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Francis, Baltz, Fulper and Pinegar among all-ACC academic team selections

A little more than two months ago --- less than a week before the Maryland football program turned upside down --- one of my conversations with the ever-entertaining A.J. Francis started off with me wryly asking how much busier he was in December than the year before.

"I have a lot more to do," Francis said. "Last December, I was more focused on academic all-ACC because I didn't have anything else to look forward to. Now, I'm still trying to make academic all-ACC, but also getting ready to play ECU. Watching a lot of film, I've got a lot more hours taken up now than I did last year, which isn't a bad thing."

Francis got his MIlitary Bowl victory over East Carolina at the end of the month.

Today, he got the other item on his wish list.

The nose tackle (a government and politics major) was one of four Maryland players to earn spots on the all-conference academic team. Punter Travis Baltz (business), center Bennett Fulper (letters and sciences) and do-it-all offensive lineman Paul Pinegar (history) were also named to the all-academic team. Players who make the all-academic team must have both a 3.0 grade point average for the previous semester and for their entire college careers.

It is the fourth academic all-ACC honor for Baltz, and the second for both Francis and Pinegar.

Virginia Tech had five representatives on the team (receiver Danny Coale, defensive end Chris Drager, defensive tackle John Graves, center Beau Warren and running back David Wilson), while Virginia had one (kicker Robert Randolph).

A.J. Francis considers White House trip early glance at future home

Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen didn't find it too hard to get his team ready to practice in the week before exams. Maybe that's because he was close to taking a little of the sting out of his team's fall through the bowl selection process.

It turns out many of his players want to go to the White House, so Friedgen called Rep. Steny Hoyer --- a fairly influential fellow whose district includes College Park --- to see if it could be arranged.

Friedgen wanted to have the trip at 3 p.m. on Dec. 23. It turns out the opportunity was there to do it only at 1 p.m.

"I usually don't change schedules for anything," Friedgen said. "I told Steny's ops guy we couldn't do it, but then [director of football operations] Jemal Griffin said 'If we meet on the 22nd, we probably could just fit it in.' I think it's going to work."

And so Friedgen has some happy players.

"Some of them wanted to see Obama," Friedgen said. "They asked me if we're going to see him. I said 'I hope he's got more important things to do than see you.' I think that --- in the back of their minds --- I'm thinking they would really like to have the opportunity. I think they think they're going to bump into him in the bedroom or something."

Of course, some Terrapins --- notably loquacious nose tackle A.J. Francis --- have something bigger in mind with a White House trip.

Francis proudly declares he wants to be president one day, so going to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue would mean more than a chance to look around the home of the leader of the free world. It could double as a scouting expedition.

"Checking out my digs before I get there," Francis said. "I'm going to get there and I'm going to tell Obeezy to let me scope out my room where I'll be sleeping so I can change the drapes and curtains and stuff. Have to make sure the carpet doesn't clash with the curtains."

Francis isn't the first local college football player to declare his designs on the White House. Part of Navy quarterback Ricky Dobbs' story is he hopes to win the presidency in 2040.

Francis had an argument already prepared when Dobbs' name was mentioned.

"Beating Ricky shouldn't be a problem because --- I think it's going back to the early 1900s, the taller candidate always wins," the 6-foot-4 Francis said. "So if I run, nobody has a chance, unless I run against [6-foot-9 former offensive lineman] Tyler Bowen."

A.J. Francis has already warmed up to prospect of bowl trip to Florida

Ignore for a moment the very real possibility Maryland will play in the Military Bowl at RFK Stadium regardless of its outcome Saturday against N.C. State.

Fans don't want to hear that, since East Capitol Street isn't exactly the most exotic holiday destination. And players definitely don't want to hear that, since they'd like to think an 8-4 record and a turnaround season would make them a more appealing option to bowls further up the ACC's pecking order.

Getting to 8-4 is the tricky part. But there's no question where the inimitable A.J. Francis would like to spend his holiday season.

"I love D.C. I was born in D.C. and grew up in Maryland, but I want to go to Florida for a bowl game," the sophomore nose tackle said. "That's nothing against the Military Bowl at all. It's a great bowl. It has a great purpose, but I want to go to Florida for a bowl game, and the best way to go to Florida for a bowl game is to win this week. If we win, we'll be 8-4 and hopefully we can go to a warm-weather bowl. There's nothing against the Military Bowl at all. It's just that I don't want to play in the snow."

Francis hasn't played in the snow, but he knows all about chilly holiday destinations. Remember, Maryland was shipped two years ago to Boise, Idaho, where it defeated Nevada 42-35 to cap an 8-5 season.

The win was nice. The scenery was solid. The weather was ... well, it was cold. Memorably cold.

"I was at the Humanitarian Bowl, so I understand how big a deal it is to go to a warm-weather bowl," Francis said. 'I don't think [redshirt freshman quarterback] Danny [O'Brien] understands how huge a deal it is. Danny's like 'Yeah, we're bowl eligible.' And I'm saying 'Yeah, but we've gotta keep winning.' We don't want to go to very cold places. We want to go somewhere warm. The Humanitarian Bowl was fun. I had fun out there. But it was freezing cold every night."

It's worth pointing out the 2008 Humanitarian Bowl --- a mid-afternoon Dec. 30 kickoff --- was played in 38-degree conditions. The 2009 EagleBank Bowl in D.C. --- a mid-afternoon Dec. 29 kickoff --- was played in 30-degree conditions.

Let it be said: If Maryland loses Saturday, it would take a series of unforeseen events for it not to wind up in D.C. It makes far too much sense all-around, from both the game's perspective and from a cost-containment standpoint for Maryland.

But a win at least keeps the possibility of a warmer bowl locale alive, and that's not a bad incentive heading into the home finale.

Francis, Vellano tackling a side competition

By all measures, Maryland nose tackle A.J. Francis is having a solid season. He's matched his tackle total from a year ago (31) and is coming off arguably the most efficient day of his career.

But there's always Sunday to keep him grounded.

That's when he and fellow tackle Joe Vellano review the week that was --- and look at their tackle totals.

"We'll look at the official stats and compare who's winning," Francis said. "It's just killing me. I'm beating every other D-lineman. It's not even close. But Joe is killing me. Joe has 10 more tackles than me, 3 1/2 more sacks than me. What, 3 1/2 more tackles for loss? He is killing. He is killing me. I've got to catch up. I've got to."

If Francis wanted to rationale, he could say Vellano built nearly all of his lead (currently 41-31) with a 10-tackle day against Navy in the season opener. Vellano had two of his five sacks that day, too.

But even if Francis doesn't catch Vellano, he still wants to chase down something else --- a 50-tackle season.

"Me and Joe set big goals for ourselves," Francis said. "At the midway point  of the season, he said he wanted to have 60 tackles at the end of the season and I said I wanted to have 50. To do that, we both  have to have five tackles a game from here on out."

And just for the sake of clarification, he meant regular season. Nineteen tackles in four games could be tricky. In five or even six games? Francis figures that is a given.

"Oh, no," Francis said. "But I just thought about that. Bowl game, too? That's like three and a half a game. That'll be easy."

When your Maryland predictions go wrong, Alex Wujciak and A.J. Francis will let you know about it

For all the bluster about not worrying about what the outside world thinks, the truth is these are sweet times for the Maryland football team.

They know, after all, exactly what preseason expectations were.

"Publications before the season said we would win five games," nose tackle A.J.  Francis said after last week's rout of Wake Forest gave the Terrapins six wins.

Then he smiled directly at a familiar face and pointedly added, "Isn't that right?"

Yeah, yeah, yeah. But at least there's a good story behind it.

While waiting in at the gate at BWI for a flight to ACC media day, linebacker Alex Wujciak asked me how I thought the Terrapins would do.

This was completely a no-win scenario. Say "8-4" and it's clear you're blowing smoke. Say "2-10" and it's insulting. But those thoughts didn't pass through my mind. Instead, I gave Wujciak the same answer I gave everyone else in July and August, because it was what I actually thought.

Five-and-seven.

That prediction never escaped my mind in the last couple months, even after it was clear when Maryland beat Navy in its opener it had a strong chance to surpass it.

But in a bit of a surprise, Wujciak pointed out the prediction gone awry after Maryland's defeat of Boston College, which meant it was clear there was some hilarity to follow the rest of the season.

"Obviously we surpassed your predictions," he observed this week while enjoying some more needling.

And, to be fair, just about everyone's picks undersold this year's Maryland team.

"I don't know. I mean, 5-7, you were probably giving us the benefit of the doubt," Wujciak said. "According to most people, all the magazines had us winning two games, three games. You're probably the 'best.'"

Added Francis: "It's funny because every publication had us fifth or sixth in the division preseason this year. Apparently, sportswriters know more about football than I do. I guess that's what it is."

At this stage, it's safe to say few people projected a winning season (football guru Phil Steele pick Maryland fourth in the Atlantic, so maybe he's among the few who can assert that) for the Terps, and that's the next feat Maryland can accomplish.

But given the low expectations and, in the minds of some players, snubs in the national rankings, Maryland is banking on getting much credit even if it does upend Miami on Saturday.

"Probably not mainly because nobody's going to respect us no matter what," Francis said. "If we go 10-2 and then go to the ACC championship game and win by 40, people still won't have any respect for us. Nobody ever respects Maryland football, nobody ever does and nobody ever will, I guess. I don't care about people respecting our team. At the end of the day, men lie, women lie, but numbers don't."

For now, the numbers say six wins, triple last year's total. Yes, that's more than five --- a fact Wujciak playfully acknowledged he would continue to bring up as the rest of the season progresses.

"Once for every victory," Wujciak said. "You're going to keep getting crap from us."

Wake Forest provides some deja vu for Terps

One of the more notable observations from Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen this week stemmed from his thought Wake Forest reminded him a bit of last year's Maryland team.

(OK, hold the jokes. Trust me, I've heard --- and, admittedly, chuckled --- at them).

But both teams were extremely raw, extremely inexperienced and extremely prone to struggling in end-game situations. They both also have a Bay Area blowout to their names.

So I asked Maryland nose tackle A.J. Francis about those similarities this week, and he built on Friedgen's take.

"I think they're better than we were last year because the teams we lost to, we lost to teams that didn't make bowls," Francis said. "Their five losses this year are three ranked teams --- Stanford, Florida State and Virginia Tech --- and then two triple-option offenses, and we know what a pain triple-option offenses are. They almost beat Navy. They gave up more points than we did against Navy, but they scored more points than we did against Navy. They're a good team."

Needless to say, there is a sense Wake Forest is better than its 2-5 record indicates. Maybe not on defense; the number suggest the Demon Deacons are not good there. But they do have some offensive weapons, and very much have the goods to keep things interesting if today's game veers toward a shootout.

Yet another look at Maryland's road woes

Maryland is 4-2 at the midpoint of its season, but realistically isn't taken seriously as an ACC title contender.

Adrian Moten is pretty sure he knows why.

"We're not getting respect until we win on the road," Moten said. "I was reading that we haven't won on the road  since 2008. I feel as though if we get one road game under our belt, more will come. This team here is still a work in progress."

Indeed, the Terrapins have dropped 10 consecutive true road games dating back to September 2008. The stretch covers eight conference games, as well as visits to California and West Virginia.

It's tied for the seventh-longest road losing streak in Division I-A, and Maryland is one of only three power conference teams to not have a road win of any kind since the start of the 2009 season (Colorado and Washington State are the others).

ROAD LOSING STREAKS OF DIVISION I-A TEAMS WITH NO ROAD WINS IN 2009 OR 2010

14: Western Kentucky (last win: Sept. 6, 2008, 37-13 at Eastern Kentucky)
14: Washington State (last win: Nov. 24, 2007, 42-35 at Washington)
13: Colorado (last win: Oct. 27, 2007, 31-26 at Texas Tech)
13: New Mexico (last win: Sept. 27, 2008, 35-24 at New Mexico State)
12: Akron (last win: Oct. 18, 2008, 42-35 at Eastern Michigan)
11: San Jose State (last win: Nov. 1, 2008, 30-24 at Idaho)
10: Maryland (last win: Sept. 27, 2008, 20-17 at Clemson)
10: Memphis (last win: Nov. 8, 2008, 31-26 at Southern Methodist)
9: Louisiana Tech (last win: Nov. 22, 2008, 35-31 at New Mexico State)

Of the eight road games Maryland lost during the streak in 2008 and 2009, four came against eventual bowl teams. Four of the setbacks --- 2008 against Boston College, 2009 against Duke, Florida State and N.C. State --- were suffered by a possession or less, in large part due to Maryland miscues.

So is competition or self-inflicted wounds the greater issue. Moten thinks he knows.

"It's both, but the last couple of road games we had, we beat ourselves in a lot of them," Moten said. "They said it's a 10-game losing streak? I'd say out of 10 of those games, seven of them we lost by ourself just by our penalties and letting the crowd be a factor. When we beat ourselves, we lose the game most of the time."

Two of Maryland's three remaining road games are against sub-.500 teams. Win those two --- at Boston College on Saturday and at Virginia on Nov. 13 --- and the Terps will certainly go to a bowl game and could even have a chance at an eight-win season if things break right.

Lose them? Well, it would be more of the same in College Park.

"If we can't win on the road, we won't be a good team at all," nose tackle A.J. Francis said. "We have six games left and three of them on the road. So if we don't win on the road, even if we go 3-3, we're 7-5, [an] average team and going to an average bowl game."

Food for thought: Cook Out, North Carolina chain

(Highlights of eating on the road in case some intrepid soul would care to follow)

Sometimes, you don't notice something that is all around you.

Apparently, that's the case with me and Cook Out, a North Carolina restaurant chain that is true to its name. A week ago, I'd never heard of it.

But apparently, it's quite popular with the 18-to-22-year-old demographic that happens to reside in College Park.

"I know about Cook Out," said quarterback Jamarr Robinson when asked about food recommendations in his hometown of Charlotte. "It's a fast-food [joint], a little place. It's basically anything you can get at a cook out. Hot dogs, hamburgers, nuggets, milkshakes. They're like the master of milkshakes. You can get any kind of milkshake you can think of."

Linebacker Demetrius Hartsfield was the first to bring it up as a highlight of his trip home last weekend --- and he was downright giddy when the topic came up and urged me to check it out if I had the chance.

OK, that's two North Carolinians on board. But an out-of-state voice was ... well, maybe persuasive is the right word. Let's just say I was understandably curious after nose tackle A.J. Francis described his Cook Out experience after spending last weekend with the family of quarterback Danny O'Brien.

"I went to Cook Out three times in two days," Francis said. "One time I went, Danny said it was the most impressive feat of eating he'd seen. I got two Cook Out trays, two whole trays. So that's a chili cheeseburger, a chili cheese dog, a corn dog, quesadilla, fries and hush puppies, with a large Cheerwine and large strawberry cheesecake milkshake. ...

"I had a food coma immediately after."

No wonder. But at least the man had the good taste to get Cheerwine.

Anyway, Francis went on to ask just how a couple reporters were getting to Clemson. I said my trip brought me into Charlotte before a drive south, at which point Francis furthered his endorsement.

"You've got to. They're so cheap," he said. "I know the first thing I'm going to do when I get my first slew of money, I'm going to get a Cook Out in Baltimore back home. It's gonna sell."

With all these recommendations in hand, I made it a point to look for Cook Out signs after leaving the airport yesterday. It took less than 15 minutes to find one --- this one not even a mile off I-85 in Gastonia, N.C.

Sure enough, it was just as cheap as Francis promised. One tray --- a main item, two sides and a soda was $4.25. I took the plunge with the milkshake for an extra buck. Either way, it wasn't breaking my extremely modest bank.

And it was worth it.

The burger, for coming from some place other than an actual cookout and costing less than three dollars, was superb. The milkshake was incredibly thick; the restaurant provided a straw, but it wasn't terribly useful until more than an hour later. Nonetheless, the shake was an undeniable highlight.

Granted, this wasn't remotely healthy. But it wasn't hard to see why it would be a popular late-night destination for college kids. Hartsfield told me these places can stay open until 4 or 5 in the morning on weekends.

But it was tasty, even at 10:30 a.m. --- and that was after it took a while for the burger to cook (and understandably so; the sucker was thick). Heck, even a little birdie was impressed with a fairly large onion ring crumb that got tossed his way. He ate well yesterday.

The verdict: Don't come expecting a ton of ambience. There are picnic tables set up outside, and that's basically the sit-down experience. Which is pretty much the sit-down experience at a cookout, which makes sense.

If you're looking for a different and delicious fast-food option, Cook Out will more than exceed expectations. In football coach parlance, it is what it is. And while it's not going to make anyone's list of fine restaurants, it shouldn't disappoint anyone passing through Tobacco Road looking for a cheap meal.

A.J. Francis offers a typically hilarious take on Tony Logan

With the bye week upon us, it's time to dip into the tape recorder to come up with a leftover item or two to pass the time.

(Really, I should have transcribed this about two minutes after I heard it.)

Anyway, one of Maryland's big stories remains punt returner Tony Logan's strong play. And even before Logan broke an 84-yard punt return against Duke on Saturday, nose tackle A.J. Francis offered his usually amusing insight into Logan's breakout season.

"I remember --- I remember --- the punt return he had last year against Clemson," Francis said. "For some reason, he didn't really get anymore chances after that. He dropped the one punt last year at Duke, but then again that was in a damn hurricane. I can't really blame him because I can't catch a dry football. He's definitely showed this year that if he's not the best, somebody is going to have to show me who is the best punt returner in the country."

At this point, Logan ranks second in the country in punt return average, behind Cliff Harris of Oregon. The two touchdowns Logan scored are the first for a Maryland punt returner since Steve Suter.

Speaking of which, Francis found a way to tie Suter into his analysis of Logan's performance. As usual, it was on point.

"What Tony's doing is really showing how good Steve Suter must have been," Francis said. "Tony Logan so far this year has four or five punt returns over 60 yards and yet his yards per average punt return is still two yards short of Steve Suter's record. I wasn't really a Maryland fan back when Steve Suter was doing that, but he must have been the man. He must have been the man."

Which begs the question --- why not have a Tony Logan tracker, and align it with Suter's top season (2002)?

Why not indeed. So after a little quick research, here it is:

TONY LOGAN PUNT RETURN TRACKER (YARDS THROUGH EACH GAME)

Game	Suter (2002)	Logan (2010)	Difference
1	16	57	+41
2	128	185	+57
3	148	192	+44
4	165	327	+162
5	233	415	+182
6	375	---	---
7	378	---	---
8	482	---	---
9	574	---	---
10	609	---	---
11	639	---	---
12	647	---	---
13	676	---	---
14	771	---	---

Unless Maryland reaches the ACC title game, Logan will have at least one fewer game than Suter did in 2002. But at this point, injury and opponents opting to kick far away from Logan seem to be the only ways Suter's record won't be threatened later this season.

Terps' Francis finds a new way onto the field

Maryland nose tackle A.J. Francis had a career-high 11 tackles in Saturday's 42-28 defeat of Florida International.

He was on the field a career-high 49 snaps --- even more than his marathon appearance in garbage time against California in last year's opener --- so that had a little bit to do with it.

Of course, he's padding his plays total a little bit with a recently added responsibility: Logging time on Maryland's field goal and extra point unit.

And, this being Francis, there's an entertaining story connected with this.

"We had so many injuries at tight end, they were looking for guys to fill the hole," Francis said. "They were putting offensive linemen there, but they realized if it's a fire call or there's a bad snap or they want to run a fake or anything, they're not eligible. But 96 is an eligible number. As soon as I get a chance to run a fake, I already told [holder] Teddy [Townsley] if he throws it to anybody else I'm never talking to him again. He can only throw it to me and no one else."

This begged a follow up of exactly how someone with as much personality as Francis would handle the opportunity to visit the end zone.

With a grin, Francis denied he had any preconceived (and possibly penalty-worthy) plans.

"Oh no. Nope," Francis said. "I might do something. Da'Rel [Scott] got flagged for something crazy today. If they'll flag him for that, then I don't even want to think about what will happen to me."