Two-A-Days: Maryland

The final day of two-a-days and the final team to review before the start of the season. The run through the schedule reveals that BC has a chance to post a winning record, even though it is a rebuilding year. To accomplish that they will need to go on the road and beat the team featured in our final session, the Maryland Terrapins.

Last Year: Seven wins for a team coming off a six win season would appear to be pretty good. Throw in a bowl win and it was a decent season for the Terps. On the other hand, clunkers against MTSU and Virginia made a potentially great season into an average one. Those two losses kept them from a good bowl and sent them to Boise to play on that hideous blue turf.

The issue for Maryland last year was the defense. They finished 10th in the conference in total defense and ninth in scoring defense. The pass defense was problematic all season. They finished 10th, allowing teams to hit over 60% of their attempts.

The offense also had trouble at times. In five games last season, the Terps failed to score more than 14 points, four of those were losses. They had the second worse turnover margin in the conference, which was the main issue in the games they struggled to score points. Confusion at the quarterback position was the biggest culprit. They never settled on a starter until Turner took over the job midway through the season.

Why They Could Be Better: They have finally stopped messing around with their quarterbacks and will go with Chris Turner as the starter. He has been great at times over the last two seasons. Now that he owns the job, expect a more consistent performance from the passing game.

The running game should be better. Da'Rel Scott and Cory Jackson may be the best tandem in the league. Davin Meggett adds a change of pace and depth to the running game. Scott ran for over 1,100 yards last year and was first-team All-ACC.

Why They Could Be Worse: The defense was not very good last year and they lose seven starters coming into this season. The two-deep will have eight underclassmen this year. They also will break in a new front four along with a defensive scheme. Don Brown takes over the defense from Chris Cosh.

The other area of concern is the offensive line. They will have three new starters and depth is a bit of a concern. Chris Turner has to be given time in the pocket to be effective. When he has time, he is as good as anyone in the league. Under pressure, however, he is as bad as anyone in the conference. So, trouble on the line could make a flashy offense very average.

What To Expect: For both teams, this game will be about the post-season. The Eagles will be looking to clinch another winning season and another bowl bid. Maryland will be in a similar spot, hoping to make a bowl for the second straight season.

Friedgen loves to have his quarterback attack soft zones. Like past games, expect Turner to throw the ball on every down, hoping to take advantage of mismatches. The Terps will not be able to put together long drives, but they have quick strike ability and will get some big plays against BC.

On the other side, BC should have success running the ball. Maryland is not going to be a physical team on defense and will have trouble getting of the field against BC. The game plan will be to wear down the defense and shorten the game with a heavy ground attack.

Prediction: In games between mediocre teams, the home field is critical. Maryland has the edge at QB and matches up well with BC. Maryland 28 BC 21