Author Archives: mdak06

Maryland Leaving the ACC for the Big Ten: Perspectives From a Terps Fan

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Unlike Conference Realignment Moves in the Past, Maryland Fans Aren’t Thrilled About Leaving for the Big Ten

(Editor’s note: Our resident Maryland fan, Chip, shared his perspective on the move over in the comments from Saturday’s initial story. I felt everything was so spot-on and well-put, however, that I felt it should be its own stand-alone post.)

This is a really abbreviated summary of how I see things:

The main reason this may happen from the Big Ten’s side is that they will get access to the D.C./Maryland markets with the Terps (and New Jersey/NYC with Rutgers). This, in my opinion, is the MAJOR OVERRIDING reason they want UMD and Rutgers. It not only gets them greater east coast exposure, but gets them much more money in carriage fees for the Big Ten Network.

Pros for Maryland:

  • The Big Ten pays out much more money per year than the ACC does (by quite a bit).
  • There might be better bowl games available.
  • The Big Ten is full of land-grant institutions, which Maryland is one of (not that I see that as a huge deal, but a similarity nonetheless).

Neutral:

  • Both the ACC and Big Ten have great academic institutions.
  • Both the ACC and Big Ten have decent Olympic sports (although the ACC may be better).

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After Losing Perry Hills to Injury, Maryland Forced to Evaluate Other Options

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With Another QB Lost for the Season, Where Does Maryland Turn Next?

Maryland‘s quarterback is out for the season with a torn ACL.

Again.

Back in August, the only veteran QB on Maryland’s squad, unquestioned starter C.J. Brown, tore his ACL in practice and was lost for the season. After a bit of a QB competition in camp, true freshman Perry Hills became the starter for the Terps. Quarterback-turned-wide receiver Devin Burns returned to his QB role and eventually ended up as the no. 2 QB on the depth chart. The plan had been for the other true freshman QB on the roster, Caleb Rowe, to redshirt for the year.

Last Saturday, Hills threw an interception near the end of the first half. During his attempt to make a tackle, he was blocked in the back, went down and badly twisted his knee, resulting in the second Maryland QB in three months lost for the season because of a torn ACL. Burns played most of the second half, and Rowe burned his redshirt in the last 30 seconds, nearly leading the Terps to a wild victory against NC State (which they would have had if not for a missed field goal).

So what happens now for the Terps?

Obviously, losing their starting QB again is not good. Hills had been the unquestioned starter ever since Brown went down. Now that he is out, the job will fall to either Burns or Rowe. While it is certainly not good for the team to be forced, yet again, to have a new starting QB, all hope is not lost for the season.

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Notre Dame’s Status as a “Semi-Independent”: Why it is Good for the ACC and Notre Dame

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Florida State vs. Notre Dame will be a great recurring game for the ACC.

By now, you know that Notre Dame will join the Atlantic Coast Conference as a partial member. They will not be joining the league for football, but have agreed to an arrangement in which the football team will play five games per year against ACC teams, and each ACC team will play Notre Dame at least once every three years. If the teams rotate evenly, each team will play against Notre Dame five times every 14 years.

According to reports, the Fighting Irish will give the ACC five weekends on which it is free, and the ACC will fill those spots with five teams from the conference. Effectively, the Notre Dame football team will have the status of a “semi-independent.” While the Irish will not participate in a conference’s football league, a conference will play a part in creating the team’s schedule.

What does this mean moving forward, both for ND and for the ACC? And why is it a good arrangement for both?

Notre Dame’s football team has typically been able to create a strong schedule as an independent. The team has also had a benefit virtually no other school has – an individual contract with NBC for all of its home football games. Given the popularity of Notre Dame as an opponent, they tend to have very little trouble creating their schedule.

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Maryland 36, Temple 27: Terps Hold On For the Victory After Owls’ Big Rally

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In His Second Start for Maryland, Perry Hills Looked Much More In Control as He Guided the Terps to a Win

Last year, Temple came to College Park and embarrassed Maryland at home. This year, the Terrapins went to Philadelphia, and while it wasn’t a blowout, the Terps did walk away with a win.

Looking at just the first half, it seemed as if Maryland was going to return the favor of delivering an embarrassing loss to the home team. After a sloppy first quarter which saw three fumbles between the two teams and one field goal per team, Maryland scored 23 points in the second (three TDs and a safety) and finished the half with a big 26-3 advantage.

Temple made some adjustments early in the second half, and they paid off; the Owls scored two touchdowns in the third quarter. Maryland managed to get a field goal in the third, but by the middle of the fourth, their lead was down to just two points (29-27). Thankfully, the Terps got back on track, and had an 11-play, four-plus minute drive that forced Temple to burn all of its timeouts and ended in a Maryland touchdown. The score put Maryland up by nine, which turned out to be the final margin after the defense stopped Temple from gaining a first down.

For Maryland, the results were mixed, but there was more good than bad …

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Maryland QB C.J. Brown Tears ACL, Will Miss 2012 Season

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Maryland Starting Quarterback C.J. Brown’s Injury Spells Doom for the Terrapins This Season

Maryland has seen its worst case scenario for 2012 come true. Its only QB with college experience, starting quarterback C.J. Brown, has been lost for the season due to injury.

Brown tore his ACL in a non-contact drill on Tuesday afternoon, and will miss the entire 2012 season. The other two quarterbacks that were behind him on the depth chart are both true freshman. Former starting QB Danny O’Brien was lost in the spring when he transferred to Wisconsin. Brown and O’Brien had split QB duties last year, but because of O’Brien’s departure, Brown was the unquestioned starter heading into camp. Now that he is sidelined, one of the true freshmen will be expected to start.

This is a serious blow for the Terps. While Brown may not have been as good a passer as O’Brien, he was extremely good with his feet. Even splitting time with O’Brien last year, Brown was able to set a Maryland rushing record for quarterbacks with 574 yards and had started five games. His teammates had also voted him to be one of the captains for the 2012 season, and he appeared to be quite ready to be one of the new leaders of the team. He had put on muscle in the off-season, worked on his accuracy, and was one of the fastest players on the entire team during drills.

With Brown out for the season, the expectations for the Terps will drop. Despite the 2-10 season from a year ago, there were signs that things were looking up. A new turf field had been installed, a good recruiting class was coming in (and a good one for 2013 is in progress), and the chaos of last season had been put behind them. Now that they will not have an experienced quarterback leading the team, it will be a much tougher road ahead. Continue reading →

Breaking News: Syracuse leaving the Big East on July 1, 2013

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It’s Official: Syracuse Will Join the ACC in 2013

The Big East and Syracuse announced today that they have reached an agreement on Syracuse’s departure from the Big East. On July 1, 2013, Syracuse will end its membership in the Big East and be free to join the ACC.

The announcement states that “In addition to other consideration, Syracuse will make a total cash payment to the BIG EAST of $7.5 million.” This amounts to only $2.5 million more than the exit fee at the time Syracuse announced its departure. It is also far less than what West Virginia paid to leave the Big East, although that is not surprising, given the substantially different departure timetables of the two departures.

Pittsburgh has not yet announced their departure date from the Big East. The university “will not be commenting on the news out of Syracuse, or on any developments in Pitt’s status in the Big East at this time,” according to a spokesperson (according to the Post-Standard report).

What Maryland’s Football Field Should Look Like

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The University of Maryland has been hard at work this offseason, digging up its football field at Byrd Stadium. Officials have confirmed that they are planning on using some form of synthetic turf instead of grass, but have not confirmed what it will look like yet.

One of the ideas that someone created and posted online is a black field that uses a texture that is known as “terraprint.” Terraprint, alluding to the Maryland mascot, is a print texture that looks like a diamondback terrapin.

While a black field could cause some issues (black uniforms on black turf isn’t so great for the TV cameras, not to mention the field could get quite hot), the terraprint idea is a good one.

But what if a terraprint field was a more traditional green?

Maryland Terrapins football fieldCould this be the new field for the Terrapins?

An announcement should be coming within the next few weeks. Fans of the Terps will be waiting.

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