March 10, 2013; Charlottesville, VA USA; Virginia Cavaliers forward Akil Mitchell (25) shoots the ball as Maryland Terrapins center Alex Len (25) defends in overtime at John Paul Jones Arena. The Cavaliers won 61-58 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

The Teams: Maryland Terrapins (20-11, 8-10 ACC) V. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (13-17, 6-12 ACC)

The Time: 7 PM EST

The Location: Greensboro Coliseum. Greensboro, North Carolina

TV/Radio: ESPNU, 105.7 FM

The Backstory: Eleven games, four days, one champion. It’s the postseason for conference play, y’all. It’s the last sliver of hope that plenty of teams in the ACC have at making the bigger NCAA tournament with an at-large bid. Some teams, like Miami, Duke, and N.C. State don’t have to win anymore to gain entry into the tournament. Others, like the Maryland Terrapins and definitely the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, need to bring their hard hat and shovel to work today.

The Terrapins may be considered the favorite tonight, but there is a caveat: the Terps might still be suffering a hangover effect from that heart-wrenching loss to Virginia in the final seconds. The Terrapins came up lame in the second half and proceeded to squander a 19 point lead against the Cavaliers en route to losing 61-58 in overtime, thanks to the one thing that has damned them all year long: turnovers. Dez Wells turned the ball over at the last second of the overtime period, and the Terps failed to get a potential game-tying shot off. The win put the Terrapins on the outside looking in at the NCAA tourney, and almost certainly will have a lingering effect on this game, at least to start.

Meanwhile, Wake Forest is a team that just isn’t overly impressive. The Demon Deacons finally ended their three game losing streak (in which they lost every game by ten or more points) by defeating Virginia Tech to close out the season 90-79. The Deacons aren’t considered a favorite in this tournament for a lot of reasons, but they can without a doubt rise to the occasion, well, occasionally. That was evident when they beat #2 Miami 80-65 in February.

The Deacons haven’t had as much success against the Terrapins, but they have given them a bit of trouble. While both losses against Maryland, 86-60 the first go round and 67-57 in the second, have come by a large margin, there were certainly moments during that game where things were close. Considering how woefully inconsistent both teams are, we should be in for a good matchup.

Keys to the game:

1.) Road Warriors

So what happens when you put two terrible road teams against one another on a neutral site? More than likely, you get a bad basketball game full of errors and misfortune. This game is going to be about who can play less bad, since it’s almost a certainty that both teams will struggle away from their home arenas. Wake Forest might be on the disadvantage by a slight margin, though.

The Jeff Bzdelik-led Demon Deacons have gone 1-25 in ACC road games during his tenure. Of those losses, 20 of those have come by ten or more points. For whatever reason, his teams really, really, don’t do well on the road. That should bode well for the Terrapins, who are most certainly not very good away from Comcast, either. During the Mark Turgeon era of the Terrapins, they are 3-14 (I knew I shouldn’t have looked) during road ACC games. Two of those wins have come against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, though.

Whichever team shows up and plays slightly effective basketball is going to win this game, plain and simple. If Maryland can minimize turnovers and actually hit the rim on the deep ball, they will probably be alright.

2.) TURNOVERS

I haven’t harped on this in awhile, so I’m going to do so now. The Terrapins need to quit turning this damn ball over, and it’s been the story all season. I hate to say it, but Dez Wells torrent of scoring towards the end of the UVA game was slightly overshadowed by his late game turnover. No, that loss was in no way all his fault, but that turnover pointed to the bigger overall issue, which is that the Terps turn it over way too much. No matter how much good they do, it’s going to be overshadowed by the fact that they have butterfingers.

Bottom line, this team should not prescribe to Mark Turgeon’s theory of “It’s just what we do,” when it comes to turnovers. They should be striving to get better at it every game, and they haven’t done that. Do it this game against Wake Forest, and they will win. I promise.

Mar 2, 2013; Winston Salem, NC, USA; Maryland Terrapins guard Nick Faust (5) celebrates with guard Pe

The Maryland Terrapins slim chances of making the NCAA Tournament live on for yet another day! Thanks to Mr. Dez Wells showing off in front of his home state, the Terrapins avoided a road loss and took down the Wake Forest Deacons 67-57 Saturday afternoon. Wells, playing in front of a crowd that included NBA superstar Chris Paul, went a near-perfect 11-of-12 from the field to finish the game with 23 points and 5 rebounds, at times appearing seemingly unstoppable.

So what is there to take away from this game? Not a whole lot, really. The Terrapins were playing against arguably the worst team in the ACC, and though the Deacons lost by double-digits, the game was much closer than that. What can be said about the Terrapins is that they fought through a massive amount of foul trouble to salvage a game that could have completely gone awry. Typically, when your team has 24 fouls over the course of a game, the end result is like a dropkick to the groin: you go down, and you go down hard. Shaquille Cleare had four fouls, James Padgett fouled out, Alex Len, Dez Wells, Nick Faust and Charles Mitchell each had three apiece and the Terrapins front court was shredded. But while the Terps were down, they never gave up.

At one point, Turgeon was on the verge of being rejected outright because of the foul deficit (Wake had 9 fouls to Maryland’s 19), but Maryland continued to play strong defense and attacked the Deacons to remain in contention. Dez Wells essentially put the team on his back and repeatedly drove to the basket at will to respond to whatever Wake Forest threw at him, and in doing so helped the Terrapins remain confident despite all that was going wrong in the game. With eight minutes remaining, and the Terps up 49-42, Wells scored eight of the team’s next ten points in order to keep the offense in the game. It was a performance that Maryland badly needed, and one that speaks volumes about his will to win.

Of course, it helped that Wake Forest is just a pretty bad basketball team in general. They matched Maryland turnover-for-turnover (19 for the Terps, 18 for Wake Forest), which isn’t an easy feat in it’s own right. Sloppy ballhandling from Cody Miller-McIntyre (five turnovers) and C.J. Harris (four turnovers) negated any chance they had of capitalizing on Maryland’s propensity to lose the ball. Wake Forest hit a few three pointers early, but fell in love with the long ball and finished shooting 6-of-21 from long range, essentially putting themselves out of the game with all that chucking. Maryland gobbled up all those misses, and outrebounded the Deacons 37-29.

That last part shouldn’t be surprising to anyone, because that’s what Maryland does when they are at their best. They challenge teams to make shots, and grab rebounds using their size and athleticism when they don’t. Winning the battles on the boards really, really, masks the turnover issue that plagues certain players (*cough* Dez Wells had five *cough*). Len was suffering through some foul trouble, and wasn’t particularly aggressive on the offensive end, but every time he was on the court, the game was slanted in Maryland’s favor. His ten rebounds were huge, and a pair of blocks to go along with that showed that he affected the outcome of the game in a lot of ways.

Maryland didn’t have a lot going for them this game, but they did get some solid performances from a couple players in the second half as well. Pe’Shon Howard made some big layups towards the end of the game (he finished with 8 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists), and Nick Faust was a consummate glue guy to end up with 9 points and 4 rebounds. Then there was Logan Aronhalt doing Logan Aronhalt things, hitting three 3-pointers (on seven attempts) and widening the scoring margin whenever Wake Forest challenged. He was the only Terrapins to hit anything from deep (they finished 3-of-14 from long range.)

Were it not for Dez, the Terrapins would not have won. But were it not also for the collective team effort put together, with everyone chipping in in their own manner, Dez Wells points would have been a moot point. It’s what impressed me the most about the Terps; if one thing was falling apart, someone else was going to chip in and contribute. They plugged the holes in the boat as it was sailing towards a win, and that’s all you can really ask for in a team that plays as mediocre as the Terrapins do on the road. You have to be impressed sometimes by a team that, in spite of all their youth, doesn’t often give up on one another.

All of this is not to say that Wake Forest didn’t have some solid performances in the game. C.J. Harris chucked his way to 19 points on the afternoon (5-of-16 shooting) and freshman Devin Thomas had one of this better performances on the year with 17 points and 7 rebounds. Had Travis McKie actually showed up (he ended the game with 7 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 fouls) offensively, Maryland would have gone home with a big fat L strapped to their record. He was held in check and made uncomfortable all game, which definitely helped the Terrapins out. Had they made a few more shots, this game would have been dead even. On a day where they retired Chris Paul’s jersey and hung it up in the rafters, you expected a gutsy performance from a team that has been down on their luck. The Terrapins got it all, but it simply wasn’t enough.

What does the victory mean for Maryland moving forward? They took care of business, and continue to have a fighting chance of making it into that big, important, postseason tournament. Next Wednesday against North Carolina is as much of a must-win as any game the Terrapins have played this season for a number of reasons. They need some momentum heading into the game following UNC in Virginia (which is on the road, by the by), and must bolster that resume come season’s end. It’s winning from here on out, and doing it on the road, even against a bad team, is a good confidence boost for the Terrapins.

Well done, fellas.

Feb 27, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Maryland Terrapins head coach Mark Turgeon reacts to a call in the second half against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at McCamish Pavilion. Georgia Tech won 78-68. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports

Editor’s note: This article was written by Chris Bengel, one of our staff writers. Follow him on Twitter @DurtyPuckhead for some awesome Terrapins related tweets and general factual information!

The Teams: Maryland Terrapins 19-9 (7-8) vs. Wake Forest Demon Deacons 12-15 (5-10)

The Time: 12:00 p.m.

The Place: Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum – Winston-Salem, NC

TV/Radio: ACC Network (Check local listings), 105.7 FM/980 AM

Following another solid win, the Terrapins had their usual letdown against Georgia Tech on Tuesday night. Maryland got off to a good start against the Yellow Jackets with Alex Len leading the way. Unfortunately, Georgia Tech chipped away and eventually took the lead and refused to relinquish it. It wasn’t necessarily that Maryland shot the ball poorly. They did shoot at a nearly 43 percent clip but spent most of the game playing catch-up. The Yellow Jackets were shooting the ball very well and just seemed to want it more than the Terrapins at times. The loss makes an NCAA tournament at-large bid a very difficult  task. Maryland was barely on the bubble before the Georgia Tech game. Coupled with the loss at Boston College, the Terrapins have to run their remaining three games against Wake Forest, Virginia, and North Carolina plus likely get to the semifinal or championship game of the ACC tournament later this month. Needless to say, it’s going to be an uphill battle for Maryland.

On the other hand, Wake Forest is a team that resides in 10th place in the ACC. They’re simply not a good team and they showed that in their trip to College Park a month ago. The Terrapins smelled blood in the water and absolutely ran the Demon Deacons off the floor. Len was one of six scorers to finish in double figures as the star sophomore scored 12 points and grabbed nine boards. The Terrapins were knocking down a vast majority of their shots from long-range as freshman Jake “Sunshine” Layman hit four-of-six shots from beyond the arc.

Keys To Victory:

1) Come Out Strong

Maryland needs to come out with a strong effort on both ends of the floor. They need to make the entire fanbase forget about the debacle that transpired in Atlanta a few days ago. Len needs to impose his will on a weaker Wake Forest frontcourt. Especially if the young Ukrainian has dreams of the NBA, which we found out on Friday that he does. Len needs to have a dominating performance just as he did in the first game against the Demon Deacons. He’s been so up-and-down recently and hasn’t put together strong back-to-back performances. He has played well against the likes of Duke and Georgia Tech but struggled against Virginia, Boston College, and Clemson.

2) Win The Battle On The Boards

In a rare occurrence this season, the Terrapins were out-rebounded by the Yellow Jackets 31-27. While it’s not a wide margin, it’s a surprising statistic from the fourth-best rebounding team in the entire country. Len and freshman Shaquille Cleare combined for 15 boards while the rest of the team had 12 total rebounds. While Wake Forest doesn’t possess an overwhelming presence inside, Maryland will still have to show up and out-muscle them for every miss.

Prediction: I expect the Terps to rebound from their bad loss at the hands of Georgia Tech. Wake Forest is a team that they handled pretty well in College Park earlier this season. I’d expect Len to have a strong game and the point guard situation will be something to keep an eye on as Turgeon said that it’ll be an open competition in practice.

Maryland: 78 – Wake Forest 61

Dec 21, 2012; College Park, MD, USA; Maryland Terrapins forward James Padgett (35) looks up towards the shot clock during the second half at the Comcast Center against the Stony Brook Seawolves. Mandatory Credit: Paul Frederiksen-USA TODAY Sports

The Maryland Terrapins have had a rough stretch of basketball these past few weeks. A game against Wake Forest was the much needed antidote to the winning drought plaguing the Terps.

Maryland chased the Wake Forest Demon Deacons off the court Saturday afternoon 86-60 and ended their two game losing streak since winning at home against North Carolina. The Terrapins are now 4-5 in the ACC.

Thanks to the impeccable shooting display put on by the Terrapins, Wake Forest had virtually no chance from the start. Senior forward James Padgett was a perfect 6-for-6 from the field, scoring 12 points while also grabbing four rebounds. In what was arguably his most effective game as a Terrapin, Padgett was seemingly unstoppable in the paint against Wake Forest forward Travis McKie. His shooting display was an integral part to Maryland hitting 67% of their shots from the floor, including 68% from three point range.

The Terrapins had four other players score in double figures during their best offensive game since Virginia Tech. Jake Layman had 12 (4-of-6), Alex Len had 12 (6-of-7), Dez Wells had 11 (4-of-7), Logan Aaronhalt with 13 (5-of-6), and Seth Allen with 12 (4-of-6) rounded off the Terrapins top scorers.

The three point shooting came early and often for the Terrapins as they took a 14-9 lead at the 15 minute mark in the first half and never looked back. Alex Len and Nick Faust combined for a couple of alley-oop buckets that propelled the Terrapins to a 42-25 halftime lead that was never relinquished. Jake Layman and Seth Allen then piled on the three pointers, and by the end of the game the Terrapins had hit 11 from long range.

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons simply couldn’t score enough points to keep up. Travis McKie, who had scored 20 points or more in his last two matches with the Terrapins, finished with 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting. The Deacons had three other players in double figures as well (Miller-McIntyre with 14, CJ Harris with 10, and Devin Thomas with 12), but received only nine points from the bench to aid them. Their depth would ultimately be their downfall.

Devin Thomas got into foul trouble, and the Terrapins capitalized by feeding the ball to their big men down low, feasting on the Wake Forest bench bigs. The Terrapins bench contribued 34 points, showing off their depth thanks to Aaronhalt and Allen’s savvy on the court.

The Terrapins still had 19 turnovers, which were the only black mark on an otherwise beautiful offensive showing.

Next up for the Terrapins is a second matchup with Virginia Tech in Blacksburg on Thursday, February 7th. The Terrapins dominated the Hokies in the first go-round 94-71.

Jan 30, 2013; Winston Salem, NC, USA; Wake Forest Demon Deacons forward Travis McKie (30) goes up for a dunk before being fouled by Duke Blue Devils forward Alex Murphy (12) during the first half at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

The Teams: Maryland Terrapins (15-6, 3-5 ACC) vs Wake Forest (10-10, 3-5 ACC)

The Time: 2:00 PM

The Location: Comcast Center, College Park, Maryland.

TV/Radio: ESPN3, 105.7 FM

The Backstory: The Maryland Terrapins have more than a few reasons to be downtrodden lately. They have lost three of their last four games, but the manner in which they have lost them is what makes them so, well, bad. One loss by ten points (which could have been more) @ UNC, a blowout loss @ Duke that was as bad as it got, and a last second loss @ Florida State thanks to some botched defense. You know, things that, when piled on consecutively, crush the will of teams.

Mark Turgeon is a very good coach, and there’s still confidence that he can get Alex Len out of his mini-slump (12 points and 15 rebounds over the last two games combined) in time for another not-that-easy opponent. Pe’Shon Howard is expected to return to the lineup, and while his offense has been less-than-stellar, he is expected to aid in cutting down the turnover issue that has plagued Maryland all season.

Meanwhile, Wake Forest has been nearly as bad as Maryland lately, losing four of their last five games (their only win being against North Carolina State). The Demon Deacons have been on and off this year, with impressive wins against UVA, Xavier, and NC State this year, but bad losses to Clemson and Virginia Tech along the way. It’s hard to tell which version of Wake Forest is going to show up, but you can rest assured that when they are on the road, it’s more than likely the bad rendition (they have lost five of their six road games this year).

So what makes the Deacons so Demonly on the court? Travis McKie and C.J. Harris, the front court-back court combo that is averaging the majority of their points this year. Long-time Terrapin followers know about Harris, the senior guard who is averaging 14 points per game and has been going up against the Terps for a long time. He isn’t much of a passer, but he is very much a solid guard.

The Deacons real threat offensively is McKie, who is averaging 15 points and eight rebounds per game. He generally did some pretty good things against Maryland the past few seasons, as he broke the 20 points mark both times last year. He isn’t the biggest player on the court, but he is very effective. Unfortunately this is a road game, so no matter what the Deacons do, it may not be enough.

Keys to the Game

1.) I feel like I’m repeating myself, but….turnovers

This point has been beaten into the ground but it’s really the only point that is keeping the Terrapins from being a successful team. Consider that against Florida State, they turned the ball over 18 times. If they scrap just five of those from their total, they have five more possessions. Now figure they convert a meager 2 of those 5 possessions into points. Four measly points. That turns the game into a win.

It’s that simple. Stop. Turning. The. Ball. Over. So. Much. With. Sloppy. Play.

2.) Shut down Travis McKie

McKie has been fantastic against the Terrapins during his three-year career, scoring in double figures over all four games. He is a very adept rebounder for being significantly undersized at 6’7, but don’t let that fool you. He has a nose for the ball and without question an ability to score. McKie creates a bit of a matchup problem since he can score from just about anywhere on the court, so it will be interesting to see who Maryland sticks on him.

Dez Wells might actually be the best candidate for the job, as he has the versatility and speed to match up with McKie relatively well. What’s most impressive about him is that he is so good at scoring in spite of not having, really, any point guard to give him the ball. The only player who can keep up with a guy that is that active on the court is really Dez.

Sep 08, 2012; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Maryland Terrapins linebacker Demetrius Hartsfield (9) celebrates making an interception during the fourth quarter against the Temple Owls at Lincoln Financial Field. Maryland defeated Temple 36-27. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE

I can feel it coming in air tonight. But as I wrote this yesterday, today it dawned on me that the Maryland Terrapins might not be throwing the ball a whole lot. Which is why today,

1.) One of Maryland’s running backs rushes for 100+ yards today.

The Deacons are bad at stopping the run. Let me rephrase that, the Deacons are absolutely horrible at stopping the run. How bad? Well, over the last four games they have given up (I kid you not) over 1,000 yards on the ground. The Deacons, for whatever reason, cannot stop jack squat on the ground. Between Wes Brown, Brandon Ross, and Justus Pickett, the Terrapins have three running backs worth their salt. So do I think they are going to gash this defense up? Yes, yes I do. Especially since the Demon Deacons are going to be without four starters this week, three of which play on the defensive side of the football. One of them, Mike Olson, is the team’s leading tackler, and that is without a doubt going to cripple a team that has been prone to big plays.

2.) Wake Forest turnovers will be the death of them

Typically, this would be where I would place the Terrapins; Perry Hills and Co. turn the ball over a LOT. Luckily, this week they play against Wake Forest, who do some turning over themselves. Last week, quarterback Tanner Price turned the ball over three times and essentially lost them the game (against Duke), which means he might be playing scared today. He also lost his top receiving target and one of the best receivers in the country in Michael Campanaro, so Price is going to have to make due with sub-par players. That isn’t a good thing for a quarterback who hasn’t inspired a lot of confidence at all during the season. So do I think he’s going to turn the ball over? Yes, I do. And against our surprisingly stout pass rush, I think he is going to turn the ball over a lot.

3.) Perry Hills starts his ACC career off the right way against Wake Forest

With about two weeks to prepare for this game after losing to West Virginia, Perry Hills is going to be very prepped for his introduction to ACC ball against Wake Forest. Against the Mountaineers, Hills had his first 300 yard passing game, and dare I say the Deacons defense might actually be worse? If not worse, then very similar. Hills has shown that he can actually thrive against poor defenses (see: Temple and WVU), and I think he may do the same thing this week.

No, that statement doesn’t illicit a ton of confidence in Hills, but I do think he will do just enough to get the job done. With the running game firing on cylinders it didn’t know it had until this point, Hills job will finally be made easier. Pair that with Stefon Diggs coming into his own and I think this is Hills chance to finally convince Terrapin fans that he is over most of his rookie jitters*.

(*Hills is not over his rookie jitters, but for the time being he will be)

4.) The Maryland defense will hold Wake Forest to under 75 rushing yards

I know, this is a gutsy statement to make altogether. I still think it’s going to happen, given that the Deacons have lost their second best rusher and leading TD man in Deandre Martin (5 TDs on the season). Josh Harris isn’t bad, but I don’t think he is good enough to shoulder the load the entire game. The Terrapins are going to key in on this guy all game and commit more people into the box, especially because Wake Forest has lost it’s biggest receiving threat. The 11th ranked rushing defense in the nation coming off a bye week going against a depleted backfield equates to a very, very, rough challenge for the Deacons.

5.) And finally, Maryland wins by two scores

Honestly, this is one of those games that the Terrapins either lose due to sleeping on a team, or they win handily. I’m obviously sticking with the latter in this case, as I think the Terrapins defense is too good this year to fall victim to lethargy. Instead, Maryland is going to be on the delivering end of a near-blowout. The offense doesn’t have a ton of firepower, but it has enough to beat Wake Forest by a good amount. In the past, I’d say this was a trap game, but these Terrapins are different. They have quite a bit of heart. Randy Edsall has done a pretty good job getting these kids up to play, and this week will be no different.

Dec 30, 2011; Nashville,TN, USA; Wake Forest Demon Deacons quarterback Tanner Price (10) looks to hand off against the Mississippi State Bulldogs during the second half of the 2011 Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl at LP Field. Mississippi State defeated Wake forest 23-17. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-US PRESSWIRE

Maryland went down to Winston-Salem last year, having lost 6 straight games, wishing that the season were over already. Poor offensive execution and defensive effort led to the Terps getting their shells waxed 31-10. Despite a 110 yard rushing performance from CJ Brown, Maryland couldn’t convert on third downs (4-of-16) and Deacs QB Tanner Price went absolutely ham on the defense for two fourth quarter touchdown passes to seal the deal. It was a poor effort by the Terps, and one that we’d like to see change in 2012, so without further ado..

Deacons 2011 Record: 6-7 (5-3 in ACC)

Wake Forest 2012 Schedule

Sept. 1 Liberty

Sept. 8 North Carolina

Sept. 15 at Florida State

Sept. 22 Army

Sept. 29 Duke

Oct. 6 at Maryland

Oct. 13 Bye

Oct. 20 at Virginia

Oct. 25 Clemson (Thursday)

Nov. 3 Boston College

Nov. 10 at NC State

Nov. 17 at Notre Dame

Nov. 24 Vanderbilt

The Deacons are good because…

We’ll start with one of the obvious reasons the Deacons are pretty darn good, and that’s because of their quarterback Tanner Price. Price is a junior Texas-bred quarterback, which means he likes to slang that thang around the field. Last year he finished up the season with 20 TDs and 6 INTs to go along with 3,017 yards, but it’s almost a certainty that his numbers could be better this year given that it’s his third season in Jim Grobe’s offense. 20 TDs is a deceiving number, too, because Price could have been a whole lot better if he actually had a running game. Unfortunately, starter Josh Harris came up lame with hamstring injuries most of last year and was a non factor, which pretty much let every defense know what play they were going to run next. Senior Brandon Pendergrass filled in admirably with 823 yards on the ground and 9 TDs, but he is nowhere near the big play person that Harris was considered to be as a freshman (when he averaged over 5 yards a carry).

Their offense never seems to beat themselves with mind numbing turnovers, which is a big reason why their 12 turnovers total last season (a number which was 6 fewer than Virginia Tech, who is nefarious for never relinquishing the rock) is so impressive. Forcing this team to cough up the ball is like asking a homeless man to give up 20 bucks; ain’t happening to often. Price has completed his last 173 passes without an interception heading into 2012, and you’d be hard pressed to go into the history books and find many streaks better than that. That’s why they can always stay in games despite not lighting it up offensively, where they finished 8th in the ACC in scoring.

Another reason why they’re good, and in my opinion their biggest strength, is Wake’s secondary. They return defensive freshman of the year Merrill “Boo” Noel, and he might make all the difference. Good luck throwing any ball his direction, because Noel looks like he was created at the Master Lock factory. And NFL scouts seem to think so, too, when they compare him favorably to former Deacon great Alphonso Smith. Last year alone, he led the nation (all players, not just freshmen) in passes deflected with 19 total. He makes that defensive secondary very tough to throw on, and was a big reason why CJ Brown threw the ball 42 times and only had 186 yards (who says he can’t throw?!). Here’s why it gets harder:

Kevin Johnson, a Clarksville, Md. native who played his HS ball at River Hill, actually beat out Noel for a starting cornerback job last season. The freshman defensive player of the year Noel, who had 66 tackles and 2 picks! He beat him out! The only reason this guy wasn’t on the field for a single game is because he probably didn’t attend classes, and ended up being ruled academically ineligible. The year before that as a true freshman playing spot duty in 11 games, Johnson had 20 solo tackles, including nine against Virginia Tech alone. It’s scary to think about how hungry this kid is going to be when he finally gets on the field, and for that reason this might be one of Wake Forest’s most dangerous secondaries in a long, long time.  (On a lighter note, the good news is that Maryland’s QBs may be incapable of throwing the ball far enough for them to pick it off.)

Back to the running game, where the Deacons have a healthy Josh Harris and sophomore Orville Reynolds as their one-two punch, with DeAndre Martin filling in when needed. Josh Harris has shown flashes of becoming a 1,000+ yard rusher, but he hasn’t been healthy. If everything is right for him, and rumors out of camp are that they are, their backfield is set. Reynolds is the little engine that could, given that his height is around 5’7 at best but he’s the fastest guy on the field. He was a true freshman last year and only rushed for 109 yards, but I had the unfortunate experience of witnessing him rush for 62 of those yards against the Terrapins. The combination of runners and their differing skills makes for, if everyone is healthy, a formidable backfield.

The Deacons will lose to Maryland because…

Lots of reasons. We can start with their hollowed out offensive line as the biggest reason why the Deacons could fall to the Terrapins. Center Garrick Williams is the team’s lone returning starter on the offensive line. Steven Chase, the Deacons new starting left tackle, just went down in camp with a torn ACL and meniscus, so he’s cooked for the year. LT Colin Summers also has had some trouble with a bum foot. Basically, they’ve got issues up front, and that’s never a very good thing for teams with small running backs, injured running backs, and not necessarily speedy quarterbacks (though Price is mildly mobile).

That offensive line is going to cause their offense to cough some balls up, as the rumors coming out of camp seem to state that nothing is going very well for the offense during scrimmages. Price has been getting hassled by the defense their last two scrimmages, and it all leads back to that makeshift line…

And the fact that Price is going to be missing one of the best wide receivers in the ACC last year in Chris Givens should really sting. Anytime you lose 1,300+ yards and 9 touchdowns (and your favorite target), it’s expected to affect you statistically. Sure, the Deacs have Michael Campanaro coming back (who had 833 yards and 2 TDs last year), but Michael Campanaro is more Robin than he is Batman. Ask Batman to play the Robin role for Gotham City and the crime rate is going to skyrocket. Even if Campanaro (who ate Maryland up on 7 catches for 80 yards last year) comes in with a 1,000 yard season, he’s basically all they’ve got outside of a senior who had 250 yards last year. Asking unproven commodities to step up and perform is a risky game, but that’s the game the Deacons are playing this year.

Finally, if that running game can’t stay healthy this year and play some consistent football, then this could be a bad season for Wake Forest. Even with Maryland’s injuries, the game could be a toss up given some of the holes on this roster.