Staff Roundtable: Awaiting a bowl and avoiding overreacting to Ohio State loss

Q: I'm too lazy to go back and look at your pre-season predictions, but how would you say you did this year on football predictions?

Pete: Well! I predicted between 7-9 wins, and while I may have changed that had I known the injuries this team would face, it still fell within what I expected for this team. At least at the beginning of the year, I expected wins over Wake and Syracuse and losses to Virginia Tech and West Virginia, so that's a bit different, but it fell in the range.

Alex: I think I pegged eight wins as the most likely outcome, so I guess I got close. I definitely amended that to nine after the Terps started 4-0, though, so by that standard, I was less successful.

Todd: As I recall, I predicted 7-5 because I'm the expert prognosticator around here. Just kidding. I have no idea what I predicted. I think I had some reasonably close and blindly lucky score predictions in the first four games but reverted to my usual form subsequently.

Brendan: I think I said 8 wins and if injuries hadn't ravaged this team, 8 wins was obviously attainable. I think our game-by-game predictions were pretty good outside of the stunning the losses to -- you know what? After the Florida State game it was all a crapshoot. I didn't do well.

Q: Would you consider this regular season a disappointment?

Pete: Not even remotely. A bowl game was the lowest possible expectation, and Maryland met it with an extra win for comfort. This team has a whole lot of talent, and I'm excited to see what they can do if they can stay healthy.

Alex: Yes, but only because we didn't get enough games to watch Maryland's offense at full strength. Losing Stefon Diggs and Deon Long will do that to you.

Todd: It's interesting how Pete and Alex had completely different takes on that question. Given another year of rampant injuries, I'm not disappointed by the final record. I 'm disappointed because in retrospect I think a healthy Terps team might have had nine wins at this point. And though I keep telling myself that the Syracuse game was just an aberration, I still haven't been quite able to get rid of the sour taste of that performance. But if the Terps win their bowl game, I'll have to be happy because the season will have reached HughGR's floor for success.

Brendan: Yes and no. Yes in the sense that injuries cost this team a couple games, but the fans also missed out on full seasons from C.J. Brown, Stefon Diggs and Deon Long all healthy together. I think that was what I was most excited about heading into the year and we were robbed of that. However, the way the team responded in wins at Virginia Tech and NC State gave me hope for the future.

Q: What bowl do you see Maryland ending up in?

Pete: Military Bowl.

Alex: I agree with Pete.

Todd: Ditto.

Brendan: I won't be the contrarian, so I agree with Pete.

Q: The Maryland loss to Ohio State was a tough one to watch, how concerned are you following the loss?

Pete: I wrote about it quite a bit in the recap, but not too much. That 2010 Maryland team that were co-ACC champions? They lost by 21 at Duke, so please spare me the "Gary's team would never lose like this" rhetoric.

Alex: Pretty concerned. It's very possible that Maryland won't get a single marquee win this year, and we all know how that bodes for making the NCAA Tournament.

Todd: I was at the women's game and didn't see a minute of the men's game. I periodically followed the arc of the score and read Pete's recap and lots of comments. It just seems to me that the Terps got down by a lot early and some players (especially Faust) were taking shots as if they had to make ten point plays. I haven't started digging a grave yet.

Brendan: I'm not too concerned. The ACC fed us to the wolves on the way out and got exactly what they wanted. Maryland fell behind early and, try as they might, the team couldn't respond. Layman going 1-for-9 was a bit of a disappointment, but the Terps won't face many better defensive teams this year.

Q: Does that loss change your view of Sunday's game against George Washington in the BB&T Classic?

Pete: Not at all. Maryland, 73-64.

Alex: No. GW is still GW, and Maryland is a more talented team, top to bottom. 70-58, Terps.

Todd: I'm certainly not as comfortable as Pete and Alex on this one. GW is 7-1 and has already beaten an ACC team that Maryland rarely beats (Miami) as well as a top twenty team (Creighton) on a neutral court. So I'm not taking this game lightly.

Brendan: I'm agreeing with Todd here. I'm more nervous than I was a week ago, but I still see a close Maryland win. Maryland is more talented and it helps GW might be without Joe McDonald, but I'm still not sold on a blowout. 72-69, Terps.