The path of least resistance

Maybe the ACC's Atlantic Division should be subdivided into two entities called "Those who give a crap about football" and "Those who don't."

Maryland, Boston College and N.C. State are in some serious disarray right now. You have to think there will be some turnover at the latter two schools, and the only reason there won't be at the first is because Randy Edsall is in his first year leading the Terrapins. But maybe next year.

Then again, maybe Frank Spaziani and Tom O'Brien get another year. It's not as though these are cut-throat football factories that demand big-time programs.

We talked about the situation at N.C. State in yesterday's blog, and maybe it's a little unfair to paint Wolfpack fans as casual as Boston College faithful (both of them). But we wouldn't call Raleigh a pressure cooker, either.

Let's talk about Maryland, though. Good gosh, what a mess. The photo above is from the Terps' 28-17 home loss to Boston College on Oct. 29. It would've been an embarrassing turnout even for the Terps' spring game. See that area on the left that's completely empty? That'd be your Maryland student section.

My how things have changed since the opener, when Maryland beat Miami 32-24 with a sporty new offense and a lot of energy and enthusiasm ... and oh yeah, those Electric Kool-Aid Acid Terp uniforms (the entire country is still dealing with painful flashbacks to that night).

The Terps were smashed at home by Temple in late September, but they produced some fight against Georgia Tech and Clemson before losing narrowly.

And then, not surprisingly, the bottom completely fell out. After squandering 18-point leads on two occasions in the 56-45 defeat to Clemson, Maryland has lost to Florida State, Boston College, Virginia and Notre Dame by an average of 19.5 points.

And the chances of a third win don't look good; the Terps' last two games are at Wake Forest and N.C. State.

Clemson fans have to love it when half of their division can't seem to get out of its own way. The Atlantic Division wasn't any good two years ago when the Tigers won it, and it's not all that good right now. But who cares if the Tigers are on a path of least resistance? The ACC wasn't exactly a juggernaut during the glory days of Danny Ford, was it?

There was reason to be wary of Maryland when they got rid of Ralph Friedgen and seemed to be heading in the direction of Mike Leach, who was viewed as someone who could add some life and excitement to the program.

But they went out and grabbed Edsall, who's about as exciting as rice cakes. He's followed up last year's nine wins under Friedgen with two victories so far this year, and he has an annoying habit of blaming everyone else for all his team's problems.

The fans don't seem to be buying in and, worse, neither do some of the players.

In this article by The Washington Post, a veteran player "expressed some displeasure with Edsall’s strict approach, saying that the coach has stifled individuality and created a militaristic atmosphere around the Gossett Team House. The player, who spoke anonymously so he could talk freely, said he would keep his spirits up because he had just three more months before he left the program.

Also in The Post, kicker Nick Ferrara said this:

“At this point, it’s not like two sides of the cafeteria — this side is buying in, this side is not. People are keeping it to themselves. No one knows who is going to go [transfer], who is going to stay, who is feeling which way.”

And this:

When asked whether the struggles this season illustrate the difficulty of winning when some players do not buy in to a coach’s philosophy, wide receiver Kevin Dorsey said, “Yes, definitely.”

Once upon a time, Maryland, N.C. State and Boston College posed serious threats to Clemson's designs on returning to ACC superiority. The Wolfpack took four of six from the Tigers from 1998 to 2003. The Eagles took three straight from 2005 to 2007. And the Terps took six of nine from 2001 to 2009 under Friedgen, a guy who has to be laughing pretty hard right now.



LW