The Maryland Terrapins are officially in a free fall as the final month of the 2011 college football regular season gets set to enter its second weekend. Having lost their last five games, most recently to the Virginia Cavaliers at home last Saturday, the Terrapins might be hoping that the season was already over.
After their 31-13 loss to the Virginia Cavaliers on Senior Day at Byrd Stadium, Maryland is now 2-7 (1-5 ACC) heading into their Week 11 matchup with Notre Dame. Saturday's contest will be a home game of sorts, as the Fighting Irish and Terrapins will square off at Fed Ex Field, the home of the Washington Redskins, in Landover, Maryland.
The Irish survived a close game against Wake Forest last Saturday, winning 24-17 to run their record to 6-3 on the season. The Irish are on the fringes of the top-25 in most polls, and should creep into the rankings with a win over Randy Edsall's struggling squad this weekend.
Saturday's game at the 91,704 seat stadium will be just the second meeting between the two schools. Their first and only matchup was a 22-0 Irish victory over the 21st-rated Terps on Aug. 31, 2002, at Giants Stadium in the Kickoff Classic. The win kicked off the Tyron Willingham era in South Bend with a bang.
Notre Dame will officially be the 'home' team despite the geographic proximity to College Park. It is part of a series off 'off-site' home games for Notre Dame dating back to 2009 where ND takes to the road to play in front of their legion of fans in other markets across the country.
For more pregame coverage and discussion leading up to Maryland's nationally televised showdown with Notre Dame, visit Testudo Times.