Countdown to Game Day Begins

Finally, it is game week, everybody.

We’re less than a week away from finding out how this young Maryland team stacks up against a 12th-ranked California team that believes it can play for the national title. This stands as a supreme test for a Maryland team that lost 30 seniors from last season’s wildly inconsistent 8-5 team.

Maryland Coach Ralph Friedgen has been enthused by his team’s effort through three weeks of summer camp, so much so that he canceled Saturday’s late-afternoon practice. Earlier in camp, Friedgen called off a Friday practice and took the squad to the movies.

“When have I ever done that?” Friedgen said.

How this all translates on the field remains to be seen. This remains one of the nation’s youngest teams, and several players will be seeing their first extensive action Saturday night on national television.

“I have never done some of the things I have done in this camp,” Friedgen said. “ We only practiced 28 times. I have 29 practices, and usually use all 29. They have given everything they have got. When I see that, it influences me and how I feel. They sometimes have a bigger influence on me than I do on them.”

In terms of player effort, Friedgen called this camp one of the best in his career at Maryland, perhaps the best overall.