Alright Soupers. Game 1 of the football season is upon us. I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty excited to finally see some Terps football after last season left a bad taste in all of our mouths after the offensive collapse against Oregon State, and the 3 tough winable games that our boys just could not get.
It’s a new year with a new Offensive Coordinator and some new and exciting players. I’m interested to see how Kenny Tate plays in our defensive backfield. What about Davin Meggett as our backup running back? He seems to have all the goods for a youngster. Of course the story of this team and perhaps what will define this season and maybe even Ralph Freidgen’s tenure in College Park is the Quarterback race.
The Fridge has chosen Jordan Steffy and it’s up to us to support that decision until Steffy proves himself one way or another. We’ll see, but for the sake of this season I think we all hope Steffy can get it done.
As for our first opponent, devoted Souper Wheels gave us a nice preview and I’ll reprint it here:
Delaware returns 6 starters on offense and 8 on defense. They run a 1 back, 3 wide with a TE offense. Their top returning RB ran for 395 yards last year (playing behind a 1,500+ yard and 20+ rushing TD All American), and they have a fairly large O line (6’3” 285 lb average) with only 2 returning starters. All three receivers are under 6’, although one caught 73 balls last year for just over 1K yards.
On defense they run a standard 4-3 set. They return 7 of their back 8 players (LBs and DBs), including their top 2 tacklers. All three LBs have really good size (all 6’2” 230 lbs). Both DTs are new starters but have some size (both listed above 285 lbs). Of course, being a D1AA school, Delaware’s size really falls off after the starters.
We all know that Delaware has one of the top D1AA programs in the nation, and the preseason rankings reflect their success (Delaware is a preseason Top 10 pick in almost every forecast). The program is used to winning, so they won’t be awed by MD’s stadium, fans, or red jerseys. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a close game at the half, although I am hoping it is not close.
If Ralphie was calling the plays, I’d expect 3 yards and a cloud of dust against Delaware. He would just want to grind out a win, taking advantage of MD’s size and depth. Having seen a couple KSU games over the past 2 years, I think that Franklin might come out calling a bit of a loose game. So much of this team depends on the confidence of their offense, specifically at the QB spot. This is a game where MD should have the back ups in after the 1st drive of the second half. That’s what I’ll be looking for. If Steffy is still in there halfway through the 3rd quarter, I tend to think that the game will be close.
So Terp fans out there, what do YOU want to see out of this first game? What would define as success in the season opener? And how are you all who do not have DirecTV going to watch it!?
***Note to all readers and posters****
Unfortunately, our powers that be are shutting down MVN this weekend for a major upgrade. The upgrade is not unfortunate as the sites should be much improved, but we will not be able to post from Saturday morning thru Monday night. I would have loved to have put up a thread to discuss the game this weekend, but Turtle Soup will have to wait until Tuesday morning to talk about the season opener. Thanks for everyone’s patience and Go Terps!!
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If it’s on ESPNU, I should be able to watch it on Cox Cable.
Otherwise, I’ll have to get tickets to the game. Unless I just go to a bar…
I want to see an explosive offense. What I don’t want to see is us get up by 17 points and start trying to run the clock out with half the game left. Way too much of that the last two years.
It would also be nice to see Steffey play well and get a few snaps for Mr. Portis.
Good news NC State stunk, so did Middle Tenn, bad news Wake looks to be as good as they say. Still hesitant with Steffy behind center. Not excited yet. But the teams that are beatable are growing.
I heard a rumor, no idea if it’s even remotely true, but has UMD backed off Tavon Austin? I know they got 2 RBs, but it still seems they shoudl want this kid. He’s local, a great athlete and has the skills to play in the slot…
Anybody know anything?
I’ll see what I can find out about Austin. Meanwhile, I learned today that at each home game the Terps will be led onto the field by two players carrying flags. A Maryland born player will carry the state flag and another player will carry the American flag.
Onto hoops…transcripts of JSK are still being reviewed in the NCAA Clearinghouse. I’m told a ruling on his eligibility should be coming no later than the middle of next week. Kim is currently on campus and…wait for it…rooming with Steve Goins, who is also still under NCAA review. LOL
JSK is back playing ball and has pretty much resumed all basketball related activities.
In regards to Terp football, I want to see them aggressively build up early leads, and keep adding to it as the game goes on. No more of this “protect the lead” mentality that has characterized Ralph’s last few years. I’d like to see them get at least into the low 30s, if not the high 30s or even low 40s against Delaware. They need to put points on the board this year. 17-20 points per game will not yield the 8-4+ season we’re all looking for.