Clemson Tigers @ Maryland Terrapins Football Preview

It’s that time of season – where attrition from the first half of the season has teams worried about injuries, and performance on the field (or lack thereof), ignites position battles for much-needed boosts down the stretch.

As No. 8 Clemson (6-0, 3-0 ACC) travels to Maryland (2-3, 1-1 ACC), they share these issues at quarterback.

The Tigers got a scare over the weekend when prolific first-year starting quarterback Tajh Boyd went down on a hit to his left leg, which initially appeared to injure his knee (where he had already torn an ACL in high school).

But Boyd told the coaches it was his hip on the field, and tests postgame confirmed he had strained his hip on the hit, which leaves him probable against the Terrapins – his coach Dabo Swinney said Tuesday Boyd was “fine” and would take every rep in practice this week.

The sophomore quarterback is in the upper tier of the NCAA in passing touchdowns with 15 to two interceptions with 1,742 passing yards and three rushing touchdowns as well on the season.

At Maryland, they have not one but two healthy quarterbacks, and both have an argument for leading the Terrapins come Saturday.

There’s incumbent second-year starter Danny O’Brien who won ACC rookie of the year last season, but has slipped into the dreaded “sophomore slump” – throwing six interceptions to four touchdowns and 1-for-6 on pass attempts with a pick in a 21-16 loss at No. 13 Georgia Tech last week.

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Enter fellow sophomore C.J. Brown, who didn’t light it up in the passing game against the Yellow Jackets (4-for-17 with 36 passing yards and an interception), but was a weapon in the rushing game – carrying the ball nine times for 124 yards (13.8 yards per carry) with the majority of the yardage on a 77-yard touchdown dash down the sidelines to kick-start a mini-Maryland rally in the five-point loss.

Terps coach Randy Edsall is keeping it close to the vest on who he’ll start Saturday night at 7 p.m. in College Park, Maryland, but Brown’s running ability will be hard to keep off the field after last week.

The matchup is midseason bellwether for an Atlantic Division that’s been turned on its head from preseason projections.

Preseason division and conference favorite Florida State stands at 0-2 in ACC play, while Wake Forest, who was picked last in the Atlantic, is tied with Clemson for the division lead at 3-0.

Maryland sits right in the middle between the three divisional teams without an ACC win (NC State, FSU and Boston College) and those undefeated (Clemson and Wake Forest) by their Labor Day win over Miami and loss last week.

The Terps-Tigers tangle is chock full of statistical mismatches in favor of Clemson, especially with the marked improvement of the offense under new offensive coordinator Chad Morris (88th in total offense this point last year, 19th nationally this season), but the Tiger defensive effort shouldn’t be overshadowed.

Since week three, where Clemson had surrendered 419 yards per game – they‘ve ascended to 48th in total defense (from 97th) in three-straight conference games, allowing 15.7 points per contest facing FSU and Boston College at home and Virginia Tech on the road.

Though the Tigers won 31-7 over the Terps last year in Clemson, five of the six previous meetings (two at Maryland) were decided by four points or less. The visiting team won four-straight games in the series from 2005 to 2008.

By: Brandon Rink
DFN Sports Staff Writer