For the third year in a row, Maryland and Georgia Tech will face each other in a Thursday night ESPN game, as both teams put their longest winning streaks of the season on the line in Atlanta tonight. The Terrapins have won the last two meetings.
Maryland (5-2, 2-1 ACC) has put the memory of a 0-2 start behind them as they continue to creep up the ACC ladder, moving into the second spot following Virginia's weekend loss. Though at the time of their games with the Terps, Northern Illinois was less than a blip on the national radar screen and Florida State was not yet "Florida State" again, both Maryland losses came to teams now in the top-10 of the latest BCS standings.
Georgia Tech (4-3, 2-2 ACC) welcomes a surging Terrapin squad into Bobby Dodd Stadium in what will be a homecoming of sorts for Maryland coach Ralph Friedgren, who spent nine seasons as offensive coordinator for the Yellow Jackets before righting the ship in College Park in 2001.
"Georgia Tech has always been good to me," Friedgren said. "But this is a business trip. They are not going to be nice to me, and I am not going to be nice to them."
A pair of youngsters will lead the Yellow Jackets in trying to spoil Friedgren's business trip to Atlanta. Sophomore tailback P.J. Daniels has rushed for over 100 yards in each game of Tech's three-game win streak. Daniels trails only Virginia running back Wali Lundy for the ACC rushing lead, grinding out 89 yards per game.
Lining up under center is six-foot true freshman Reggie Ball, who has shone above the rest of the ACC rookie class in his seven starts this season. Ball, a Georgia native, has been named ACC Rookie of the Week four times. He has earned the honors three times during the current streak, a span during which he has completed 53.6 percent of his passes for 616 yards, four touchdowns and only two interceptions.
Not willing to hand over the reigns as go-to guy just yet is senior wide receiver Jonathan Smith, who currently stands above all other receivers in the conference with 103.6 yards per game. Although undersized for his position at 5-foot-10, Friedgren's former player is a superior athlete who has taken snaps at quarterback and running back in his Yellow Jacket career.
After seeing Smith light up the Demon Deacons with seven catches for 194 yards, a touchdown and two receptions of more than 50 yards, Wake Forest cornerback Eric King stated the obvious.
"We knew that Jonathan Smith was a good player," King said. "We just wanted to contain and stop him. We only managed to do that occasionally."
Despite the bright spots on the offensive side of the ball, Georgia Tech remains mired in the cellar of total offense in the ACC, producing a paltry 310.0 ypg. Licking their chops are the Terrapin defensive players, who have shut down opposing teams to the chord of 294.7 ypg, good enough for second in the conference.
Terp sophomore linebacker Shawne Merriman leads the ACC in sacks with six, and has combined with junior defensive linemen Kevin Eli and Randy Starks for 13.5 sacks -- by far the most of any trio in the conference.
Maryland quarterback Scott McBrien leads a well-balanced attack (201.2 rush ypg, 246.2 pass ypg) that often gives the Terrapin defense an early cushion. In 12 of the last 16 games for Friedgren's squad, the offense has scored on their first possession. Contrastingly, the Tech defense has stifled first possession 37 games in a row.
A Georgia Tech victory would generate a swap in the conference standings with Maryland, and would also bring Virginia into a tie at No. 2 with the Yellow Jackets for at least two days. After close defeats to Florida State and Clemson, there is no doubt the Cavaliers are hoping it's not business as usual for Friedgren and the Terrapins.
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