ESPN College Football

Originally Published: November 13, 2003

Still high hopes for Terps and Cavaliers

Neither has had the year it hoped for to this point, but both Virginia and Maryland can still make some noise.

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By Kirk Herbstreit
Special to ESPN.com
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Maryland comes into Thursday night's game against Virginia with a 6-3 record, including 3-2 in the ACC, and with Florida State hosting an improved NC State team this week the talk is that Maryland still has an outside shot at the ACC championship and an automatic BCS bid.

The Terrapins obviously feel they have a lot to play for, but Virginia does as well with so many young players learning how to win games and build a program in just Al Groh's third year. The Cavaliers still have a shot at getting to eight regular-season wins and a bowl game for the second straight season year, and they are doing it with one of the youngest teams in the nation.

And don't forget the fact that these teams don't really like each other. Their states border each other and they recruit much of the same territory, so many of these players know each other from high school and want to prove something to one another.

When Virginia has the ball...
Virginia quarterback Matt Schaub was the ACC Offensive Player of the Year last season and has continued that success this year, completing better than 71 percent of his passes and averaging 271 yards of total offense per game. Groh has said Schaub reminds him of Chad Pennington -- whom Groh drafted in the coach's days with the New York Jets -- in that Schaub is a big, intelligent passer who makes good decisions and has excellent accuracy.

The Cavaliers are running a possession passing game this season that incorporates the backs and tight ends in a way that makes the pass an extension of the running game. They don't have a lot of speed at wideout and like to get the ball to the backs and tight end over the middle and in the flats.

Tight end Heath Miller leads the team with 46 catches and is followed closely by running back Alvin Pearman with 45, a product of a system that likes to pick on opposing linebackers by making them choose who to cover and then hitting the open short route. Virginia hasn't been able to run the ball consistently this season -- leading rusher Wali Lundy averages just under 75 -- but has allowed only eight sacks so far thanks in part to those short passes.

Maryland's defense, like some of the best in the country, is built on pressure. The Terps will put as much heat on Schaub as possible and see if they can cover down on the backs and tight end with athletes, making him look to receivers who have not been extremely productive.

Watch the Maryland linebackers against that Virginia passing attack. Middle linebacker D'Qwell Jackson leads the team with 100 tackles and outside 'backer Leon Joe is second with 81, but both will be asked to to much more than make tackles against the Cavaliers, especially when it comes to pass coverage.

When Maryland has the ball...
Terps quarterback Scott McBrien finally put together the kind of game his coaches have been expecting last week against North Carolina, setting a career high with 349 yards on just 15 completions, including four touchdowns. The coaches told out broadcast team he made only one mental mistake in about 75 offensive snaps, a departure from the frustrating inconsistency he has shown for most of the year.

Maryland goes as McBrien goes, but with high winds expected in College Park don't expect to see he or Matt Schaub going down the field much. That will put even more pressure on running back Josh Allen, who will not have the injured Bruce Perry or Sammy Maldonado to spell him. Allen has been the starter most of the year but is now the only reliable back on the depth chart, so it will be interesting to see how he handles the load.

McBrien is also fighting injury and his tender groin may cause Maryland to shy away from the option game, but with the lack of depth at running back that facet of the offense could become a key for the Terps.

Virginia plays and old-school 3-4 defense, using seven men to defend the run and playing two-deep with the safeties back on every play. That puts a lot of pressure on the front seven to get off blocks and make plays, but the Cavaliers have what may be the best trio of young linebackers in the nation in Darryl Blackstock, Ahmad Brooks and Kai Parham.

Blackstock has become a more complete linebacker after piling up 10 sacks last season as a pass-rush style linebacker, but he remains a big-time playmaker. Brooks is tied for the team lead with 75 tackles while Parham adds another big body that can run well. All are at least 6-3 and 230 pounds, and how they match up against Maryland's veteran offensive line will have a lot to do with how this game plays out.

Kirk Herbstreit is an analyst for ESPN College GameDay and a regular contributor to ESPN.com during the college football season.