The question before the four-man panel at ESPN today was which BT team that didn't go to the Big Dance last season is most likely to jump into the top half this year and quite possibly earn a bid to the Madness. Three of the four went with Maryland. Worth reading, but, alas, someone else will have to provide a link.

Same as last week - vs. NC State in Duke's Mayo Bowl. Thought we might get a promotion, but not so.

according to something I saw on a Wiscy site. No TV listed. The 1 is probably local time, meaning noon here.

Here are your individual snap counts and PFF grades from Saturday's win over Northwestern. I was a bit surprised that Billy Edwards was the highest rated player on offense, especially given how good Hemby was. One other observation, the safety unit is becoming arguably the defense's top unit as the season moves along. Trader and Brade played particularly well on Saturday and I doubt it is a coincidence that they did so with Glendon Miller back in the lineup. Miller, too, posted a very good grade having played 22 snaps. More at the link.

STORY

As has already been reported on Twitter, Virginia beat Maryland by 6 points in their 'secret scrimmage' on Saturday. Julian Reese led the way for the Terps, while Jahmir Young and Donta Scott both carried a bulk of the scoring load. The other name I continue to hear as having played extremely well and is going to be a big part of the rotation is Ian Martinez.

I mentioned that I was hearing Martinez has looked really so far the other day and after actually speaking with Martinez at media day, I'm not convinced he won't be in the starting lineup once the season gets underway. He had some eye-opening things to say, as in, he was not happy last year, felt they did not play the style of basketball he was told they were going to play and felt they really did not use him in a way that suits his strengths. He seems much more confident in his game and in what the new staff is doing. He was also very adamant that this team is actually playing fast, high tempo basketball and actually getting up and down the court like Turgeon always said he would do but didn't. It's no secret that I really liked the Martinez pickup at the time he committed here. It also isn't any secret he really struggled last season. But he showed some flashes in league play and it doesn't surprise me at all to hear he's playing well. Also have to remember he was basically behind the 8 ball from the get go last season with the surgery. So again, I almost wouldn't be surprised if Martinez starts at the two with Carey as the first off the bench.

But for the most part, this team is likely to go as Young, Reese and Scott go. They are likely going to do the bulk of the heavy lifting.

What’s going to happen in OUR Wiscy game? I’ll wager you 1 Guinness that we both run for more yards and win the game.

Terps flirting with national recognition.

Hoping to get intel on transfers and the most promising freshman. TSR Scott is this something that you have spies checking it out.

Did anybody see during the B1G network commercials where they show the pop-up schools on the landscape, they showed a quick glimpse of USC and UCLA. I did not see that the rest of the game or day for that matter.

We're about an hour away from kickoff in College Park between the Terps and Northwestern. Terps will be in their usual all red Homecoming uniforms.

Big news ahead of this one, not surprisingly, is that Taulia will sit this one out and Billy Edwards Jr. will get his first start. On the other side, Ryan Hilinski has been benched by Fitzgerald and is being replaced by Brendan Sullivan.

One surprise injury note, Barham is out today, along with Hyppolite who has missed all but a few snaps of the past 4 games.

The Terps got the running game going in the second half and paired with a couple of INTs by the safeties helped the Terps come back from a halftime deficit to defeat the Wildcats 31-24 and become bowl eligible for the second straight season. Full recap with quotes, stats and highlights at the link below.

STORY

I exchanged questions with Northwestern publisher Louie Vaccher ahead of tomorrow's Homecoming game. One question I asked that I was actually a bit surprised by the answer was about Fitzgerald being on the hot seat. He's an alum and one of the most respected coaches in the game, but NW has been flat out awful the last season-plus. You also know it's bad when their own publisher expects a whooping, even with Billy Edwards starting. More at the story linked below.

STORY

Watch Locksley break down the Terps' win over Northwestern, as he also discusses Lia's injury, the status of a few other injured players and what it means to be bowl eligible this early in the season, all in the video linked below. Will try to have player videos up soon.

STORY

Lia or Billy?

I say Billy 48, Cats 17!

Caesar's opened up with us as a 12 point favorite, a couple of others started us at 13 point favorites, we're currently 14.5.

Over/Under at 52.

A

Anyone who attends games - any idea how to get a golf cart to transport those unable to walk to the stadium? My in-laws are coming today and one of them can't walk that far. Can't find anything on the MD website. I guess I can try to wave one of the transports down but was hoping there was a better process than that.

Mark

Three things to watch for against Northwestern. In short, this game is all about the run, both pounding the rock and stopping the run on defense. If those two things happen, the Terps should win big and come away with their 6th win of the year and become bowl eligible at the earliest point in the season since 2001. More at the link below.

STORY

Where is everybody? The fans/students should enjoy this.

"3. The Terps control their Big Ten destiny. With Maryland taking down Michigan State and Ohio State tying Penn State, the Terps control their Big Ten destiny. Maryland just needs to defeat Indiana on Oct. 30 to secure the Big Ten regular season crown. If the Terps lose to the Hoosiers, however, they could fall as far as fourth in the conference standings."

Just noticed that our volleyball team is hosting State Penn on BTN at 8 tonight....Go Terps!!

In full disclosure, my best friend lived in Anne Arundel dorm which was coed in 1980 and the other half of his floor housed the volleyball team. Needless to say, I was probably the number one visitor to that dorm and actually came in second in their talent show as the Unknown Comic....

Watch Locks give a final update ahead of Saturday's game. He starts by updating the status of Lia (no real update) other than the fact he has practiced multiple times. Also updates the status of Jakorian Bennett and Ruben Hyppolite, both have practiced but game-time decisions. Full availability below.

Login to view embedded media