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Likely? Not at all, but here is my prediciton for the Terps football team in 2010.
9/6 Navy-W
9/11 Morgan State-W
9/18 at West Virginia-L
9/25 Florida International-W
10/2 Duke-W
10/16 at Clemson-L
10/23 at Boston College-L
10/30 Wake Forest-W
11/6 at Miami-L
11/13 at Virginia-W
11/20 Florida State-L
11/27 N.C. State-W
Granted I could be totally wrong and the Terps could run the table but I don’t think this will be the best of seasons when the best-case scenario I see for Maryland is 7-5. I know that might seem overly optimistic for a team that went 2-10 last year but it is possible if you look at each game individually.
The Navy game, at least before the season starts, seems to be the biggest contest of the year. If Maryland can pull off a Labor Day victory in Baltimore, it could help kick the season off quite well. I am assuming the Terps will beat Morgan State at home, lose at West Virginia and take care of FIU in College Park on Sept. 25. Finishing the first month of the season with a 3-1 record would be a big success for Ralph Friedgen's squad.
The Terps’ schedule, at least at the beginning, is much more favorable than last year. In 2009, Maryland started with Cal and lost 52-13. The Terps then beat James Madison 38-35 in OT, lost 32-31 to Middle Tennessee State, and were bested by three touchdowns by Rutgers, 34-13.
After starting 1-3, Maryland beat Clemson at home and then lost seven straight. I don’t see either of those things happening again. The experience gained last year has to be worth something but Maryland was chosen to finish last in the Atlantic Division so a 7-5 season does not seem to be what many others believe will happen.
Presumably most of the other teams in the ACC look at Maryland as a likely win but I have to believe the Terps can snag a few wins in-conference. Chalking up Duke and Virginia as victories is far from a sure thing but let’s just go with it for now. Wake Forest isn’t expected to be anything special this year and Maryland always gets one surprising ACC win each year so I’ll make that one the season finale against N.C. State at home. All of a sudden 7-5 seems possible.
Of course my prediction of a five-win improvement is all predicated on massive improvements on all sides of the ball but to me it seems possible. Of course, a four-win season looks to be possible as well.
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