College Football Nation: Maryland

Maryland coach Randy Edsall told reporters on his weekly Sunday teleconference that he has "been through this before."

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Randy Edsall
AP Photo/Gail BurtonAt 2-7, it's been a difficult season for Maryland coach Randy Edsall.
Kind of. Sort of. Not really.

In response to a question about moving the team and program forward despite what has turned into a lost cause of a season, Edsall said:

"I've been through this before," Edsall said. "I know how to handle it. I know what to do. There is no panic. It was like this the first year when we put the team together in Jacksonville. ... It's Connecticut all over again, 13 years ago. Jacksonville Jaguars all over again. It's going to Boston College when we were there. I've been through all of this. This isn't earth-shattering. It doesn't have me discouraged. I have a vision of what we're going to do and I know we're doing things the right way."

If the "right way" is backwards, than maybe.

Edsall's comparisons aren't only distorted, they're way off-base.

There simply is no comparison between a Maryland team coming off a nine-win season, a bowl win, and a No. 23 ranking in the final Associated Press poll, and a Connecticut program about to transition to Division I-A. Jacksonville was an NFL expansion team. BC was coming off four straight losing seasons. Maryland was a bowl team in four of the past five years.

Edsall is right in that he has coached his way through tough situations in the past, but in this case, he coached his way into one.

Vote: Capital One Impact Performance

October, 4, 2010
10/04/10
10:32
AM ET
Time once again to vote for the Capital One Impact Performance of the weekend.

Here are your nominees:
  • Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson has 494 yards of total offense and five touchdowns in a win over Indiana.
  • Virginia Tech's David Wilson returns a kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown against NC State.
  • Pittsburgh running back Ray Graham runs for 277 yards and three touchdowns in a win over FIU.
  • Maryland's Tony Logan returns a punt 84 yards for a touchdown to spark a comeback win over Duke.

Non-AQ predictions: Week 1

September, 2, 2010
9/02/10
9:37
AM ET
It’s the most wonderful time of the year -- college football season. Watch as I put on my picking cap and make my supremely awesome predictions for 12 selected games involving non-AQ teams.

Now, on to the picks!

South Carolina 24, Southern Miss 14. We know Weslye Saunders is out for the Gamecocks, but we're unclear about anybody else. Southern Miss coach Larry Fedora said his team didn’t pay attention to the distractions. With those players or not, South Carolina is simply too talented, especially on defense. Southern Miss goes into the game with just three returning starters on offense.

Pittsburgh 21, Utah 17. The Utes won the last meeting in the Fiesta Bowl in 2005. But this time around the Panthers have Dion Lewis, and he should make the difference -- especially against a defense that only returns four starters.

Northern Illinois 28, Iowa State 27. One of the best teams in the MAC will pull the upset behind the legs of Chad Spann.

Minnesota 31, Middle Tennessee 20. If Dwight Dasher was playing in this game, I would have called for the upset. But the Blue Raiders aren’t going to be the same with Logan Kilgore at quarterback.

Washington 35, BYU 21. The Huskies break their 12-game road losing streak behind the arm and legs of Jake Locker. BYU has had problems against quarterbacks like Locker in the past. The two-quarterback rotation for BYU is going to be a work in progress.

Colorado 21, Colorado State 10. Both teams essentially have coaches on the hot seat, and quarterback uncertainty. While the Rams won the meeting last year, they go into this game with a freshman starting at quarterback in Pete Thomas. Only two first-time starters at quarterback have won this game for Colorado State.

SMU 44, Texas Tech 40. Upset indeed. Kyle Padron should have a big day and break the Mustangs’ 13-game losing streak to Texas Tech.

Navy 30, Maryland 10. The Midshipmen have the real deal in quarterback Ricky Dobbs, who should pose all sorts of problems for the Terrapins defense. Maryland gave up over 200 yards on the ground four times last season.

TCU 24, Oregon State 20. TCU is 9-2 against AQ teams in its past 11 games. Andy Dalton is eager to erase the memories of his Fiesta Bowl performance. The defense should be able to slow Jacquizz Rodgers down enough to limit his impact.

Fresno State 35, Cincinnati 34. The Bulldogs controlled the ball in their game last year and ran for 290 yards. Ryan Mathews is gone, but Robbie Rouse hopes to get the running game going. Fresno State lost that game because Cincinnati was able to score and score quickly on a defense not used to seeing the spread. The Bulldogs should be improved there, and that will make the difference.

Tulsa 27, East Carolina 17. G.J. Kinne, Damaris Johnson and the Golden Hurricane offense are going to be too much for the rebuilding Pirates to handle. Tulsa starts the season on the road for the third straight year but that might not be such a bad thing in this case. The home team in this series has lost three straight.

Drumroll please …

Boise State 21, Virginia Tech 20. The Broncos squeeze this one out on the strength of their offense, and their much improved defense. Darren Evans and Ryan Williams will get their yards, but their big games will be limited thanks to the great tacklers Boise State has in the open field -- Winston Venable and Jeron Johnson. Boise State will be able to take advantage of a Virginia Tech defense that lost seven starters, including three on the defensive line.

Posted by ESPN.com's Heather Dinich

There's a lot more than pride at stake this month (unless you're NC State). Boston College is playing for bragging rights and bowl eligibility today against Notre Dame while everyone else fights it out. With the way things are going, it won't be impossible for a three-loss team to wind up in the ACC championship game. Still, that's a scenario everyone would obviously like to avoid.

Here's a look at who's got what left to gamble with in the ACC:

  • Maryland can still win out and win the Atlantic Division.
  • The pressure is on in Tallahassee, though, for Florida State to do the same. If the Noles beat Clemson today and Wake Forest loses to Virginia, their outlook will be much brighter.
  • It's hard to imagine, but technically, Clemson is still in it. The Tigers need a lot of help, but if Maryland and Wake Forest continue to lose and Clemson wins out, it's not impossible. They're also playing for Dabo Swinney's job.
  • Both Georgia Tech and North Carolina must win today, which is obviously impossible, so one of their chances at winning the Coastal Division will take a serious hit today. Just like last week, when Maryland moved up in the standings just by watching during its bye week, Miami could do the same today.
  • Wake Forest got some help from Maryland's loss, but the Demon Deacons still need the Terps to lose again. Oh, and they have to beat Virginia today, not to mention their remaining league games. Both Wake and UVa are playing for bowl eligibility today.
  • The Cavaliers, on the other hand, also have no margin for error today. Because of their loss to Miami, they now need the Hurricanes to lose a conference game.
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