If this Randy Shannon deal ever comes through, the season opener just got a lot more intriguing: Maryland's starting their 2011 year against Miami...on Labor Day...nationally televised...at night. Yep, it's the Terps and The U on Monday Night, and Randy Shannon might be searching for revenge. Pretty awesome.
Oh, right, in case you forgot: Maryland's playing Notre Dame at FedEx Field, too. Which is also pretty awesome. All of that, plus a little more, is included in the Terrapins' 2011 schedule, which was just released earlier today.
The full schedule is below, via the official Maryland site:
Sept. 5 - Miami (Monday), 8 p.m. (ESPN)
Sept. 17 - West Virginia
Sept. 24 - Temple
Oct. 1 - Towson
Oct. 8 - @ Georgia Tech
Oct. 15 - Clemson
Oct. 22 - @ Florida State
Oct. 29 - Boston College
Nov. 5 - Virginia
Nov. 12 - vs. Notre Dame (@ FedEx Field, Landover, Md.)
Nov. 19 - @ Wake Forest
Nov. 26 - @ NC State
Pretty difficult start, with a Monday night game against Miami followed up by a traditionally tough matchup with West Virginia. Nicely, though, both are home games. If they can win both, they should have a lot of momentum rolling into the meat of the season. If they lose one or, god forbid, both, you can already hear the sky falling, both around the season and the Edsall hire.
Yes, there's the Notre Dame game in November at FedEx. We already knew about it, but it's a big deal nonetheless. I really wish it was happening earlier in the year, but it's no biggie, especially with Wake Forest to rebound on in the case of a loss. And, if both teams live up to expectations, that game could have national implications (moreso on the ND side, but whatever).
The ACC slate includes home games against Miami, Clemson, BC, and Virginia. The road games are to GT, FSU, Wake, and N.C. State. It's pretty balanced: they get the traditionally strong Clemson, BC, and The U in Byrd, but are travelling to FSU, which does hurt their chances at a division/conference title.
Not a big fan of ending with two road games (Maryland ended with two home games last year), but both Wake and N.C. State are expected to be rather weak next year, so we'll see.
Final thoughts: Miami on Monday Night (hopefully) in a Shannon revenge game. The 'Eers at home, also hopefully at night. Notre Dame at FedEx in November. Seriously, what else is there to say? Definitely some highlights this year, and those should help solve the ticket crisis.