Clemson Tigers vs Maryland Terrapins Football Preview

The Clemson Tigers have been installed as 15-point favorites this Saturday at home against the Maryland Terrapins. This should be an easy game to predict, right?

Wrong... at least if recent history is any indication.

In one of the most brain-busting series within the Atlantic Coast Conference, nothing should be taken for granted when a seemingly superior Clemson squad takes the field against the Terps. The past four years alone offer sufficient evidence as to why the Tigers are not a shoo-in against their rivals to the north, even on the friendly soil of the state of South Carolina.

In 2006, Maryland knocked off Clemson in Death Valley, 13-12, in one of the more wrenching losses of the failed Tommy Bowden era. Palmetto State pain flowed freely on that day, as Clemson failed to dent the end zone even one time. The Terps hardly lit up the scoreboard, but they were able to sweat out several tense situations in the fourth quarter and work their way to the winner's circle, sending a packed house at Memorial Stadium into a state of despondency.

Two years later, few dimensions of the narrative changed. Maryland once again strolled into Clemson country and upended the Tigers, this time by a 20-17 count in yet another white-knuckle affair. Clemson did manage to post a pair of touchdowns, but instructively, the Tigers failed to score a single touchdown after halftime. Maryland used a 76-yard reverse run by receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey to score the decisive touchdown and give the orange-clad throng in South Carolina a very familiar gut-punched feeling.

> Check out a great selection of Clemson Tigers Apparel & Merchandise & be sure to check out the ACC Football Scores & Standings!

In 2009, the one piece of good news for Clemson fans in the series with Maryland was that they didn't have to witness a sickening defeat in person. Last year, the Terps took down the Tigers at home in College Park, Maryland, digging out a 24-21 decision as Clemson kicker Richard Jackson missed two fourth-quarter field goals. Believe it or not, Clemson's offense failed to score a second-half touchdown against Maryland for the third time in the past four years. Despite a considerable talent disparity between the two teams - Clemson eventually won the ACC Atlantic Division while Maryland finished at 2-10 overall and 1-7 in the ACC. Yes, Maryland's only ACC triumph, and its last win in a miserable season, came against one of Clemson's better teams in recent years.

That's how crazy this series has been, and that's how frustrated the Tigers have been whenever they play the boys who live near the Chesapeake Bay. This game might be back in Clemson, and Maryland might indeed be a team that has shown very little since its season-opening win over Navy, but the Terps are still 4-1 despite skating by in ugly performances against Florida International and Duke. Coach Ralph Friedgen's club is still doing a lot better than many people had a right to expect at the beginning of the season, and with Clemson reeling after awful performances against Miami and North Carolina in consecutive weeks, there's no guarantee that the ever-mercurial Tigers will put all the pieces together on a Saturday afternoon in Death Valley.

Clemson should win this game. That notion hasn't amounted to very much against Maryland, even at home. Be wary of this matchup... it often throws you a knee-buckling curveball instead of serving up the blowout you might be inclined to expect.

By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer