Nevada at Maryland

After barely escaping their opener against Delaware 14-7, Maryland went on to lose their next game to Middle Tennessee State and it sure looked like a long season was in store for the Terps. But they posted some big wins and got here. The Terps have proven they can play with or lose to anyone. After those early losses they went out and beat a very solid California team and then beat Clemson - all over a three-week period. Then they get shut out by Virginia and the following week shut out Wake Forest by a similar margin. When they are focused they can not only play with anyone but beat anyone. When they are not, they can lose to anyone. This is a Bowl game and it is unlikely that they won't have their focus here which means the "good" Maryland team will show up here. The Wolfpack offense has put up some very impressive numbers in their conference games, but one has to suspect that those numbers may be a bit inflated and offering value on the other side here. This is a team that scored 38.1 ppg in their last eight games last year - mostly conference games. So when they and got to their Bowl game they were shutout! Maybe that could have been more predictable last year as their only game against a BCS school was Nebraska, where they scored the least amount of points they had all season at 10. This year we have references of two BCS teams on their schedule. They also happen to represent the two lowest offensive outputs of the season for the Wolfpack at 17 and 19 points. None of the defenses mentioned are powerful, but physically bigger and more athletic, with more depth. This may be a good offense which the public loves, which drives the line in their direction, but it hasn't been a smart choice with this Wolfpack team. They have yet to prove they can move the ball anywhere near as well stepping up to the BCS level. The Terps get the call here.