Maryland Terrapins November 12th, 2011 6:30 CT, NBC at FedEx Field
Head Coach – Randy Edsall
Career Record – 76-77
- 74-70 in twelve seasons at UCONN (1999 – 2010)
- 2-7 in one season at Maryland (2011)
2010 Season (9-4)
| Opponent | W/L | MS | OPP |
| Navy | W | 17 | 14 |
| Morgan State | W | 62 | 3 |
| at West Virginia | L | 17 | 31 |
| Florida Internationa | W | 42 | 28 |
| Duke | W | 21 | 16 |
| at Clemson | L | 7 | 31 |
| at Boston College | W | 24 | 21 |
| Wake Forest | W | 62 | 14 |
| at Miami | L | 26 | 20 |
| at Virginia | W | 42 | 23 |
| Florida State | L | 16 | 30 |
| North Carolina State | W | 38 | 31 |
| MILITARY BOWL | |||
| East Carolina | W | 51 | 20 |
SERIES FACTS
The Fighting Irish lead the series 1-0.
STRENGTHS
- Fortitude – Despite winning only two games thus far in 2011, the Terps have given some good teams their best effort. Beating Miami, losing three very tough close match-ups against ranked teams – West Virginia, Georgia Tech, and Florida State.
- Holding on to the ball – Although Maryland has thrown 13 interceptions this season, when running with the football, the team has lost only three fumbles thus far. Maryland is averaging 4.7 yards per carry. Overall the team rushes for 162.1 yards per game.
- Field Goal Kicking – FG kicker Nick Ferrara is 11 of 16 for 68.8 % this season. He is 8 for 10 between 20-29 yards out. He is 3 of 4 between 30-39 yards out. He has missed twice between 40-49 yards away.
WEAKNESSES
- Rushing Defense - The Terrapins have allowed 2,098 yards this season on 429 rushing attempts. That is 4.9 yards allowed per carry and 233.1 yards per game. The opponents are completing 51 % of their third down opportunities, going 68 out of 133 tries.
- Scoring Defense – Maryland has given up 279 points in their nine games. That is an average of 31 points per game. You simply don’t win many football games doing that. Only one time have they held a team to less than 21 points in a game and that was Towson.
- Home game for the Irish – Even though the game is in Maryland, the Irish are the home team. It is supposed to be considered a neutral field game. The game is being held at FedEx field in Landover, Maryland.
GAME ANALYSIS
If Notre Dame doesn’t win this game big, then I think head football coach Brian Kelly has a lot of explaining to do. The Maryland head football coach Randy Edsall is a good coach, I was in the stands in South Bend when his UCONN team beat the Irish in OT. However, in his first season as the Maryland Terrapin leader, the kids just haven’t adjusted to his system yet. The Terps are just allowing way too many points and the defense certainly has a long way to go. Anything is always possible, however, if Maryland wins this football game, it would be one of the biggest upsets.
The Fighting Irish offense had its troubles last week against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. I look for an offensive explosion from the Irish this week though. Brian Kelly has been getting a lot of criticism for issues that simply should be under the radar, but people want to hold on to the old traditions that are Notre Dame. Field turf ? Why not, I’m tired of the divots that constantly fly from the current field. Even tiny Wake Forest has a Jumbotron. The band is revered but some noisy rock music is fine. So the coach blows a gasket, he hasn’t gone Woody Hayes yet.
PREDICTION
Maryland is not a good football team. Notre Dame is much better than its record shows. If Kelly doesn’t have an easy win tonight, then he is going to really start feeling the heat. But, he has to be given at least 3 seasons to show what he can do.
NOTRE DAME 38
MARYLAND 17
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