Bleacher Report 1st week football predictions for 2012 season:TRIBE VS TERPS

[Coach G]

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1...-1-game/page/5

Saturday, September 1, Time and TV Coverage TBA

The parade of ACC vs. FCS games continues with Maryland hosting William & Mary on September 1.
Maryland and second-year head coach Randy Edsall simply cannot wait to put the nightmare of 2011 out of their minds once and for all. Unfortunately for the Tribe of William & Mary, they are the chosen first target.
Maryland was just downright bad last season, winning just two games all season—one of which was against FCS Towson.

But even a 2-10 team with Danny O'Brien as quarterback should be more than a match for the Tribe, who were 6-5 last season, with a 4-4 Colonial Athletic Association conference mark.

Terrapins fans will be looking for a big win from Edsall. If the Terps put up anything less than a convincing, resounding victory, you can expect to begin hearing Edsall's name connected with the term “hot seat” before Week 2 arrives.

Maryland 42, William & Mary 13

[mrjoolius]

How about a 2-10 team without Danny O'brian? Didn't he request a transfer?

[nj alum]

Wow! I have the opposite view. I don't think the author has any idea about JL, the season-opening FBS game, and what it means for the Tribe.

I fully expect a competitive game, and a winnable FBS game for the Tribe, and will be disappointed if the Tribe doesn't pull this one out. I think this game is Edsall's worst nightmare as the most dangerous Tribe teams always turn out to be the teams of whom little is expected.

Go Tribe!

[hktribefan]

An FCS team should never be "favored" over a BCS team, but there are certainly teams that are more susceptible to an upset than others. UVA in 2009 was one, and Maryland this year is another. If we can work out who the leader under center is and keep the defense at a high level I think we make it a game and have a chance to leave with a win.

[Sitting Bull]

These "experts" are so often idiots.

I would like to see their same write-up for:
2006 UNC game
2009 UVA game
2010 UNC game

[Burgmeister]

Actually, I feel pretty good about this game. Unlike last year when a lot of us had high expectations going in to Charlottesville, next year's team is at least preseason rated lower and expectations should be lower. The pressure on Maryland to win big will be tremendous. And correct, Danny O'Brien has been given clearance to transfer so their QB situation will also be unsettled. I really like our chances.

[hktribefan]

Will O'Brien be transferring to an FCS school? I seem to recall reading somewhere that he can graduate this spring so he could find a grad program not offered at Maryland and go to another FBS program as well.

[mrjoolius]

Will O'Brien be transferring to an FCS school? I seem to recall reading somewhere that he can graduate this spring so he could find a grad program not offered at Maryland and go to another FBS program as well.

It's my understanding that he is trying to go to Vanderbilt under former md coach franklin. Apparently md was trying to block his release to prevent him from going there but has recently relented.

[tribe11]

I'm not sure I'd compare the Terps and Edsall right now to UVA under Groh in 2009. In that 09 game, UVA had completely stagnated under Groh after some initial success, and their passion and confidence was gone. The Terps were bad last year, but they have a ton of talent. That talent didn't fit the system Edsall put in place (as a Terp fan also, whether he should have jammed his system into place as opposed to altering his style to fit his players is another discussion entirely), and as a result, he had a lot of bad chemistry, unhappy players, and discontent. About 25 or so players have now transferred out since Edsall took over, and with the graduation of the senior class (where a lot of the unrest was), what's left are Edsall's guys--guys that want to be there and are enthusiastic about the system. Another big problem last season was two awful coordinators, both of whom were replaced. So while the Terps aren't going to go out and win the ACC (probably won't even finish in the top half), they're not going to just roll over like UVA did in 2009. It's a team with a ridiculous amount of high-major talent, and while I think there's no question WM can win, it will be not be easy.

[-Tribal-]

O'Brien and yet another UMD player were just granted permission to transfer. O'Brien is gone. Last season, UMD crushed Towson but weren't in any of their remaining 8 games. They dominated Morgan St in 2010 but needed OT to beat JMU in 2009.

Tribe leads series 2-1.
2006: Terps beat Tribe 27-14
1945: William & Mary 33, Maryland 14 (SF threw 3 TDs, 1 INT, ran for -9 yards)
1946: William & Mary 41, Maryland 7