Post by cviller on Sept 10, 2007 9:41:55 GMT -5
Shawn Falkenstein
Morgantown, W.Va.
West Virginia has just three days until it's next game against 2-0 Maryland. It's a quick turnaround for the Mountaineers who will be playing their third game in 13 days. Not much time to get prepared for anyone, let alone a team expected to be one of the contenders this year in the ACC.
Maryland will undoubtedly provide the stiffest test thus far for the #4 ranked Mountaineers. Even though the Terrapins haven't really played any teams of note, beating Division I-AA (excuse me...Football Championship Subdivision) Villanova 31-14 and then going on the road to defeat Florida International 26-10.
Maryland is returning 12 starters from a 9-4 season that included a Champs Sports Bowl victory over Purdue.
The strength on offense is in their running game. The Terps return two tailbacks--seniors Lance Ball and Keon Lattimore who accounted for 94 percent of Maryland's rushing yards.
Last year Ball and Lattimore combined for more than 1,500 yards on the ground with Ball tallying 815 yards and Lattimore chipping in 743.
So far this year Lattimore is getting the bulk of the carries. He has 217 yards and five touchdowns on 38 carries in the first two games. Ball has 96 yards and a score on 23 carries.
Morgantown native Cory Jackson (University HS) has yet to get a carry this season, but is the starting fullback. The 6-1, 253 pound sophomore is known as a punishing blocker and tough runner in short yardage situations.
Maryland is breaking in a new quarterback. Junior Jordan Steffy won the starting job after the graduation of signal-caller Sam Hollenbach. Steffy served as the backup the past two seasons, but saw limited action. So far this year he's completed 75 percent of his passes for 309 yards. He'll look to take advantage of a West Virginia defense that has allowed an average of 255 yards passing in its first two games. That earns the Mountaineers the distinction of being the 94th best pass defense in the country.
Steffy has an explosive target in sophomore Darrius Heyward-Bey who has ten catches so far this season for 129 yards. Last season Heyward-Bey was a freshman All-America totalling 694 receiving yards.
Behind Heyward-Bey, Steffy's favorite targets seem to be his running backs. Lattimore, Ball and Jackson have caught a total of 15 passes this season.
The Terrapin defense has been tough thus far this season, allowing just 12 points and 46 yards rushing per game. The level of competition must be taken into consideration, but those numbers place 16th in the nation in scoring defense and 15th in rushing defense.
The Terps return leading tackler and pre-season All-America linebacker Erin Henderson, but they've lost their other top three tacklers. The Defensive line returns two starters, junior pass rusher Jeremy Navarre and senior run-stopper Dre Moore. Senior Carlos Feliciano, who started seven games last year, will replace defensive tackle Conrad Bolston who left last year for the NFL.
While Maryland will likely be the toughest team to face the Mountaineers so far this season, at home on a Thursday night, West Virginia will undoubtedly be the toughest opponent so far this season for the Terps. So, all these numbers may mean nothing after Thursday night.
