FanHouse WestVirginia

The NIT's an easy target for ridicule (as you'll see when some team wins it and the clever "We're #66!" headlines make their annual appearance), but I'm choosing to be a glass-is-half-full guy about it. The teams on the wrong side of the NCAA bubble are, in many cases, playing some very good basketball.

Mississippi State found a way to bottle up future lottery pick Al Thornton, and whooped Florida State by 15. It wasn't so much a bottling up, actually, as just finding a way to keep him off the floor. Thornton got in early foul trouble and played just 22 minutes.

For their trouble, they'll get to play West Virginia, who beat NC State in Morgantown, 71-66. Senior Frank Young had 25 in his last game at the Coliseum, burying threes in peoples' grills all night long. He set the record for career three-pointers by a Mountaineer, and got a pretty nice compliment from NC State's Gavin Grant, the poor sap assigned to guard him:

"I'm in his shirt and he still made one," Grant said of Young. "They made big, crazy shots. They deserved to win."

The Bulldogs and Mountaineers will meet next Tuesday at the Garden (time still to be determined). The other two quarterfinals, Syracuse vs. Clemson, and Air Force vs. DePaul, are tomorrow night.

I was right. Don't be too surprised; it happens often. After Maryland's win against Florida State, they were in the receiving votes portion of both the AP and the ESPN rankings. If they beat Clemson -- big if -- I believe they will receiver a ranking.

Once again, the game will be televised on ESPN2 Saturday morning. (I believe noon is still the morning on a Saturday.) The Terps are a double digit underdog going into the game. That's OK thought. It's fine with me. As long as the Terps have been undogs, they've shown up. In fact, I'll be worried when they do get some national attention. Even though it was televised, the win over FSU didn't really get the Terps much press outside of the Maryland area. Hell, during the game, Florida State was the story, even as they were getting beat by Maryland.

That being said, this is the biggest game of the Terps season to date. I've said that a lot, I know. I've said that about Georgia Tech and West Virginia, both which resulted in losses. Those were the only ranked teams the Terps played all year, and if they want to be considered a legit team, they'll need to beat some ranked teams. Since Clemson is a ranked team and have been billed as the best team in the ACC for awhile -- if it's true, I don't know -- this is now Maryland's biggest game of the season. Third time the charm, Maryland?

Clemson won't be an easy win by far. Maryland will be on the road, where they Terps have struggled mightily this year. Clemson is coming over a rough loss -- aren't all losses rough? -- on the road against Virginia Tech so we can be sure they'll be looking to release some aggression.

Coach Ralph Friedgen has said that the team's goal is more than six games. He also believes that a two loss team can make the ACC Championship game -- both reported on his press conference you can watch on FridgeTV.com. A loss to Clemson wouldn't kill the Terps, but a win could do so much. A win would probably get them a ranking, a thought that was preposterious just four weeks ago. A win would get them national recognition as a legitimate team. And a win would let them at least preserve the three way tie for first in the Atlantic division. Now all they have to do is beat Clemson. That can't be that hard, right? (It can.)

It wasn't easy, but last night, Maryland got it's second win against Florida State ever and made it two in a row at home against them. Of course it wasn't as meaningful as 2004 when FSU was ranked #5. However, this year, the win put the Terps at six wins total and bowl eligible. Plus it was on national TV, making up for their humiliation earlier this year at West Virginia. So how was it done?

Maryland's defense was still better this week than it had been in the first few weeks. It wasn't as good as last week, but it was good. Their corners couldn't cover 6'6" Greg Carr, but their run game was effective when needed to be. When Bobby Bowden elected to go for it on a fourth and one, defensive end Jeremy Navarre busted through the line and made the tackle behind the line. It resulted in good Maryland field position and the next drive lead to a TD. That play was so big that defensive coordinator Chris Cosh flipped on the sideline.

The defense did cave at some points. However, one FSU drive for a TD happened was a result of their incompetence. When driving in Maryland territory on third down, Maryland stopped them close to the line of scrimmage and the play was over. But then the refs called FSU on a false start and the Seminoles got the play over. The defense didn't recover that drive and the Seminoles scored. It was followed by an offensive three and out. I know the o-lineman jumped, but the play was run when false starts are called before the snap. That touchdown made the game 27-21.

Maryland is starting to finally get some recognition as a football program again. Of course, they aren't ranked. They shouldn't be. They're not even getting those additional votes that ESPN will show you below the rankings. They shouldn't be getting those either. However, ESPN has given them another shot not to get their arse's whipped on national television.

Maryland is winning the game they should, which they have all year since their two losses are to ranked programs, and that scored them the 7 PM game on ESPN2 next Saturday. That's right, people. The Terps are back in prime time! For all you displaced Maryland fans like myself, you know longer have to sit in sports bars where you can't really hear the game.

This is a must win game if the Terps want any national respect. The last thing the nation remembers was that thumping West Virginia delivered the Terps week three on ESPN. But since then, they've been competitive in every game and lost only one game that went down to the wire against Georgia Tech. They're now 5-2 and 2-1 in the ACC and ESPN is giving the Terps another chance. This is the perfect game for the Terps. Even though Florida State is only a shadow of what it was just a couple years ago, their name still carries enough weight so it will be impressive if the Terps beat them. It's in College Park so it's a winnable game for the Terps.

If they win, they probably won't be ranked, and once again, they probably shouldn't be. But they'll probably start getting those "additional votes." Only with a win over Clemson and some Top 25 losses can the Terps sneak into a ranking. So let's not think about anything but earning back that national respect that would come with beating Florida State. This is a perfect time for Maryland to change their image again and remind the world that they're a football team that should be taken seriously.

The latest BCS standings were released minutes ago and I'm more confused than ever. As expected, Ohio State stays at number one followed by Michigan and USC. I don't think anyone is surprised that Michigan jumped the Trojans. They have been far more impressive than USC.

What is a surprise is that West Virginia jumped Auburn. I'm not saying they shouldn't. In fact, I don't disagree with them being ahead of the Tigers at this point in the season. They are undefeated and play in a surprisingly competitive Big East Conference. With Louisville and Rutgers still left on the Mountaineers schedule, they'll have a chance to justify their lofty ranking.

I admit being shocked last week when Auburn was fourth in the first BCS standings. Beating second-ranked Florida was huge and jumping to seventh in both the Coaches and Harris polls led me to believe the Tigers would fall somewhere around there in the BCS.

I want to apologize to my readers -- reader? -- because I've been slow as of late. However, at the same time, so has Maryland football. We are amongst the most boring five weeks of football we can find, with three cupcake games -- games that really weren't as sweet as cupcakes -- and one trip behind the woodshed care of West Virginia. Some teams had real games the first week such as FSU vs Miami and Georgia Tech vs. Notre Dame.

Next up after this bye week, where hopefully the Terps will work out a lot of kinks -- or rebuild the machine, which ever they feel is a better idea -- Maryland will have to travel into Atlanta to play Georgia Tech. Tech is arguably one of the Top 3 teams in the ACC this year. The only teams that might be better are Virginia Tech and Clemson. FSU is over rated and Miami is finally out of the Top 25.

So what can we expect from this game in two weeks? Well, both Maryland and GT are 3-1, but Tech did it with style. They beat Samford, Troy, and Virginia, all teams that aren't anything to brag about. Their sole loss is to Notre Dame, and they only lost by four. Maybe they could have won if they didn't buy into the Irish hype like the rest of the nation.

Unfortunately for the Terps, the Yellow Jackets have to travel into Blacksburg to face #11 VaTech this week. If they get dealt a loss, whether it be humiliating or tough, they'll come back home looking for a game to release their frustration. That team is Maryland. Maryland hasn't really impressed anybody yet this season, including myself, and I'm sure Georgia Tech isn't going to be scared.

I'll be discussing this game and further games during the bye week -- hell, there isn't much else to talk about. This game is big for the season. If the Terps want shake off the impression that they are mediocre at best, they'll have to win this game. If they're content with what the few people who do think about them do think about them, then they can go into this game and play the way the way they've played the rest. Unimpressively.

We're going to have to wait a while to see.

I don't think people are listening to my bandwagon plea. I think Maryland fans are already giving up on the Terps. I wasn't at the game, but the Diamondback's Steve Whyno was and he did a good job of running a live journal. He mentions that the fans wondered in late, left before half time, although the Terps only had a touchdown lead, and the fans booed the team multiple times after an interception and a three and outs.

The fan's angst is understandable. Everyone, including myself, was expecting the Terps to roll into Byrd Stadium today and release their frustration from West Virginia all over Florida International. Instead, the game went to the very last play, when Maryland's Christian Varner intercepted what could have been a game winning pass from the Golden Panthers.

14-7 at halftime isn't a big deal. Many times these games open up in the second half. Instead, Maryland was shut down -- shut down -- in the second half of the game. There was some offensive line mix ups, with guard Stephen Heyer leaving for some of the first half and Donnie Woods leaving for most of the second. But these excuses shouldn't matter. The Terps need to go out and put it on teams like these. I don't care what Ralph Friedgen says about this team having really talented players. Big universities always say that about the smaller schools before they crush them. Maybe the Fridge was just making excuses early because he knew the trouble his team has. An ESPN360 announcer mentioned that the Golden Panthers had one of the best defenses in the country. That may very well be true, and I hope it is, but Maryland needs to show they can function on both ends of the ball.

One of the bright spots was Josh Allen, who scored a touchdown on a screen pass and hauled in a nice 21 yard catch. Hopefully, he's getting closer and closer to where he was. He was excellent at his prime.

The defense did their job well. To hold any opponent to 10 points is good. They gave the offense and chance to win, although they gave up a huge touchdown play. Big plays should not be tolerated like that. They also made it too close at the end than they should have. Otherwise, they did well.

I understand fans frustartions. For the first four weeks, we get weak games against AA teams and one humiliation dealt out by West Virginia. Now we have a bye week before we even get into ACC play. This is been one of the most boring first five weeks in college football. Hopefully, the Terps will use that week off to start fixing some things. If not, it's going to be a long season that's not going to get any more entertaining.

I suppose you've noticed that I haven't posted in about 24 hours. After such a loss last night, I know you're worried. What happened to Kyle? Is he depressed? Has he run into hiding? Should we call the cops?

Well, I thank you for all your concerns. The outpour of all your cards and letters meant so much to me, but do not worry. After I posted my blog last night about the loss, I was so distraught, I locked myself in my room and I meditated for 24 hours. I used my training from my year in Tibet with the monks and focused on nothing -- that's the trick to meditating. About 15 hours into the meditation, which I skipped work for, I reached Nirvana. It was then, and only then, I came to terms with the Terps humiliating loss last night.

I am glad that John Radcliff, the AOL West Virginia blogger, is a nice guy. If I had to listen to him really rub this in, I have probably cried myself to sleep tonight. Hell, I probably still will. The Terrapins were fully out matched against #5 West Virginia. The Mountaineer offensive line owned Maryland's defenders. The different formations confused them. I was impressed with how well they ran the ball out of the shotgun. They didn't throw at all the first two drives and still manhandled the Terps. The ESPN analysts were explaining how that shot gun formation gives the offensive line time to block the linebackers as well as the defensive lineman, and it sure worked. West Virginia is national championship worthy, and Maryland is an average team at best.

Steve Slaton ran wild over the Terps, like Hulkamania ran wild in the early 90s. He had the help of the entire offensive line, and no one seemed to be able to tackle him. He didn't even seem like he was doing it out of spite. He's just that good. If he went to Maryland, he probably wouldn't be the number one guy the entire time. Slaton had a better opportunity at WVU, and damn did he use it.

The Terps didn't help their chance with those dumb turnovers. There was the first lateral turn fumble in the first kick return, which game the Mountaineers beautiful field position. When Maryland scored its first TD, it was 28-7, but they often moved the ball well against WVU. Imagine if they scored on that first drive that never happened because of the fumble. It would have been 21-14 and a real game with a different feel. It's true that you just cannot turn the ball over against good teams.

Enough is enough. I've read as many articles as possible about Steve Slaton and the #5 Mountaineers, Sam Hollenbach and the questionable Terp offense, Maryland kickers and Pat White. I'm thankful that this is a Thursday game because two more days of this, and it'd have been on overkill. This can be the biggest game of Maryland's season, and it's not even a conference game. It's a rivalry game though, and those are often just as important. So I'm going to do my final thoughts on this game. I'll be at work before the game so I won't be able to cover any last minute adjustments.

This game features an underdog Maryland traveling to a raucous Morgantown to face the #5 team in the nation. That doesn't spell victory for the Terrapins, as the 16 point spread might show. However, rivarly games never turn out the way the analysts predict. Rivarly games end up to be close ones no matter how the two teams are ranked. I don't expect the Terps to lose by 16. In fact, if they won, I wouldn't be completely shocked -- let's say, pleasantly surprised.