'Noles and Terps duke it out in key ACC contest

Cfootball Betting Lines

11/19/2008 - College Park, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The ACC remains up for grabs, and Saturday's game between the 22nd-ranked Maryland Terrapins and the Florida State Seminoles has major implications.

Maryland sits atop the Atlantic Division with a 4-2 league record, while Florida State and Wake Forest are a game back in the loss column. The Terrapins control their own fate, as only this weekend's clash and next's week's battle with Boston College on the road remain on the schedule. Fortunately for the Terps, they have already beaten Wake Forest, so a win this weekend over the Seminoles would send them to the ACC title game.

Florida State was in outstanding position to challenge for a spot in the title game before last weekend's 27-17 loss to Boston College. The Seminoles have now lost two of their last three outings since a 6-1 start to the campaign. They will close out the regular season next weekend with a non-conference clash against national powerhouse Florida.

As for Maryland, it has now won a school-record six straight over ranked teams after last weekend's 17-15 thriller over North Carolina. "If we played the unranked teams the way we play ranked teams, we'd be in really great shape," said head coach Ralph Friedgen after the contest. The Terps are now 7-3 overall and have won three of their last four outings.

Florida State has won 16 of its 18 all-time meetings with Maryland, including a 24-16 victory in last season's matchup.

"Tonight, they whipped us up front," said Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden after the loss to Boston College last weekend. "The quarterback didn't have time to set and they had the ball the whole dadgum football game." That quarterback that Bowden spoke of is Chris Ponder, who completed only 15-of-31 passes for 183 yards with three interceptions and no touchdowns. He got no help from an FSU ground attack that managed a mere 73 yards on 24 attempts. Ponder did score a rushing touchdown, but the overall performance of the offense simply wasn't good enough.

Despite last week's shoddy performance, FSU has been a strong offensive team as it is scoring 34.0 ppg to go along with 385.0 total ypg. Ponder has been a bit inconsistent at quarterback, completing just 54.2 percent of his passes for 1,604 yards with 11 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. But the ground attack has been strong, and Antone Smith leads the pack with 651 yards and 13 scores.

Boston College ran for 176 yards against Florida State last weekend, and while the Eagles did not break loose for many long runs, they slowly wore down the Seminoles. "They pretty much just pounded the ball most of the game and threw quick passes," said FSU defensive back Tony Carter. "We couldnt get much pressure on the quarterback, we made one big play on them, but their O-Line controlled the whole game and they did a good job of converting." Florida State came up with three takeaways in the tilt, but Boston College was able to make good on 9-of-16 third down conversion attempts and held the ball for over 38 minutes.

Opponents are generating 20.1 ppg against Florida State this season, and the Seminoles have been tremendous against the run, limiting foes to 110.2 ypg on 3.3 ypc. While the pass defense hasn't been quite as strong, FSU is still only allowing 164.5 ypg through the air. Derek Nicholson has registered 63 tackles this season, including 11.5 TFLs. As for Everette Brown, he has posted a high total of 16 TFLs, including nine sacks.

Maryland finished with a modest total of 336 yards against North Carolina last weekend, and the Terps averaged just 3.7 yards per rushing attempt to go along with 8.8 yards per pass completion. However, they did hold the ball for over 40 minutes thanks in large part to a 9-of-18 performance on third down conversion attempts. Da'Rel Scott ran for 129 yards and a touchdown on 29 attempts, and Chris Turner played fairly well under center. "The offensive line played great, they gave me plenty of time to make the plays we needed to win the game and they did a good job of keeping the North Carolina linebackers out of my face," said Turner after the tilt.

Maryland has been a mediocre offensive team this season, averaging 21.7 ppg and 349.7 total ypg. The Terps are rushing for 151.7 ypg with a solid average of 4.4 ypc, and 14 of their 25 offensive touchdowns have come on the ground. Scott has rushed for 858 yards and six touchdowns, while Turner has completed 58.5 percent of his passes for 1,809 yards and nine scores with six interceptions. The best receiver on the team is Darrius Heyward-Bey, and he has recorded 35 receptions for 539 yards and five scores.

The Maryland defense deserves a great deal of credit for the victory over North Carolina last weekend. The Tar Heels scored just 15 points in the clash, including a safety and two field goal that capped drives of under 40 yards. The lone touchdown scored by UNC came on a pass that got caught in the win, was tipped and then landed in the hands of a receiver who had gotten behind the defense. North Carolina finished with 285 total yards, including 75 yards on 26 rushing attempts, and Maryland limited the Heels to 1-of-11 success on third down conversion attempts.

Defense has been the strength of the Maryland team all season, as it is holding foes to 19.2 ppg. The club hasn't been dominant against either the run or the pass, but opponents have had to work hard for their yards. Alex Wujciak leads the Terps with 99 total tackles, including five for loss. Moise Fokou has five sacks to his credit.