The funny thing about Maryland's season opener against Navy (or, if you'd prefer, Navy's season opener against Maryland) is that more will be made of how little the teams play rather than the fact they're actually facing each other for the second time in the last six seasons.
"I would like to see it happen every year," Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen said today in Westminster, Md. "I think it's great for both schools. I like playing it on the first game, too. I'd rather play them on the first game or the last game than during the [middle of the] regular season. I think it's something we should really strive for."
Added Navy's Ken Niumatalolo: "We need to play more. In this state we have two great institutions that are so close together. There's a history involved and hopefully we can continue this series. We're looking forward to it. I know Maryland's looking forward to it."
Maybe it's best to know exactly how rarely the two in-state teams play compared to the rest of the country. It sounds daunting that Maryland and Navy are meeting on Labor Day for only the second time since the 1965 seasons. But how does that look in a larger prism?
And to figure that out, it's time to go cherry-picking, with the caveat that teams that have played in what is still best known as Division I-A for less than 15 years are excluded from the calculations:
FEWEST MEETINGS, IN-STATE MAJOR-COLLEGE PROGRAMS, 1966-2009
0: Alabama-UAB
0: Arkansas-Arkansas State
0: Notre Dame-Ball State
0: Stanford-Fresno State
0: UCLA-San Jose State
1: Auburn-UAB (1996)
1: Louisiana State-UL Monroe (2003)
1: Maryland-Navy (2005)
1: Notre Dame-Indiana (1991)
2: Baylor-Texas-El Paso (1983, 1991)
2: California-Fresno State (1995, 2000)
2: Michigan-Central Michigan (2003, 2006)
2: Ohio State-Akron (2001, 2007)
2: Ohio State-Kent State (2002, 2007)
2: Ohio State-Miami Ohio (2000, 2005)
2: Ohio State-Ohio (1999, 2008)
2: Ohio State-Toledo (1998, 2009)
2: Rice-North Texas (1988, 2008)
2: Southern California-Fresno State (1992, 2005)
2: Texas-Texas-El Paso (2008, 2009)
2: Texas A&M-Texas-El Paso (1984, 2000)
3: Cincinnati-Toledo (1993, 1995, 2001)
3: Houston-North Texas (1975, 1980, 1998)
3: Illinois-Northern Illinois (1992, 1994, 2001)
3: Louisiana State-Louisiana Tech (2003, 2007, 2009)
3: Louisiana State-UL Lafayette (2002, 2006, 2009)
3: Michigan-Western Michigan (2001, 2002, 2009)
3: Southern California-San Diego State (1992, 1998, 1999)
4: Cincinnati-Bowling Green (1990, 1991, 1993, 1994)
4: Michigan-Eastern Michigan (1998, 2005, 2007, 2009)
4: Ohio State-Bowling Green (1992, 1997, 2003, 2006)
4: Ohio State-Cincinnati (1999, 2002, 2004, 2006)
4: Southern California-San Jose State (1995, 2000, 2001, 2009)
4: Stanford-San Diego State (1985, 1986, 1987, 1988)
Not exactly an appetizing list, is it?
In fact, only three of those series feature two teams from (a) A power conference and/or (b) A traditional independent (Army, Navy and Notre Dame).
* True, Notre Dame and Indiana don't play each other often, but both have annual games against Purdue.
* Ohio State-Cincinnati looks more interesting now, but the Bearcats have only recently become a national power (and didn't join the Big East until 2005).
And that leaves Maryland-Navy.
"It's huge, especially for us," Friedgen said. "I know Navy's big rival is Army, but to have an intrastate rivalry helps the whole state. People will rally behind each school, which represent two fine institutions and I think it brings the whole state together."
Well, every once in a while, anyway.
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