With N.C. State coming off a close loss to Florida State and winless in the ACC, the upcoming game against Maryland has to be considered the battle that will decide the worst team in the league. The two teams combined are 1-7 in the ACC and with Duke on its way to a bowl game while North Carolina knocked off the Chokies in Blacksburg last week it seems pretty clear the Wolfpack and Terrapins are the worst of a mediocre ACC.
It is a far cry from the early part of the decade when a N.C. State and Maryland game was one of the highlights of the football season for the ACC. Players like Shawne Merriman, Phillip Rivers, Mario Williams, E.J. Henderson, and Jericho Cotchery dazzled fans of each team. Now things are a little different for each program. The Wolfpack fans had some high hopes going into the season but things have fallen apart on defense for the Pack. State did beat a very solid Pittsburgh squad that is better than anyone Maryland has defeated this year. A struggling defense could get back on track easily against a sputtering Maryland offense that has only averaged 11 points over the last two losses.
This game is on ESPN360.com and it is the sixth time this year that Maryland has had its game on the internet only broadcaster. It doesn’t help recruiting to have the Terps on television only three times so far this season, by far the lowest number in the ACC with the exception of Duke. With the Blue Devils cruising to a bowl bid for the first time since 1995 you would have to expect that they will almost certainly have more games on TV this year than Maryland. With the exception of highlighting the early playing time that freshman have been getting this season there isn’t much else to sell in recruiting. The offense is terrible and does a poor job of showcasing talent for the NFL and there is too much uncertainty about the coaching staff to confidence in who will be in charge over the course of a recruit’s career.
Ugh I hate ESPN 360. I live in an area that has yet to be touched by broadband so this might as well not be shown at all. In fact since I travelled out to Cal, this may be the first year I’ve gone without seeing one game on TV. That is sad.