Saunders Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 SBNation: Can DJ Durkin awaken the sleeping Maryland giant? On Twitter this past weekend, I asked people about sleeping giants, and it resulted in two conclusions I kind of expected: 1. Everybody's a sleeping giant. Nearly half of FBS (54 of 128 teams) got at least one vote. We all think our program is just one hire away from greatness. We might be right if that hire is Bill Snyder-caliber. But most aren't. Still, this is the college football dream. 2. North Carolina and Maryland got the most votes. We all have our definition of "sleeping giants," and mine doesn't include teams that have actually been giants recently. (So no Miami, no Texas, no Michigan, etc.) We know they can be giants, and to me the "sleeping giants" moniker is about who else could become one. Because of geography and shoe money, Maryland fans can talk themselves into having a solid "sleeping giant" case. The Terrapins are located near all sorts of top-tier talent in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, etc. It's the talent that Penn State, Virginia Tech, and others have brought in while winning tons of games in recent decades. It rarely chooses the Terrapins. But if it did... 2016 projected wins: 5.9 Projected S&P+ ranking: 62 (11 in Big Ten) 5-year recruiting ranking: 41 (7 in Big Ten) Biggest strength: Maryland could have one of the best running games in the Big Ten. Biggest question mark: Maryland could once again have one of the worst passing games in the Big Ten. Biggest 2016 game: Michigan State (Oct. 22). It's Durkin's first chance to claim a big scalp at home, and the Spartans might be just vulnerable enough to give the Terps a chance. Summary: Maryland has long been considered a sleeping football giant because of money and a local recruiting base, but aside from brief success under Ralph Friedgen, this giant has remained comatose. Can new head coach DJ Durkin change that? He's nailed his first offseason, anyway. http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2016/7/12/12139214/maryland-football-2016-preview-schedule-roster More to come... 1 Quote Link to comment
Redux Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 Maryland 22 Nebraska 42 Buh bye Turtles! GBR GBR GBR GBR Quote Link to comment
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