Is Maryland the New ACC Favorite?

This season in the ACC has turned out to be a major surprise for many teams.  Five weeks into the season, the Maryland Terrapins sit atop the Atlantic Coast Conference.  It is very surprising that the most inconsistent team in the conference has a chance to win the ACC title.

Coming into the season, the general consensus around the conference was that Clemson would go on to win the conference title and walk into an Orange Bowl spot.  With the most prolific running backs in the conference and the most dynamic defense, they seemed a sure thing put up 10 wins.

Even though the Tigers lost to Alabama, they were still favored to win the ACC. But after taking a 17-6 lead at home against the Terrapins and conceding 14 straight second half points, it might be time to write the Tigers off.

Maryland has let inconsistency define their season.  The Terps needed three quarterbacks to beat Delaware and then lost to Middle Tennessee State.  Then the week after the awful MTSU loss, the Terps rebounded to dominate No. 25 California in College Park.

I can't explain it, but the Terps play very well in College Park against ranked teams. Just ask Matt Ryan and Boston College last year.

After the California win, a typical Maryland team would just crumble against an average Eastern Michigan team.  But this season could be a new chapter for the Terps as they turned in one of their finest offensive performances of the season without the ACC's leading rusher, Da'rel Scott. 

This brings us to Week Five in the ACC.  The Terps were faced with a game they certainly had circled when the schedules came out—in Death Valley against a Clemson team that came off a 54-0 thrashing of South Carolina State.

The Terps defense looked terrible in the first half.  They were unable to stop Clemson's deadly running back tandem as the Terps conceded 17 points.  In the first half, the Maryland offense showed signs of life at times but had to settle for two field goals, in part due to false start penalties.

But Ralph Friedgen said something to his team at halftime.  Darrius Heyward-Bey provided the game's key offensive play with a 76-yard run to set up a Maryland touchdown.  Chris Turner was consistent all game for the Terps, and Da'rel Scott, in his first game back from an injury, ran for a score.

Maryland looked like a completely different team in the second half.  In fact, they looked much like a team that can win the ACC. 

The saying among Testudo's Troops is that Maryland will go only as far their quarterback takes them.  This season the Terps will be led by a more mature Chris Turner throwing the passes to arguably the best receiving corps in college football.

Darrius Heyward-Bey is a future first round draft pick.  At 6'3" and over 200 pounds with a 200-yard dash that ranks seventh-fastest in the world, he is the complete player.

Da'rel Scott at running back has certainly made the loss of Keon Lattimore and Lance Ball an easy transition.  Scott leads the ACC in rushing while averaging 5.6 yards a carry and has that big play capability the Terps lacked last year.

But the focal point of the Terps offense is most likely their experienced offensive line, which features four seniors and one junior.  They have made life easy for Turner and Scott in the backfield.

On defense, Maryland has shown they can stop some of the most prolific players in college player.  Before shutting down C.J. Spiller and company in the second half of the Clemson game, they held California's offense to its worst game of the season. 

With an easy road game at Virginia next weekend, the Terps should move to 5-1 and a much deserved spot in the top 25.  After the UVA game, the Terps will have a week off to prepare for a 25th-ranked Wake Forest team.  The Terps will have the Demon Deacons in College Park this season, where the Terps seem unbeatable.

Wake will have played Clemson the week before and could be worn out for a physical Maryland team.  During their abysmal loss to Navy, they looked like they wanted to even their impressive turnover ratio.  I'll expect Maryland to run the Demon Deacons out of town, especially after Maryland blew a huge lead last season on the road to Wake.

Aside from Wake, the Terps will only have to go to Blacksburg, Virginia to face the Hokies in their last real test of the season.  But Tech is not even in the Atlantic Conference.

Maryland has shown it can win against ranked teams in hostile ground by beating Clemson.  In addition, by losing to East Carolina earlier this year, Tech proved they are vulnerable. 

If this season plays out the way Ralph Friedgen and the Terps hope, they should enjoy a nice trip to South Florida with a spot in the Orange Bowl.

The only question is whether they can stay more consistent this season.  My answer would be yes after three straight convincing wins.

The Terps seem to have the focus to, at the very least, beat every ACC team.