COLLEGE PARK, Md. - On 22 occasions during the last 18 days, members of the Maryland football team have been pitted against each other in preseason practices. Now with the regular season little more than a week away, it has become clear the team is ready to take on a foe clad in colors other than Terrapin red and white.

Head coach Ralph Friedgen and his staff opted not to hold the third preseason scrimmage that was originally scheduled for Thursday, but that did not stop the players from expressing their eagerness to start playing meaningful football games.

"We go out there and it's supposed to be wrap-up, and they're tackling everybody all over the place," said Friedgen of the latest session. "I said, `If I had known this, we would've scrimmaged.'"

Just six practice sessions separate Maryland from its season opener against Delaware Aug. 30 at Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium. Despite dealing with fatigue as the end of preseason camp draws near, the Terps managed to create scrimmage-like conditions with their effort and intensity during practice Thursday afternoon.

The two-hour session began with positional drills, and the wide receivers practiced downfield blocking for each other following short passes into the flat. The drill paid off later in practice when wideout Ronnie Tyler threw a block to spring teammate Adrian Cannon for a big gain.

Fellow wide receivers Darrius Heyward-Bey and Torrey Smith both contributed circus-style receptions during the full-team portion of practice. Heyward-Bey adjusted his route to make a sliding 30-yard catch on an underthrown pass. Then toward the end of practice, Smith leapt high and beat double coverage to snare a 45-yard completion.

Friedgen was pleased with the performance of his wide receivers, but his current offensive focus remains on improving the running game, which must replace last season's dynamic duo of Lance Ball and Keon Lattimore.

"I thought offensively today we started to run the ball a little better, but it's still a long way from where it needs to be," Friedgen said. "That's my main concern right now, being able to run the football."

Defensively for the Terps, sophomore linebacker Alex Wujciak intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown and Baltimore native Hakeem Sule dove to pick off a pass during a coverage drill.

During a special-teams portion of practice, the team worked on punting from deep in its own territory, with Travis Baltz and Ted Townsley taking snaps from within the end zone. Defensive back Terrell Skinner surged into the backfield untouched to successfully block a punt.

In the latest in a series of rewards for his team's performance during preseason camp, Friedgen surprised the players Thursday evening by treating them to a trip to a movie theatre. The team also gets to sleep in Friday morning, as it was originally supposed to spend that time viewing scrimmage tape.

The Terps return to the practice field Friday afternoon for the second-to-last practice of the 2008 preseason. The team is scheduled to break camp Saturday evening and move into its regular season housing accommodations Sunday.

Terp Notes

Football Tickets on Sale: Season tickets for this fall's seven-game home slate start as low as $189 and are on sale through the Maryland Athletics Ticket Office. Single-game tickets went on sale last week. To purchase season or single-game tickets, call 1-800-IM-A-TERP or click here. The Terps open the season on Saturday, Aug. 30 (3:45 p.m.) when they play host to Delaware.