Last week, Travis Baltz - Maryland's superstar punter (if there is such a thing, Baltz would be it) - faced off against Cal's phenom Brian Anger in a punting battle royale, in which Anger came out on top. That was just pouring a load of salt in an open wound in the middle of the ocean - an ocean that already has salt, mind you - with sharks already closing in. In other words, it was unnecessary.
This week, Maryland has another special teams stud - Torrey Smith - facing off against a supposed equal. This time, the equal is Scotty McGee, an electrifying and strange-expression kick returner his coach calls "the nation's premier kick returner".
Torrey might disagree with that description - after all, as a freshman last year he set a record for ACC kick return yardage in a single season. Was it mostly because Maryland got scored on a ton? Yes. But he did what he was supposed to do, and broke a couple of kicks on top of it. Not calling him on of the premier kick returners would be foolish - therefore, we have a showdown.
I have no idea if Scotty McGee is a legit kick returner or if he's a victim of coach's hype. But Torrey Smith has something to prove regardless. And to do that, he can't fumble like he did against Cal. I'd also like him to get involved in the offense more, as he disappeared a bit. But honestly, I think one of the things I'll be watching most - as a fan, not a blogger - is the showdown between Smith and McGee for kick returner champion.
It's time for Torrey to make up for that fumble - which definitely marked the beginning of the end for Maryland - with a solid season. And he can start that by bringing Maryland up to 1-1 in special teams battles.