The 23rd-ranked California Golden Bears will try to continue their strong start when they head to College Park to battle the Maryland Terrapins at Byrd Stadium this weekend. The Golden Bears have been an unstoppable force in the early part of this season, opening their season with a hard-fought 38-31 victory over Michigan State, and then embarrassing Washington State in front of its home crowd, 66-3 last week. The rout of the Cougars pushed the Golden Bears into the Top-25. With a win this weekend it would be the fifth time in the last seven seasons that the Golden Bears would have started a campaign 3-0.
As for the Terps, it has been a rough start to the 2008 campaign. Maryland struggled just to slip past Delaware 14-7 in its opener, and this past weekend, the Terps went on the road and were shocked by Middle Tennessee, 24-14. After going 6-1 at home back in 2006, the Terps struggled in front of their home crowd this past season, posting just a 3-3 ledger. This will be the first-ever meeting between California and Maryland on the gridiron. The Golden Bears have simply ran through their first two opponents, averaging 297.0 ypg on the ground. Jahvid Best has been sensational for Cal, rushing for 311 yards and four touchdowns on an eye-popping 8.2 ypc thus far. In the victory over Washington State, Best pounded the Cougars for 200 yards and three scores on just 14 totes and is now getting national attention for his efforts.
Head coach Jeff Tedford isn't worried about the added attention paid to Best. "I don't really think that is an issue with Jahvid. Jahvid is a very down to earth guy and he focuses on getting better every day. He is all about team. He is not about individual recognitions. I really don't believe that is an issue with him." The success of the ground game against WSU took the pressure of the shoulders of quarterback Kevin Riley, who threw for just 51 yards and one score in the win. Riley also added 45 yards and one TD on the ground in the win. Thus far the signal caller has completed 60.5 percent of his passes for 253 yards, and has three touchdowns against zero interceptions.
After allowing 31 points in the opener against Michigan State, the Golden Bears put forth a much tougher effort against Washington State this past weekend. California limited the Cougars to just nine first downs, and allowed WSU to convert on just 1-of-13 third down attempts. Cal held WSU to just 167 total yards, including just 57 rushing yards on 1.6 ypc. The defensive unit also did a tremendous job against the pass, forcing the Cougars into four interceptions. It was a much better performance against the pass considering the defense was torched by Michigan State in the opener for 321 yards through the air.
Michael Mohamed led the way with 7.5 tackles in the win, while Syd'Quan Thompson recorded two interceptions. It was the third interception for Thompson this season, and he is quickly becoming one of the best cover corners in the Pac-10. The Terps could only muster 14 points against Middle Tennessee this past weekend, and while the team racked up a mediocre 357 total yards, the unit also committed three turnovers in the loss. Chris Turner took over for the injured Jordan Steffy this past weekend, and he struggled mightily, completing just 13-of-28 passes for just 207 yards. Turner also tossed three interceptions and was sacked three times. Head coach Ralph Friedgen thinks the offense is far off the mark, despite the poor performance against the Blue Raider. "I think we had a lot of things there that we didn't execute and really didn't take advantage of what was there. We have to get some things corrected along those lines." Still, with All-American candidate Darrius Heyward-Bey on the outside, there is always a chance for big plays downfield.
Fortunately there is a bright spot for the Terps on the offensive side of the football, and that is the team's ground attack, which is averaging 208.5 rushing ypg. Da'Rel Scott was outstanding against MTU, rumbling for 123 yards and one touchdown on just 11 totes. Thus far, Scott has been tremendous for Maryland, rushing for 320 yards on 8.6 ypg. Defensively the Terps have also been inconsistent, especially against the pass, as the team was torched for 284 yards through the air against MTU, and also allowed two passing TDs in the setback. Maryland only forced one turnover in the loss, and allowed MTU to rack up 21 first downs, and also allowed the Terps to convert on all three of their red zone chances. Jeff Allen and Dave Philistin both collected nine tackles in the loss,, while Allen also grabbed one TFL. Alex Wujciak, who leads the squad with 15 tackles on the season, added seven stops against MTU and also recovered a fumble.
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