The Skinny on the Sked

I wanted to wait until all the Monday games concluded, just to make a point. Here is a rundown of how all of Maryland’s opponents fared this weekend:

Saturday: Middle Tennessee State; Lost vs. Troy, 31-17
Troy running back DuJuan Harris ran for 148 yards and scored three touchdowns. Da’Rel Scott might be able to run all over the guys from Murfreesboro this Saturday in prime time. The MTSU quarterback did not play all that bad. Joe Craddock completed 20 of 32 passes and threw for 200 yards. He completed a 46-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.
NEXT: vs. Maryland

Sept. 13: California; Won vs. Michigan State, 38-31
Quarterback questions consumed training camp in Berkeley, but Kevin Riley has shown he is the man. Riley threw for 202 yards and two second-half touchdowns. Nate Longshore, who was beaten out in camp but promised some playing time by Jeff Tedford, threw two bad interceptions, including one into quadruple coverage that was returned for Michigan State’s first score. The Bears should not be tested much this Saturday.
NEXT: at Washington State

Sept. 20: Eastern Michigan; Won vs. Indiana State, 52-0
Poor Indiana State walked into a buzzsaw in Ypsilanti. This one was a bloodbath, and more indicative of the program at Indiana State, which has lost 15 straight games. The dude to watch on Eastern Michigan is Terrance Blevins, who ran for a career-high 176 yards and scored two touchdowns. The Eagles amassed 637 yards of total offense. Most interesting thing about this game was that the first four letters of opposing quarterbacks were the same: Schmidtke and Schmitt.
NEXT: at Michigan State

Sept. 27: at Clemson; Lost vs. Alabama, 34-10
A Tommy Bowden special to rev up the season. All that hype, all those headlines. And, splat! Down go the Tigers, against a middle-of-the-pack school from the SEC. Here is what you need to know: Alabama outrushed Clemson 239-0, the fewest rushing yards for the Tigers since minus-1 yards against BC in 1947. Clemson had the ball for just 18:33. Ouch.
NEXT: vs. Citadel

Oct. 4: at Virginia; Lost vs. Southern Cal, 52-7
USC tossed around the Cavaliers like a rag doll. UVA was nothing more than a tune-up for the Trojans in their preparation for Ohio State in two weeks. USC outgained UVA 555-187 in total yards. Seven different players scored USC touchdowns. Let’s move on, shall we.
NEXT: vs. Richmond

Oct. 18: Wake Forest; Won at Baylor, 41-13
It may not be saying much, but there was not another ACC team that looked as sharp as the Demon Deacons last weekend. Jim Grobe’s squad should be now considered a perennial challenger for the league crown, particularly this season. A commanding victory at a Big 12 school is nothing to scoff at. Quarterback Riley Skinner threw three touchdown passes and completed 27 of 36 passes for 22 yards. Wake also forced five turnovers and held Baylor to 250 total yards.
NEXT: vs. Mississippi

Oct. 25: North Carolina State; Lost at South Carolina, 34-0
Nice way for ACC teams to kick the season off, huh? State has now been shut out in consecutive games, dating back to last season, for the first time since 1956. USC quarterback threw four interceptions and got benched, and it did not matter one iota. State quarterback Russell Wilson suffered a Grade 3 concussion and was carted off the field.
NEXT: vs. William & Mary

Nov. 6: at Virginia Tech; Lost vs. East Carolina, 27-22
Well, Frank Beamer knows a little something about blocked punts, but this time he got burned by one, and it led to one of the biggest upsets of the season’s first weekend. Sean Glennon threw two interceptions, and the decision to try to redshirt Tyrod Taylor may not work in the end.
NEXT: vs. Furman

Nov. 15: North Carolina; Won vs. McNeese State, 35-27
This was a mixed bag for the Tar Heels, who had to rely almost solely on the play of Brandon Tate. A school-record 397 all-purpose yards by Tate helped UNC win. Tate had an 82-yard punt return and a 57-yard catch. The 397 yards were the second most in ACC history.
NEXT: at Rutgers, Sept. 11

Nov. 22: Florida State; No game
NEXT: vs. Western Carolina

Nov. 29: at Boston College; Won vs. Kent State, 21-0, in Cleveland
First game with no Matt Ryan? Smooth sailing. Quarterback Chris Crane, a fifth-year senior making his second career start, ran for two touchdowns and basically played almost error free football. Kent State’s Eugene Jarvis, the nation’s leading returning rusher from last season, finished with 51 yards on 11 carries. Kent State was bothered by BC’s pass rush all night.
NEXT: vs. Georgia Tech