Maryland primed for showdown against No. 5 West Virginia

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - There is an air uncertainty surrounding the Maryland football team, which thus far has provided no evidence that it is capable of defeating an elite opponent on the road.<br> <br> The Terrapins are 2-0, but their victories neither of which was particularly impressive were at home against Division I-AA William Mary and unheralded Middle Tennessee State.<br> <br> ``It&#39;s two wins,&#39;&#39; coach Ralph Friedgen asserted Tuesday, ``and I haven&#39;t seen a bad one yet.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> The competition gets a whole lot harder on Thursday night, when the Terrapins face No. 5 West Virginia on the road. The Mountaineers haven&#39;t played anyone of significance either, but they&#39;ve beaten Marshall and Eastern Washington by a collective 94-13 score.<br> <br> ``I&#39;m (eager) to see where our maturity is, how we handle the environment, handle the situation, how hard we play the game,&#39;&#39; Friedgen said. ``If we could win, it would do tremendous things for our confidence. This team is going to have to win a game like this to develop.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Although the Terrapins beat William Mary by 13 points, they were outscored in the second half. Middle Tennessee gained more yards than Maryland and dominated the clock before losing 24-10.<br> <br> Suffice to say the Terrapins are going to have to lift their level of play if they hope to spring an upset against a West Virginia team that is averaging 538 yards per game, including 353 on the ground.<br> <br> ``We&#39;ll find out Thursday night just where we&#39;re at,&#39;&#39; Friedgen said. ``Did we play to the level of our opponent, or are we better? I think we&#39;re better. In fact, I know we&#39;re better. I think sometimes we&#39;re tentative. We have to be aggressive, go after it and play the game the way it&#39;s meant to be played.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Can the Terrapins be competitive against some of the finest teams in the nation? The answer could come as soon as Thursday night.<br> <br> ``Going into a game of this magnitude, on a stage of this magnitude, it doesn&#39;t get any bigger than this. If you can go on ESPN Thursday Night Football and play against a top-5 school and play a (heck) of a game, what can&#39;t you do?&#39;&#39; Maryland cornerback Josh Wilson said. ``If we can win, this would mean a lot for our team, which is young. It would be a confidence boost. Then, we would know we can really compete in this nation.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Wilson shudders to think of the alternative.<br> <br> ``If we don&#39;t show any signs of life and go in there scared like a deer in the headlights, then what have we accomplished? Nothing,&#39;&#39; he said. ``It would be a step back from those two games that we won before. We need to go in there with confidence, and play like we know we can play.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Friedgen has yet to see the Terrapins dominate the opposition, so he has no idea what to expect on Thursday night.<br> <br> ``That&#39;s part of coaching,&#39;&#39; he said. ``One of the nice parts of coaching is you see the kids perform, see them grow, and you know you had a part of that. Of course, the disappointing part is when they don&#39;t do that.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Keon Lattimore, Maryland&#39;s leading rusher, believes the Terrapins benefited from their first two games and will be in top form against the Mountaineers.<br> <br> ``We didn&#39;t open up the whole offensive playbook, but we got some things done,&#39;&#39; he said. ``It&#39;s definitely going to test how good we are. If we can come out with this victory, it will definitely show the college football world we can play with a top-ranked team.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> (Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

http://accesswdun.com/article/2006/9/104532