Maryland travels to Virginia for a 3p kickoff this Saturday.
Virginia is experiencing a down year so far with a 2-4 record. The Wahoos have lost 4 in a row, the latest is a 25 point lose at Duke. Sources close to the team say that head coach Mike London (in his 3rd year) is having trouble with the loss of the former coach’s recruits and blending in his own recruits. A parenthetical “well you know the 3rd year is always the hardest”.
After what the Terps went through with Randy Edsall last season, I think my vote is in for the 1st year being the hardest. There may be some truth to the 3rd year in a coaching tenure at the college level being difficult. I remember the Ralph won right away with the players left in Terpland by Ron Vanderlinden. Then Ralph had to retool the team with his own recruits around the 3rd year in College Park.
Maryland and Edsall will not have the 3rd year swoon as so many players are already gone from the team Randy inherited from Ralph.
Virginia has already tried switching quarterbacks, gone to the air more than the ground (before the season started the Hoo’s run game was thought to be the strength of the team) and made other adjustments. They are now looking at the Maryland matchup as their bowl game. This is not a good sign if you are a Virginia fan or player. You do not want your bowl game in October.
As for Maryland – it is time to get the offense going. The defense is ranked in the top ten, the offense is ranked near the bottom. All the young stars are on offense and except for Stefon Diggs, they have not performed as well as hoped. This week, tailback Wes Brown is out with an injured shoulder. The offensive line is not getting it done and Perry Hills is taking a pounding at quarterback. Is this the week we see the offense break out? Will Devin Burns get some snaps at quarterback as he is far more mobile than Hills.
Tune in at 3p to find out.
The Show
On the Show tomorrow (Saturday) morning at 8a (on the Internet at www.terptalk.com or the AM dial at 1580) Bruce will be discussing Maryland Madness which is the tip off to basketball season. The event is tonight at Comcast Center at 7p. Free to the public.
Of course there will be a pre-view of the Terps v UVA football, a recap of #1 Maryland Soccer at Duke (also a Friday night event) and some baseball talk. We may even have a little bit on RGIII and the Redskins taking on the Vikings.
Other Sports
Love to see both the O’s and the Nat’s getting to game 5 of their series. It keeps the hope alive of a Washington v Baltimore World Series.