.
• Against Villanova, Keon Lattimore also caught six passes for 33 yards, giving him 139 total yards, the second highest total in his career. His career best was 151 yards which came in a 28-26 win over Virginia last year.
• Maryland's dynamic tailback duo of Lattimore and Ball combined for 1,558 yards last season, and have hit the ground running to start 2007. Through four games this year, the pair have combined for 606 yards rushing and nine touchdowns on 129 carries. Lattimore and Ball were one of just five running-back combos in the nation last season to collect over 700 rushing yards apiece.
• In his first game as a collegiate starter, Steffy completed 19 of 24 passes (79 percent) for 174 yards and one interception. The junior's debut was the most efficient effort by a Maryland quarterback starting his first career game since Brian Cummings completed 83 percent of his passes in a 1995 win over Tulane to open the year.
• Heyward-Bey picked up where he left off last season catching six passes for 81 yards against Villanova, the third highest total of his career. The wideout twice went over 100 yards receiving last season en route to earning freshman All-America honors.
• One of the foremost offensive minds in the collegiate or pro game, head coach Ralph Friedgen is in his second season as the Terps' offensive coordinator.
• Steffy has plenty of skill players to choose from this season as pass-catchers who accounted for 97 percent of the receiving yards return as do rushers who tallied 94 percent of the yards on the ground.
• The Terps return their top seven receivers from a year ago, and lost only three players who even caught a pass in 2006.
• Joey Haynos and Dan Gronkowski form one of the top tight end duos in the nation. Each has started at the position. In fact, even though Haynos was the second-leading receiver on the team in 2006, Gronkowski started more games in the Terps' two-tight end set. Gronkowski opened nine contests, while Haynos started six. Gronkowski, considered the better blocker, had just two catches, though he should see more opportunities in the passing game this season. Haynos is a member of the Mackey Award watch list.
• The Terps return just two starters (C Edwin Williams at center, RG Andrew Crummey) on the offensive line, but still have quite a bit of experience. LG Jaimie Thomas played in all 13 games last season, starting three, while Dane Randolph played in 11 games, mostly at right tackle. Randolph started four games there including the Champs Sports Bowl game. Starting left tackle Scott Burley has played in each of the last three seasons, including eight games as a sophomore in 2005. Junior Jack Griffin, meanwhile, who is penciled in as the No. 2 right tackle, redshirted last season, but did see action as a freshman and sophomore, though that came on the d-line. Griffin is also the primary backup at right guard, while junior Phil Costa serves as the reserve center and left guard. Friedgen considers the Terps to have seven starters along the o-line due to the skill and versatility of this group.
• The Terps' returnees accounted for 28 of their 30 touchdowns a season ago.
• Crummey has started a team-high 32 games, while Williams' 17 consecutive starts lead the offense. Williams is the only offensive returnee to start all 13 games in 2006.
• Sophomore Josh Portis, who was second on the depth chart at quarterback, was ruled ineligible for the year, just prior to the season opener. Sophomore Chris Turner, who was second on the depth chart with Portis for much of preseason camp, serves as Steffy's primary backup and has played in two games this season.

Defensive Notes...
• The Terps' defense ranks No. 2 in the ACC (298.8 yards per game). The Terps are also No. 21 in the nation in total defense.
• In their first two games of the year, the Terps held back-to-back opponents below 200 yards of total offense for the first time since 2003. In that year, Maryland held The Citadel to 137 yards of total offense in a 61-0 win, and then limited West Virginia to 156 in a 34-7 win the following week.
• Prior to West Virginia, the Terps had not allowed the opposing team to rush for 100 yards in three straight games (Purdue, 21 yards, Villanova, 12 yds, FIU, 82 yds.).
• Maryland's pass defense has been stout thus far, allowing only 142.8 yards per game by opponents, the ninth best figure in the nation, and the best in the ACC.
• After totaling eight interceptions all of last season, the Maryland defense has recorded six already this season through only four games. The Terps picked off Wake's Riley Skinner three times in Saturday's game. The last time Maryland intercepted three passes in a game was Oct. 20, 2005 against Virginia Tech. Against Wake, Kevin Barnes, Isaiah Gardner, and Erin Henderson all had picks.
• For Barnes, it was his third interception of the season. The corner, who is in his first season as a full-time starter, is tied for first in the ACC in interceptions per game (0.75), and is tied for ninth in the country in that category.
• Henderson, the Terps active career leader in tackles with 158, has again led Maryland in stops in each of its first four games this season. The junior had nine tackles in the season opener against Villanova and eight against FIU, with one tackle for a loss in each game. Against West Virginia he totaled 11 stops, including 2.5 tackles for loss. In Saturday's loss to Wake Forest, he tied a season-high with 12 tackles, including 1.5 for a loss. It was his ninth career game with double-digit stops. He led the team in stops in five of the Terps 13 games a season ago. Henderson is the returning starter at weakside linebacker, where he tallied 8.8 tackles per game last season, second most in the ACC.
• Henderson is currently tied for 14th in the NCAA in tackles per game (11.00) and 19th in tackles for loss per game (1.50). He is the third-leading tackler in the ACC.
• The four sacks of Villanova quarterback Antwon Young in the season opener were the most by Maryland since posting the same number vs. NC State last season (Oct. 21). Senior Dre Moore had a pair of sacks for 13 yards, setting a new career high. He currently ranks tied for 11th in the ACC and tied for 83rd in the nation in sacks (0.50 pg). The senior had 3.5 sacks all of last season.
• One area of strength for the Terrapins in preseason camp was the defensive line, where the Terps return Moore and fellow senior Carlos Feliciano, as well as juniors Mack Frost and Jeremy Navarre. Frost consistently drew praise from Friedgen for his work in preseason practice, while the head coach has stated that Moore is playing the best football of his career.
• Six Terrapin defenders have started more than 12 career games for Maryland and two (Trey Covington and Christian Varner) have started more than 20. Covington has started 25 of the last 26 games at LEO, a hybrid linebacker/defensive end position, while Varner has started 27 of the last 28 at safety, including a team-high 26 straight.
• In the season opener versus Villanova, Dave Philistin got the starting nod at middle linebacker, marking the third consecutive season the Terps have opened the year with a different Mike from the year before. Wesley Jefferson, who manned the middle for the Terps a year ago after replacing D'Qwell Jackson in 2006, graduated early to pursue a career as a state trooper. Jefferson was second on the team in tackles in 2006. Chase Bullock entered the fall No. 1 on the depth chart and remained there until an injury forced him out of the lineup.
• Phillistin is second on the team in tackles with 24 and has also broken up two passes on the season.
• Maryland has had at least one defensive player drafted into the NFL in each of the last 11 seasons, and 17 defensive players overall in that time span, including cornerback Josh Wilson last season. Of the Terps defenders selected, 11 have gone in the first three rounds, including first round picks Chad Scott (1997) and Shawne Merriman (2005).
• Varner and Isaiah Gardner are the only two defensive returnees to start all 13 games last season. Jefferson was the only other defender to start each contest in 2006.
• The Terps suffered a major loss in the preseason when LB Alex Wujciak injured a knee during a practice. He had ACL surgery at the end of August and should return next season. The redshirt freshman was expected to play LEO and possibly at Mike.

Special Teams Notes...
• In punter Adam Podlesh and kicker Dan Ennis, the Terps never had to worry about their special teams last season. Podlesh was a four-time All-ACC punter and two-time semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award, while Ennis connected on 20 of 25 field goals last season. Ennis tied for ninth nationally in field goals per game (1.54) in 2006.
• The Terrapins tapped place-kicker Obi Egekeze and punter Travis Baltz at the start of the season to replace their sensational specialists from 2006, and the early returns are solid. Egekeze has been near perfect in his first season on the job. Through three games Egekeze is 12-for-12 on PATs, and 3-for-4 on field goal attempts. His lone miss came on a 52-yard attempt against FIU. The ball had the distance but sailed left.
• Baltz, a true freshman, has been solid thus far in his brief Maryland career. After averaging 43.0 yards on two punts against Villanova, Baltz averaged 37.9 yards on nine punts against FIU, but pinned the Golden Panthers' inside their 20-yard-line on five of his nine kicks. The five punts inside the 20 were the most by a Maryland punter since Brooks Barnard had six in Ralph Friedgen's first game as head coach, a 23-7 win over North Carolina in 2001. Baltz's nine punts were the most by a Maryland punter since Adam Podlesh booted the ball 11 times in a 13-3 loss to NC State in 2004.
• Against Wake Forest, Baltz had perhaps his best game as a collegian, punting six times for 268 yards, a 44.7 average. He recorded one punt for a career long of 54 yards, and put two balls inside the 20-yard line.
• Egekeze and Baltz will attempt to live up to the Terps' lofty standards. Maryland has a strong history of special teams play in the Friedgen era. Podlesh, as well as Barnard and former kicker Nick Novak, moved on to the NFL. Although Egekeze served as a kickoff specialist last season, neither he nor Baltz had attempted a kick in a game prior to the 2007 opener.
• When Baltz entered the Villanova game in the second quarter, he became the first true freshman to start an opening-day game for the Terps since defensive end Jeremy Navarre in 2005, and only the second of the Ralph Friedgen era.
• The Terps have some big shoes to fill at kick returner as Josh Wilson has taken his game to the NFL. Wilson ranked third in the ACC (11th nationally) last season in kick returns (27.3 ypr) en route to setting a single-season school record for return yards (847). Backup running back Da'Rel Scott got a shot at returning kicks against Wake Forest and responded with 101 yards on four returns, including a long return of 39 yards. Reserve safety Terrell Skinner, who moved from wide receiver in the spring, opened the season as the primary kick returner, and has averaged 18.5 yards on six returns.
• Maryland is fortunate to have the sure-handed Danny Oquendo back to handle punt return duties. Last season, Oquendo ranked eighth in the ACC and 53rd nationally in return average (8.4). Through two games this season, Oquendo has averaged 8.0 yards on seven returns. His average places him eighth among ACC players and tied for t-64th in the NCAA. Christian Varner will serve as Oquendo's backup to start the season.

Homecoming...
The Terps have 15 players on the roster from the state of New Jersey - RB Lance Ball, RB Dan Bonato, LB Jeff Clement, OL Phil Costa, LB Rick Costa, OL Joe Faiella, DL Carlos Feliciano, DB Dominique Herald, OL Bearthur Johnson, WR Tony Logan, WR Danny Oquendo, DB Antwine Perez, LB Ben Pooler, WR Isaiah Williams and LB Alex Wujciak.

Opening up the Offense...
• Entering Saturday's game, Maryland had totaled eight plays of 20 yards or more on the season. Against Wake Forest they had four. Keon Lattimore and Darrius Heyward-Bey had runs of 25 and 54 yards, respectively, while tight ends Dan Gronkowski and Joey Haynos had receptions of 26 and 20 yards.
• Heyward-Bey had touchdown receptions of 65 and 96 yards last season, but his 54-yard run against Wake Forest was the longest rushing attempt of his career.

Select Company...
• Ralph Friedgen's 50 wins as Terps' head coach ranks tied for second in Atlantic Coast Conference history among coaches in their first six years. Danny Ford of Clemson posted 51 from 1979-84 and Dick Crum of North Carolina (1978-82) also tallied 50.
• Though he was the top second-, third- and fourth-year coach in ACC history by wins, Friedgen's five-year win total (41) fell short of the mark of 44 victories set by Clemson's Danny Ford from 1979-83. That mark tied him for second with former Terrapin great Jerry Claiborne (1972-76) on the list. Claiborne holds the league's seven-year mark with 58 victories.

Terps Own Nation's Longest Streak...
• In special teams coach Ray Rychleski's seven years, Maryland has had three punters (Brooks Barnard, Adam Podlesh, and Travis Baltz), two long snappers (Jon Condo and Andrew Schmitt) and zero blocked punts. In fact since the Wake Forest game in 1999 (Oct. 9), only three players (Barnard, Podlesh, Baltz) have started at punter.
• The Terrapins' streak without a blocked punt goes back 89 games, now the longest streak in college football.
• The Terps have not had a punt blocked since Nov. 13, 1999 (Florida State). That amount of time became the longest in NCAA football when Georgia had a punt blocked by Ole Miss last season, snapping a streak which began earlier in the 1999 season.

Terps Tough Road Last Season...
• The Terrapins road back to a bowl game last season was a challenging one, as their schedule was one of the toughest in the nation. The Terrapins played five teams ranked in the AP Top 20 at the time of the game (West Virginia, Georgia Tech, Clemson, Boston College, Wake Forest). • Eight bowl teams were among the 12 teams on Maryland's schedule last season. The Terps closed their 2006 schedule with five straight bowl teams.

...And it Doesn't Get Any Easier...
• In 2007, the Terps face seven teams that played in bowl games a year ago (West Virginia, Wake Forest, Rutgers, Georgia Tech, Clemson, Boston College, Florida State).
• The Terps' three-game stretch from Sept.13 through Sept. 29 may be one of the hardest in the country. In consecutive weeks, the Terps played host to West Virginia to College Park (ranked No. 4 in both polls), traveled to defending ACC champion Wake Forest, and head to New Jersey to face Rutgers (ranked No. 10 in both polls).
• Prior to the start of the season, SI.com had the Terps' schedule ranked 24th-most difficult in the country.

The Henderson Linebacker Legacy...
Junior Erin Henderson will look to continue his own legacy this season. Henderson is the younger brother of E.J., who was a consensus All-American at linebacker for the Terps in 2001 and 2002. Erin and his brother posted comparable numbers as sophomores. Erin totaled 114 total tackles in 2006, while E.J. posted 109 in 2000. Now Erin, a preseason All-America pick by Playboy, is looking to have an explosive junior season similar to his brother's. E.J. burst onto the national scene with 150 tackles and 28 tackles for loss in 2001, as Maryland captured the ACC title. Henderson leads the team in tackles (44) and is on pace to post well over 100 stops this season. • In 2006, Erin Henderson averaged 12.4 stops over the last five regular-season games, and recorded six double-digit tackle games on the season, including a career-high 17-tackle effort versus Clemson.

Steffy Takes the Reins...
• Recently anointed starting quarterback Jordan Steffy has had to fight his way through more than just competition to climb to the top of the depth chart. A highly touted prospect out of Leola, Pa., Steffy played in six games as a freshman in 2004 and showed potential, before injuries derailed his career. He suffered a concussion against Virginia Tech, and a torn meniscus the next month. In April 2005 he survived a near-fatal car accident, and in July of that year he had surgery on his biceps, as a result of overthrowing. After a redshirt season and a year as the back-up quarterback, Steffy has finally claimed the starting job.
• Friedgen on Steffy - "He knows the offense very well and he's a very instinctive player. He's also a leader on the team. One of the things I like about him is that he's patient. He'll take the check down."
• Steffy demonstrated poise and excellent decision making in the Terps off-season scrimmages. In the three scrimmages of spring practice, he threw for 376 yards, with three touchdowns and no interceptions on 30 of 47 passing. He finished with 19 completions on 26 attempts for 165 yards and an interception in the team's final summer scrimmage.
• Steffy has started the season by completing 69.6 percent of his passes, which ranks first in the ACC. He also ranks seventh in the league in passing efficiency (119.6).

Lempa Looking to Pick Up Terps' Secondary...
• The newest addition to the Terrapin coaching staff is secondary coach Kevin Lempa, who came to College Park after four seasons with Boston College. Last season, Lempa's Eagles intercepted 21 passes, almost triple that of the Terrapins secondary. The 21 picks were tied for third most nationally.
• The Terps have already picked off six passes after collecting just two in the first four games of 2006. Maryland had eight interceptions all of last season.
• Two of Lempa's defensive backs at Boston College - cornerback DeJaun Tribble and strong safety Ryan Glasper - were All-ACC performers last season, a fact that bodes well for his Terrapin defenders this season.
• Lempa has a pair of returning starters (S Christian Varner and CB Isaiah Gardner) in the secondary and a number of other speedy, talented youngsters. Junior CB Kevin Barnes opened the season opposite Gardner, while senior J.J. Justice steps into the free safety role manned by Varner last season. Varner moved to strong safety prior to the spring. Barnes and Justice are both veterans of the system. Sophomores Anthony Wiseman and Nolan Carroll and senior Colin Nelson are others who will vie for time at cornerback this season. Junior Richard Taylor was expected to compete for a starting spot, but injured his knee toward the end of the spring and is out of action in the early portion of the season.

In the Books...
There are currently two players in the two-deep - LEO Jermaine Lemons and TE Dan Gronkowski - who have graduated. Lemons is pursuing another degree and Gronkowski is in grad school. There are also 12 players on the roster, including seniors Lance Ball, Andrew Crummey, Isaiah Gardner, Joey Haynos, Brendan McDermond, Dre Moore, Chris Roberts and Christian Varner, as well as juniors Obi Egekeze, Matt Goldberg, Erin Henderson, and Richard Taylor, who are expected to graduate by December. In addition, all 15 seniors on the roster are on track to graduate by August, 2008.

Getting One Back...
Scott Burley, who took over the starting left tackle spot in the spring, has earned another year of eligibility. Burley entered the preseason as a senior, but due to ankle and back woes last season, the Baltimore native is now a junior. He was granted another year by the NCAA toward the end of August.

By The Numbers...
0...Career collegiate starts by the Terps' three quarterbacks entering the season.

1...Jordan Steffy ranks first in the ACC in completion percentage (69.6).

2...The Terps are one of just five teams in the nation (Washington, Washington State, East Carolina and Middle Tennessee State) to play two top 10 teams this season. They are also one of only three (East Carolina and MTSU) to play two in non-conference action.

2...The Terps rank No. 2 in the nation in time of possession, holding the ball an average of 34:16 per game.

2...Keon Lattimore is the first Maryland back to open the season with consecutive 100-yard games since Bruce Perry in 2001.

3...Number of interceptions for cornerback Kevin Barnes this season, tied for the most in the ACC. The Terps had eight picks as a team all of last season. Erin Henderson and J.J. Justice led the team last year with two apiece.

7...Number of 2006 bowl teams on this year's Maryland schedule.

7...The Terps return their top seven receivers (in terms of receptions) from last season.

9...Maryland's nationally ranking in pass defense, out of 119 schools. The Terps are allowing 142.75 yards per game through the air, which is also the best mark in the ACC.

10...Number of broken tackles by Keon Lattimore in the season-opening win over Villanova.

26...Christian Varner has started a team-high 26 consecutive games.

32...Andrew Crummey has started a team-high 32 games.

34.8...Percentage of Travis Baltz's punts which have landed inside the opponents' 20-yard line (8 of 23).

44...Erin Henderson's total number of tackles this season, tied for 10th most in the NCAA.

50...Ralph Friedgen posted 50 victories in his first six seasons, which has been eclipsed by just one other head coach in ACC history. Danny Ford of Clemson had 51 in his first six seasons.

79...Jordan Steffy completed 79 percent of his passes in his first career start, a mark which ranks No. 7 on the Terp's all-time single-game list.

110...Rushing yards needed by Lance Ball to reach 2,000 in his career.