Maryland Minute 9.30.09 - Early BB Rankings, More Ralph Speculation

Props to bbroman for most of the links and analysis today.

Terps at #20 in the Sporting News' Poll

That's about right, I'd say.

My Take: #20 seems to be the general consensus.  If the Terps take care of the early games they're supposed to, expect that ranking to rise pretty quickly.  

Ralph Friedgen's Future at Maryland Is Unclear - WaPo

It's a statement that doesn't say that much, but is better than nothing:

I will evaluate the status of the program after we play the entire season, not now, with eight games remaining. My focus is on supporting the team and our coaching staff. That focus will continue [until] season's end.

That's Debbie Yow, if you couldn't tell. And she's right: no evaluation should be made with eight games left. But there should be a serious eval after the year ends.

Fridge Trying to Cut Down on Mistakes

Hope it works. Have a feeling it won't be effective enough to win the ACC, as Fridge mentioned today, but hopefully it'll get close.

Well, At Least Other Maryland Teams Lose to Teams They Shouldn't, Too

This time, it's men's soccer. Of course, they're also ranked #2 in the nation, so that's a bit of a pick-me-up when discussing the program.

My Take: The fact that they lost 2-0 while playing a man up for most the game is pretty puzzling but George Mason is a good team.  Next up is a big one at #14 Duke on Friday.

Defense Showed Up on Saturday, At Least for 55 Plays - D1scourse

Rutgers gained more yards in their final 7 plays than they did their first 55. That's both good and bad, I guess.

Speaking of the Defense...

IMS has a nice free article on one of the top D-Lineman in the area, J.R. Ferguson.  He would probably have an immediate impact on the defense but the Terps will have to battle a handful of top programs for his services. - bagold

 Dr. Saturday on Maryland-Rutgers

Something from a very knowledgeble mind:

It's bizarre to pick on Turner when his counterpart, Rutgers quarterback Dom Natale, was actually much worse on average -- filling in for injured freshman Tom Savage, Natale hit a dismal 4-for-12 for 42 yards and was sacked three times. But he didn't throw an interception or lose a fumble and therefore didn't get his team into any of the trouble Turner had so much trouble avoiding on the other side. Maryland is an awful, awful team right now, but "Come See Our Fifth-Year Senior Quarterback Try to Avoid the Killer Giveaway" isn't much of a selling point for Greg Schiano, who'd really like Savage to hurry back, please.

Roscoe Smith Cuts List to 3

If you still care.

My Take: No inside info here, but I think he'll end up at either Georgetown or UConn.  He just doesn't seem like a Duke kid to me. 

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