The Maryland Terrapins will look to become bowl eligible for the seventh time in head coach Ralph Friedgen's 10 seasons at Saturday's annual Homecoming contest.
In order to accomplish that goal, the Terps (5-2, 2-1 ACC) will need to get past a refreshed Wake Forest (2-5, 1-3) squad which is coming off a bye.
Friedgen hopes a solid week of practice for the Terps will help offset what should be a determined Wake Forest team which has dropped five straight games, but three of those were against squads currently ranked in the top 25.
The Terps have won eight of the last 11 in the series, but the Demon Deacons have been victorious in three of the previous four meetings, including last season's 42-32 triumph in Winston-Salem, N.C.
"I thought we had a good week," Friedgen said Thursday. "We started off slow but got better. I thought our last two practices were pretty good. I spent half the time with the defense (Thursday) and I thought they were very good. Then I came over and spent the other half with the offense and they were pretty good too."
The Terps have changed their Thursday practice schedule in order to become more efficient and cut down on potential injuries. Maryland has already lost six players for the season.
"We kind of have a different routine," Friedgen said. "We're cutting Thursday's short and getting a little more film work. We're on the field for about an hour. Depending on how we play, we're going to try and cut back the last month. I don't know how much better we're going to get on technique and we're a little nicked up, so we'll try to keep them well for the last stretch here."
The Terps are in search of their fourth straight home win and hope to carry on last week's road success which resulted in a victory over Boston College.
"I think it's another step we have to take," Friedgen said of the search for consistency. "We're getting a little more confident as we go on, but there's a difference between confident and arrogant. You have to believe in yourself and know that if you go out and play well, you're going to have a good chance of winning. But you have to do it on a consistent basis."
Saturday's game is set to kick off at 3:30 p.m. at Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium. It can be heard on the 15-station Terrapin Sports Radio Network and viewed nationally on ESPNU.
Following Thursday's practice, Friedgen announced that defensive back Antwine Perez, offensive lineman Paul Pinegar and wide receiver Emani Lee-Odai will serve as captains for Saturday's game. He also named lineman Chris Rhodes as the offensive scout team player of the week and linebacker Lorne Goree as the defensive scout team player of the week.
Linebacker Darin Drakeford, a Washington, D.C., native, will carry the Maryland flag onto the field Saturday and defensive back Trenton Hughes will bring the American flag.
Maryland Injury Report - 10-28-10
(Wake Forest game)
Out:
RB 20 Gary Douglas (leg)
DB 24 Avery Graham (leg)
DB 39 Desmond Kearse (leg)
TE 86 Dave Stinebaugh (knee)
Out for season:
QB 16 C.J. Brown (shoulder)
OL 79 Pete DeSouza (legs)
OL 75 Justin Gilbert (knee)
LB 42 Ben Pooler (knee)
TE 80 Lansford Watson (knee)
DL 41 Marcus Whitfield (knee)
The Terps have won eight of the last 11 in the series, but the Demon Deacons have been victorious in three of the previous four meetings, including last season's 42-32 triumph in Winston-Salem, N.C.
"I thought we had a good week," Friedgen said Thursday. "We started off slow but got better. I thought our last two practices were pretty good. I spent half the time with the defense (Thursday) and I thought they were very good. Then I came over and spent the other half with the offense and they were pretty good too."
The Terps have changed their Thursday practice schedule in order to become more efficient and cut down on potential injuries. Maryland has already lost six players for the season.
"We kind of have a different routine," Friedgen said. "We're cutting Thursday's short and getting a little more film work. We're on the field for about an hour. Depending on how we play, we're going to try and cut back the last month. I don't know how much better we're going to get on technique and we're a little nicked up, so we'll try to keep them well for the last stretch here."
The Terps are in search of their fourth straight home win and hope to carry on last week's road success which resulted in a victory over Boston College.
"I think it's another step we have to take," Friedgen said of the search for consistency. "We're getting a little more confident as we go on, but there's a difference between confident and arrogant. You have to believe in yourself and know that if you go out and play well, you're going to have a good chance of winning. But you have to do it on a consistent basis."
Saturday's game is set to kick off at 3:30 p.m. at Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium. It can be heard on the 15-station Terrapin Sports Radio Network and viewed nationally on ESPNU.
Following Thursday's practice, Friedgen announced that defensive back Antwine Perez, offensive lineman Paul Pinegar and wide receiver Emani Lee-Odai will serve as captains for Saturday's game. He also named lineman Chris Rhodes as the offensive scout team player of the week and linebacker Lorne Goree as the defensive scout team player of the week.
Linebacker Darin Drakeford, a Washington, D.C., native, will carry the Maryland flag onto the field Saturday and defensive back Trenton Hughes will bring the American flag.
Maryland Injury Report - 10-28-10
(Wake Forest game)
Out:
RB 20 Gary Douglas (leg)
DB 24 Avery Graham (leg)
DB 39 Desmond Kearse (leg)
TE 86 Dave Stinebaugh (knee)
Out for season:
QB 16 C.J. Brown (shoulder)
OL 79 Pete DeSouza (legs)
OL 75 Justin Gilbert (knee)
LB 42 Ben Pooler (knee)
TE 80 Lansford Watson (knee)
DL 41 Marcus Whitfield (knee)
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