COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The University of Maryland football team passed its first test last Saturday when it beat Delaware 14-7 in its season-opener. This time around, however, an entirely different challenge awaits the Terps.

Maryland (1-0) practiced Thursday afternoon for the final time before traveling to Murfreesboro, Tenn., to face Middle Tennessee State (0-1) Saturday in the Terps' first road game of the 2008 season. And neither head coach Ralph Friedgen nor his team are taking the matchup with the Blue Raiders lightly.

"This is a game I worry about quite a bit," Friedgen said. "It's going to be a different environment. Even though you talk about it everyday, I hope we're ready to play when we go there. [The Blue Raiders] will be fired up. This is their Rose Bowl."

As with Maryland, Middle Tennessee State's offense features multiple quarterbacks who complement one another with their skill sets. Senior signal-caller Joe Craddock, who passed for 1,259 yards and 12 touchdowns a year ago, completed 20 of 32 passes for 200 yards in the Blue Raiders' season-opening loss to Troy. Sophomore signal-caller Dwight Dasher added 1,148 passing yards last season, but he also demonstrated an ability to run, recording 530 rushing yards in 2007.

"Dasher also plays wide receiver, so essentially there are a lot of times when they have two quarterbacks in the game," Friedgen said. "They do a lot of trick things with that...They've got some speed and some skill guys. I'm concerned about their speed."

An array of young but talented skill players surround Craddock and Dasher. Defensively for the Blue Raiders, Trevor Jenkins headlines an opportunistic defense from his tackles position. MTSU accounted for 66 sacks and 183 tackles for loss the previous two seasons.

For the Terps, junior quarterback Chris Turner will start under center while senior Jordan Steffy is sidelined with a thumb injury he suffered during the win over Delaware. Fellow junior Josh Portis will serve as the No. 2 signal-caller.

"It's like I said when I was the backup - I said I'd be ready for anything, and here I am now," Turner said.

Turner and his teammates practiced for more than 90 minutes under stifling conditions Thursday afternoon, making use of artificial noise to simulate the sound of a hostile crowd.

Maryland's defense proved victorious during a series of two-minute drills at the end of the Thursday's practice, as defensive lineman Jeremy Navarre and linebackers Moise Fokou and Adrian Moten each registered sacks to thwart scoring drives.

Place-kicker Obi Egekeze ended practice by booting a 38-yard field goal attempt through the uprights.

Following practice, Friedgen announced the captains for Saturday's game. Fullback Cory Jackson, defensive back Kevin Barnes and wide receiver Danny Oquendo - who also returns punts - will represent the Terps offensive, defense and special teams' units, respectively.

Friedgen also named tight end Drew Gloster and linebacker Hakeem Sule his scout team players of the week for their performance in practice leading up to the showdown with the Blue Raiders.

Offensive lineman Jack Griffin will carry the American flag onto the field Saturday, and defensive back Jeff Allen, a graduate of DeMatha High School in Hyattsville, Md., will bring the Maryland flag. The Terps started the practice of carrying the flags onto the field last week.

Kickoff for Saturday's game a Middle Tennessee State is set for 7 p.m. ET at Floyd Stadium.

The game will be telecast regionally on the Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast (CSS) and heard over the Terrapin Sports Radio Network. Locally, Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic will air the contest. In addition, the game can be seen on ESPN360.

Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic will replay the game at 7:30 p.m. Sunday.