In the proud tradition of the Navy schedule breakdown of a month ago, let's go game-by-game through what Ralph Friedgen's team will be dealing with come the fall.
Sept. 6: vs. Navy at M&T Bank Stadium, 4 p.m., ESPN
Series: Navy leads 15-6
Subplot: The Terps are coming off a 2-10 season. Navy just went 10-4. On paper, the Midshipmen are going to be the better team. But a victory over a team already receiving some top-25 hype for next season could push Maryland in the right direction. The reverse would provide a sour start to the year after the worst in school history.
Sept. 11: Morgan State
Series: First meeting
Subplot: The Division I-AA Bears make the short trip down I-95 for what is supposed to be the closest thing to a layup on the schedule. It didn't work out that way when James Madison visited Byrd last year. In any case, even if the game isn't good, chances are Morgan's band will be entertaining.
Sept. 18: at West Virginia
Series: West Virginia leads 23-21-2
Subplot: Maryland won four in a row against the Mountaineers when Friedgen first arrived. Then the Terps faded, Rich Rodriguez built a power and rattled off four straight in the series. After a two-year hiatus, the regional rivalry is back for at least the next four years, and this will be the first time Friedgen matches wits with Bill Stewart.
Sept. 25: Florida International
Series: Maryland leads 2-0
Subplot: Can the Terps avoid a losing to a Sun Belt team for the third straight season? Tune into ESPN360 to find out.
Oct. 2: Duke
Series: Maryland leads 30-19
Subplot: The last time the Blue Devils played in College Park, the Terps won en route to an 11-win season. It was also two coaches ago for Duke. Hint: The new one is better than the old one.
Oct. 16: at Clemson
Series: Clemson leads 30-26-2
Subplot: For whatever reason, the Terps have played exceptionally well in Death Valley during Friedgen's tenure. And this game happens to be tucked between dates with North Carolina and Georgia Tech for the Tigers while Maryland is coming off a bye. It's a setup waiting to happen for Clemson, one that Tiger fans have seen all too often in recent years.
Oct. 23: at Boston College
Series: Boston College leads 5-2
Subplot: Maryland finally draws the Eagles outside the usual November window and might be playing for the chance to be 3-0 in the ACC. Or maybe 0-3. It's tough to tell. But this has all the makings of a crucial swing game in Maryland's season.
Oct. 30: Wake Forest
Series: Maryland leads 41-16-1
Subplot: After an exchange of beatdowns the last two years, the scene switches back to Byrd for a mid-autumn game. With Riley Skinner's notable departure, it's tough to tell whether the Demon Deacons will be as good as they've been in recent seasons. Even last year, "good" was only good enough for 5-7. All in all, it ends what seems like as favorable an October schedule as the Terps could have hoped for --- even if Wake is coming off a bye week.
Nov. 6: at Miami
Series: Tied 7-7
Subplot: The Terps visit Miami for the first time since the Hurricanes joined the ACC in 2004, and will be dealing with arguably the most talented team in the conference given Randy Shannon's productive recruiting in the last few years. A nice warm-weather respite to the cold of College Park, but on paper this could be the most imposing game on Maryland's schedule.
Nov. 13: at Virginia
Series: Maryland leads 41-31-2
Subplot: Mike London rolls along in his first season as Virginia's coach. The last time a Cavaliers coach knocked off Maryland in his first try was Don Lawrence in 1971. Granted, there's only four coaches between Lawrence and London, but it's still an interesting stat.
Nov. 20: Florida State
Series: Florida State leads 18-2
Subplot: New Coach, Part Deux. After the Myron Rolle arrival in 2008 and the Mickey Andrews (and, ultimately, Bobby Bowden) home finale in 2009, there might not be a huge subplot involving the visitors from Tallahassee. With Florida State, you never know.
Nov. 27: N.C. State
Series: Tied 31-31-4
Subplot: Smells like a noon Raycom start with Original Hog in the booth to me. It also seems like a real possibility of having both the Terps and Wolfpack playing for bowl eligibility in the final week of the season. Where have we seen this before (cough, 2005, cough, 2007).
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