Virginia Cavaliers at Maryland Terrapins Preview

By Chuck Bednar  |   Friday, September 30, 2005  |  Comments( 0 )

College Football
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With all of the national hype surrounding the Hokies of Virginia Tech, the No. 19 Virginia Cavaliers would like to remind college football pundits across the country that there are, in fact, two excellent football programs in the state of Virginia. They enter Saturday's noon game in College Park, Maryland looking to make a statement at the expense of the 2-2 Maryland Terrapins.

The Virginia Cavaliers are one of two undefeated teams in the ACC's Coastal Division, with the other being the aforementioned Virginia Tech Hokies. Yet, while their in-state and conference rivals are a consensus top five team, Virginia finds themselves ranked behind six one-loss teams in the latest Associated Press poll. Early on, one of the reasons for their low ranking might have been the inconsistent play of senior QB Marques Hagans, who tossed five interceptions in the school's first two games. He went a long way towards silencing critics by throwing for four touchdowns without being intercepted in last weekend's match-up with Duke.

True, the Blue Devils may not be a football powerhouse, but their defense allows fewer yards per game on average than does Maryland's. The question is, how will the Maryland Terrapins manage to slow down a Virginia offense that averages more than 400 yards and 30 points per game? Perhaps the unit showed signs of improving, because one week after allowing more than 300 yards rushing to the West Virginia Mountaineers, Maryland's defense held Wake Forest to just 244 total yards last Saturday. They also forced a pair of fumbles, one of which was returned by junior CB Josh Wilson for a touchdown. If Wilson and senior LB D'Qwell Jackson can help this defense reach their potential, the Terps offense is capable of putting points on the board. This one may be closer than the experts think.
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