Last year's most schizo team in the college football world was UCLA. Due mostly, but not all, to quarterback issues, the Bruins were great one week and terrible the next. They beat 11-2 BYU, only to lose 44-6 to Utah the following Saturday; scored 40+ twice in a row to win two Pac-10 games, then fell to abysmal Notre Dame while scoring just 6 points; they followed that with an upset of Cal, then lost three straight, after which they shut out Oregon 16-0. The 2007 UCLA Bruins had to be an oddsmakers' worst nightmare.
This year's UCLA team isn't quite like that. Though they upset Tennessee, the Vols don't look very good anymore and neither do the Bruins, who have been consistently poor since. Replacing them as this year's most schizophrenic team is Maryland.
The Terrapins opened with a lackluster 14-7 win over Division I-AA power Delaware. That could be written off as a fluke; indeed, I'd predicted a close game with Fightin' Blue Hens, who lost to Appalachian State in the FCS championship game last season. What I didn't predict is that Maryland would drop their next game 24-14, to the Sun Belt's Middle Tennessee State.
At this point even I—who had Maryland in my pre-season Top 25 at #25—had written off the Terrapins due to their lack of offensive productivity. But they surprisingly got it going against California, pulling off a 35-27 upset. They won their next two games as well, including a 20-17 upset of Clemson, and they looked to be right back on track, with the 4-1 record I'd expected at that juncture.
Maryland's next game was a trip to Virginia. The faltering Cavaliers had lost to USC by 45, to Connecticut by 35, and even to Duke by 28. Their only win was over I-AA Richmond. But the Terrapins were shut out 31-0.
After a week off to digest that humiliation, Maryland regrouped to face nationally ranked Wake Forest, the third team ranked at the time they faced them. Once again, Maryland prevailed, in a shocking 26-0 win, going from being shut out to achieving a shut out. That's something not even UCLA did last year.
It may be no fluke that the Virginia loss was a road game, while the Wake Forest win was at home. But another of Maryland's problem games (Delaware) was at home, and the Clemson win was on the road, so their loopy performance can't be explained away as a home/road phenomenon.
Their remaining schedule includes North Carolina State, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, Florida State, Boston College. All but N.C. State are or have been ranked this year, so given their track record I'd expect Maryland to lost to North Carolina State, then sweep the remaining four.
Unless, that is, they're favored in any of those games. Then they're in trouble.
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