Terrapins desperate for a win

Battle with Wolfpack will leave the loser out of bowl contention

While the winner of Saturday's Maryland-North Carolina State game faces an uncertain fate the rest of the season, the ramifications for the loser are clear: It will be the first ACC team eliminated from bowl contention and, at least for now, will earn the title as the conference's worst team.

No teams in the conference have struggled as mightily as the two that will collide at Carter-Finley Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Neither has won a game in more than a month. They have a combined 2-11 record against division I-A teams. Narrow and not-so-narrow defeats, plus injuries, have left both grasping for signs of hope.

"There was a rainbow today," Maryland Coach Ralph Friedgen said after Thursday's practice. "I am looking for any kind of omen, guys. You laugh. It's not funny. I am looking for Dorothy."

A matchup between two teams with a combined 1-7 conference record finds itself in rarefied company. The game is one of only two featuring a Bowl Championship Series conference team -- Baylor-Missouri the other -- that will not be televised anywhere. (Maryland-N.C. State can be seen only on the Internet via ESPN360.com.)

"I don't think either one of us thought we would be where we are right now," Friedgen said.

The Wolfpack (3-5, 0-4) was a trendy preseason pick to win the ACC Atlantic Division. Maryland (2-6, 1-3) was at least expected to approach bowl eligibility. But instead of reaching those expectations, both head coaches are navigating the final month of the regular season talking about heavy doses of bad luck and yet another opportunity to break through with a victory.

"This week, both teams are in the same situation," Maryland linebacker Alex Wujciak said. "We are playing for the same thing."

Both teams are playing for a chance to keep playing for a chance to reach a bowl game. Both need to win out to gain bowl eligibility. (N.C. State needs seven overall wins because only one is allowed to come against a division I-AA opponent.)

"We all keep waiting for a break," North Carolina State Coach Tom O'Brien said of his team. "Something good is going to have to happen to us at some time. We can't keep going south forever. We just have to hang in there."

Friedgen has echoed the same sentiment almost every week, adding Thursday, "This has been a real strange year."

In addition to inexperience, injuries have taken their toll on the Terrapins. Cornerback Nolan Carroll, one of four team captains, broke his leg in the second game. Running back Da'Rel Scott, a first-team all-ACC performer last season, broke his forearm on Oct. 3. Left tackle Bruce Campbell has been in and out of the lineup with knee and turf toe injuries.

Young players are also beginning to get banged up. Talented linebacker Demetrius Hartsfield, a redshirt freshman, will miss at least the next two games with a broken wrist. Redshirt freshman running back Gary Douglas (shoulder) is available to play Saturday but has looked tentative in practice. Freshman offensive lineman Bennett Fulper (shoulder) is out for the season.