2010 Maryland Terrapins Football: Maryland vs Florida International

This is a strange pairing of unheralded football programs on Saturday afternoon in College Park, Maryland.

On one side of the Byrd Stadium field will stand the Florida International Golden Panthers, a team that has flummoxed opposing offenses on BCS conference teams, yet has walked away with an 0-2 record and an endless supply of "what-if" lamentations. On the other edge of the field, the Maryland Terrapins will take to the gridiron with a 2-1 record despite getting undressed last weekend at West Virginia and getting smoked for more than 400 rushing yards by the Navy Midshipmen in week one.

Yes, this is a crazy-quilt matchup of teams whose performance levels exist in inverse relationships to their records.

Florida International has played above its pay grade to start 2010. Coach Mario Cristobal's crew has tackled Rutgers and Texas A&M instead of playing teams from the Mid-American Conference or, far worse, from the Football Championship Subdivision. Against both of those teams - who come from talent-rich areas in the United States (New Jersey and Texas) - FIU displayed a dogged defense which generated copious amounts of turnovers. Against Rutgers, the Golden Panthers secured three takeaways, a big reason why they were able to hold the Scarlet Knights under 20 points. A week later against A&M in College Station, Florida International swiped five turnovers from the Aggies, registering four takeaways on interceptions against Jerrod Johnson, one of the more athletically imposing quarterbacks in the country. With eight defensive takeaways in its first two games, Florida International had to feel really good about its chances to split those games at the very least and possibly notch a sweep.

Yet, all the Golden Panthers have to show for their double dose of determined defense is an 0-2 mark.

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FIU just couldn't generate points against Rutgers; Cristobal's club outgained Rutgers by roughly 200 yards and was the more consistent team in that season opener, but quarterback Wesley Carroll - who has completed under 50 percent of his passes through two games - surrendered two interceptions. Yes, FIU gained three turnovers from Rutgers that night, but the Scarlet Knights got right back at the Golden Panthers by hauling in five takeaways of their own. If FIU's defense was sensational, Rutgers' defense was evidently a little bit better, and Rutgers escaped South Florida with a 19-14 win.

The story was similar for FIU in its second game of the season on Sept. 18. The Golden Panthers blitzed Texas A&M and got those five turnovers, but despite conceding only one turnover of their own, the visitors from Miami were left flat-footed down the stretch. FIU amassed a 20-6 lead and took it into the first minutes of the fourth quarter, but as soon as the Aggies tasted their mortality, they came roaring back with 21 points to steal a 27-20 win that left the Golden Panthers crestfallen.

The Saturday situation is also weird for Maryland, just in a different way. The Terps scored that Labor Day win over Navy despite giving up 15 more first downs and allowing the Midshipmen to move the ball down the field at will. How did Navy give up the ball on four separate occasions inside the Maryland 2-yard line? That's a mystery which will never be figured out.

Maryland - though the proud owner of a justified win over Navy - is also mired in uncertainty because it doesn't know what to make of its own self. Coach Ralph Friedgen's team excelled in the 17-14 win over Navy, but then collapsed in a deceptively decisive 31-17 loss to West Virginia. The Terps fell behind 28-0 before mounting a short-lived rally to make the score somewhat respectable... but only somewhat.

Florida International is the weaker team in this matchup, the squad that is coming from the less-celebrated conference. Maryland has the advantage of owning some extra depth and muscle, courtesy of its presence in the ACC. Yet, it's the team from the little ol' Sun Belt that has been playing better football so far this season, while the ACC-based Terps are still waiting to play their first complete game of the season. FIU might be winless and Maryland might have a winning record, but based on each team's level of sloppiness so far in 2010, Florida International has done more with its existing resources. If that trend continues on Saturday, Maryland and its embattled coach could be in for a very long weekend.

Maryland Terrapins vs FIU Panthers Football Preview