The Terps have given me hope. With only four games remaining, Maryland is tied with Florida State for the Atlantic division lead and a chance at the overall ACC title. The final four games will be a hell of a battle, with a lot of teams close by. Take a look at the schedule for Maryland:
11/6 - @ Virginia Tech
11/15 - vs. North Carolina
11/22 - vs. Florida State
11/29 - @ Boston College
So, it's a bye this week, followed by the VT game on Thursday night, which the Terps have had just wonderful success with in the past (sarcasm). VT might be down to their third string QB in that game, so don't count out Maryland yet, especially considering that UMD is likely a better team than VT this year.
After that it's three tough games to close the season - vs. UNC and FSU, then at Boston College. All three have had surprisingly good years, but we won't be big favorites in any of those matchups (probably not favorites at all) so I'm confident the score will be at least close.
If I had to guess at a record, I'd say 3-1. The loss will likely come against VT or UNC - VT has the history of beating the Terps, and I just have a weird feeling about UNC.
But what about other teams? Take a look at the rest of the contenders:
Florida State (3-1 in ACC, T-1st)
11/1 - @ GT
11/8 - vs. Clemson
11/16 - vs. Boston College
11/22 - @ Maryland
11/29 - vs. Florida
Certainly not an easy schedule. Similar to the Terps' schedule, though slightly easier (Florida doesn't count).
Boston College (2-2 in ACC, T-2nd)
11/1 - vs. Clemson
11/8 - vs. Notre Dame
11/15 - @ Florida State
11/22 - @ Wake Forest
11/29 - vs. Maryland
Four divisional opponents in the last five games, three of which are on this list? Yikes. BC will have to play some serious ball to stay in it.
Wake Forest (2-2 in ACC, T-2nd)
11/1 - vs. Duke
11/8 - vs. Virginia
11/15 - @ NCST
11/22 - vs. Boston College
11/29 - vs. Vanderbilt
Interesting. Definitely the easiest schedule on here - I have little doubt about that. Duke should be an easy win (despite the win over Vandy, they're not a good team), and I can't see Virginia staying this hot this long. Wake should be able to beat North Carolina State. If they can pull out those three, that puts them at 5-2 in the ACC. Maryland, at the same time, will probably be 4-2. That means the BC/MD game would decide the Atlantic crown if came down to these two teams. Excitement.
So, who do you think will pull out the Atlantic crown?