On Campus with Brendan Andrew : CBSSports.com Blogs

Maryland vs. UNC

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 15:57:30 EST

2:09 - Unable to make it to College Park today, I'm live with you here, in Gaithersburg, Md. Terps in Gold. Milbourne, Vasquez, Hayes, Mosley and Williams.

2:12 Vasquez with an open 3. Milbourne with a BIG block from behind on Davis.

2:13 - Terps are definitely focusing on stopping the Tar Heels inside, defense is collapsing in, and leaving the guards with open shots. Thompson takes a step back, fades away and hits a jumper over Milbourne.

2:15 - Heels break the press but Ginyard throws the ball away. Milbourne went in for a big dunk, but drew iron. Ball clanks out to Hayes who knocs down the open 3.

Maryland Recruiting Blog

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 11:59:25 EST

As of now these are the commits that have signed National Letters of Intent to play at the University of Maryland:

Max Garcia (7:01 a.m.)

Andre Monroe (7:13 a.m.)

Tyrek Cheeseboro (7:06 a.m.)

Nitpicking Maryland Basketball

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:07:23 EST

Because I can. I'm very confident this team is going to make the NCAA Tournament, however, this is due to them finishing high in the ACC. They still have a few issues. The positives you guys have listed, I have no reason to repeat. So these are just the things i'm nitpicking for the sake of nitpicking because they could be problems down the road.

Major Issues:

1) Vasquez takes too many shots. He doesn't need to take as many shots, his teammates are stepping up this year, but at times he will take too many shots. See: Wake Forest, Florida State and Longwood. (Now, you may argue he only took 9 shots in the LU game, however, his shot wasn't falling, and all of his teammates were, it was selfish).

2) Free Throws. Hayes is the only one living up to what he shot last year. Vasquez, Milbourne, Tucker and Bowie are all way below where they were last year.

Maryland vs. Miami Running Blog

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 20:54:09 EST

To make this more accessible, I'll be keeping a running blog during the game on here rather than in the message board area. 10 minutes to tip in CP Miami has lost 3 straight in ACC play. Miami's best Out-of-conference win is a neutral court win against South Carolina... not saying much. Terps should win this game tonight.

6:48 - Starting for the Terps: G - E. Hayes, G. Vasquez, S. Mosley F - L. Milbourne and J. Williams. Starting for the Canes: G - D. Scott, M. Grant, J. Dews, F - C. McGowan C- J. Gamble

6:51 - Coach Gary Williams comes out to a standing ovation from the students, the rest of the fans look like they have yet to file into the arena.

7:03 - Canes win the tip, Maryland out in their standard man-to-man defense, force Canes into a tough shot, Milbourne with the Def. Rebound. On offense, Terps hustle to save the ball after going inside to no avail.

How I am Going to Fix College Football

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 13:28:03 EST

Everyone has a bone to pick with College Football. Anyone you talk to will find something wrong with the game. Weather it's the lack of a playoff system or the emphasis on pre-season rankings. Maybe you do not like the fact teams from non-bcs automatic qualifying conferences have played in a championship game. Maybe you do not think they deserve too. Now, you do not think so, but school president's think the schedule is too long as it is, but the championship game continuously gets pushed back ever year (odd, huh?).

It's ok, because I've got the answers, or the solutions, whichever you prefer to call them. Conference Realignment. Check. 24-team Playoff. Check. Lose the bowl system, but still keep an emphasis on the regular season? Check.

Day After Christmas Bowls

Sat, 26 Dec 2009 1:46:07 EST

2-4. Wow. I'm disappointing myself. Seriously. Although, no one saw that Nevada beatdown coming. I mean, they were 13 point favorites and got blown out. That will be the most shocking result of the bowls, unless somehow Cincy can beat down Florida that way.

LITTLE CAESAR'S BOWL

Marshall (6-6) vs. Ohio (9-4) -3

Sat. Dec 26 at 1 PM on ESPN

Pre-Christmas Bowls

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 21:27:30 EST

Well, the first weekend I went 1-2. I plan to improve upon that. But really... who saw Wyoming putting together that performance. No one, that's who.

MAACO LAS VEGAS BOWL

Oregon State (8-4) -2.5 vs. BYU (10-2)

Tues. Dec 22 8PM on ESPN

Bowl Previews and Picks (The First Weekend)

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 12:58:21 EST

There are 3 bowls this weekend, two on Saturday and one on Sunday, with five of the six teams being non-bcs teams. That doesn't mean they can't be entertaining. So, without further ado, I give you What, Who and Why to watch and my prediction.

NEW MEXICO BOWL

Fresno State (8-4) -10.5 vs. Wyoming (6-6)

Sat. Dec 19 at 430 PM on ESPN

Heisman Trophy

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 23:37:34 EST

Your 2009 Heisman Finalists:

RB Toby Gerhart, Stanford

RB Mark Ingram, Alabama

QB Colt McCoy, Texas

The First Week of Maryland Basketball

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 4:08:03 EST

Maryland has started of the season with two tune-up games. Although, I wouldn't dare call them that in front of Coach Gary Williams. He hates the term. It makes the game seem insignificant, and the opponent inferior. As we saw Monday night with the Kentucky-Miami (OH), no game should be taken lightly.

Last Friday, Maryland took on Charleston Southern, a team picked to finish 9th in the Big South. Not exactly the ACC. The 89-51 win should come as no surprise. The terrible shooting night by Greivis Vasquez should come as no surprise, as he is a streaky shooter, but the way the rest of the team stepped up is something we rarely saw last year. Senior Forward Landon Milbourne was an underrated player last year but is primed to break out of Vasquez' shadow. He scored 16 points, 7 rebounds, 4 blocks and 2 steals. He played great on the defensive end covering up to 4 positions on defense. Sophomore Guard Sean Mosley also filled up the stat sheet with 15 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal.

The Service Academies

Sun, 15 Aug 2010 17:33:47 EDT

I have to be honest, my family has had season tickets to Navy Football for a while, so i may be a little biased here, but I love watching the service academies. The Triple Option is incredibly entertaining, even if Army refuses to fully adopt it. Unfortunately, they will have too, they just cannot compete using a pro-style offense with their limitations. Navy, and to a lesser degree Air Force, have learned to use the triple option as a way of evening the playing field. Navy's offense focuses on using deception to pound an opponent into submission. Navy rarely throws more than 8 times a game, and to some this is boring, I get that, but I love it. Whether they hand it off up the middle with the fullback, pull it out and the QB can pitch it to the running back or keep it himself, Navy is always near the top of rushing in the NCAA. While none of the guys you see in a service academy jersey will play on Sundays (except Kyle Eckel ), they will go onto a greater calling, defending our country.

The BCS Standings and Heisman Contenders

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:32:22 EST

The BCS Standings were released yesterday for the third week, and Florida is a near-unanimous #1 if not for one sneaky computer that is holding out for Iowa. Texas took over for Alabama at #2, but they are very close and there is a huge gap between Alabama and Iowa at #4. Iowa is still the computer's darling despite falling in the polls this week. Cincy, TCU and Boise round out the undefeated teams. Boise State seems to be getting no credit from the computers for their win against Oregon, seeing as Oregon is higher in the computer polls. Oregon is the king of the one-loss teams after dismantling USC this week. USC despite the loss is still ranked #12 in the standings.

Some oddities of the polls: Despite being ranked 13th in the Harris and 12th in the AP, Ohio State is ranked 21st by the computers, bringing them in at #16. Oklahoma is ranked 19th by Harris and 20th by the AP, but is only ranked in one computer (at #17) which is good for 28th in the computers. Wisconsin is sitting at 24/22 (harris/ap) but is 19th in the computers, thanks to two computers having them at #15. South Florida is the only unranked team in the BCS standings.

The State of the ACC

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:30:04 EST

Let's get this outta the way first, Duke, yes Duke, is in 2nd place in the ACC. No, Steve Spurrier is not the coach. No, this is not the late 80's. No, this isn't basketball season. Now, Georgia Tech has yet to play Duke, and they play them in 2 weeks in Durham, if the Blue Devils somehow pull off a win, you could be looking at Duke in the ACC title game. Raise your hand if you thought that would happen. If you raise your hand, and aren't a Duke student, you are lying to yourself. Shame on you.

However, that's a tall task as Georgia Tech has proven they are the one team impervious to a let down. Georgia Tech has Wake at home and Duke on the road left in conference and Georgia at home the final week of the season. Tech should be looking at an 11-1 record and 7-1 in conference. They won't be playing for a national championship with that record, but they are a dangerous team come Orange Bowl time, and if Cincinnati stays undefeated we could be looking at a great matchup.

What Happened to the ACC?

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 0:00:02 EDT

Seriously, the ACC is maybe 7th in your conference power rankings right now. They just look pathetic week in and week out. Virginia Tech is the top team by default. Miami looks like they can be slowed down. Florida State is the perfect example of the ACC, they can defeat BYU on the road big, but nearly lose to Jacksonville State and then lose to South Florida without their star quarterback. Georgia Tech looks like their option has been figured out. Clemson is Clemson, Dabo Swinney or Bowden, it doesn't matter. UNC has no offense and can't seem to get Greg Little the ball enough. I don't know what to think of both Boston College and Wake Forest, neither are impressive. NC State has yet to play a road game, but are 3-1. I guess Russell Wilson is starting to play well, and South Carolina's defense shut down Ole Miss, so it is more impressive now. Then there is Duke, Maryland and UVA, and so far only Duke has a win against an FBS school.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:17:27 EDT

Another Terrible weekend for the ACC. Clearly the ACC"s mediocrity was not exaggerated after week one, in fact, it might have been understated.

The Good - Ryan Williams. David Wilson. Torrey Smith. Anthony Allen. C.J. Spiller. Russell Wilson. The 1st Half for Georgia Tech. The 2nd half for Clemson. Scott Blair's 3 FG's and a TD Pass. Riley Skinner's 2nd half. NC State and VaTech bouncing back. Boston College being 2-0.

The Bad - The 4th quarter comebacks by Maryland (vs. JMU), FSU (vs. Jacksonville State), Duke (vs. Army), and UNC (vs. UConn). Boston College RB's taking a step back. Christian Ponder not getting in the endzone.

The Ugly - UNC losing two starters for 4 weeks. Nolan Carroll's broken leg. Duke being outgained by 150 yards. Any and all things UVA. The Maryland defense outside of Alex Wujciak and Adrian Moten. Dustin Hopkins kicking game (0/1 FG's and 1/3 on XP's).

The Weekend That Was

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 11:13:45 EDT

So the first weekend of College Football has finally wrapped up and there were definitely some great games and performances. There were also some embarrassing moments, some head-scratchers and some unfortunate losses.

The ACC had a terrible weekend, but the Miami-FSU game was great. It didn ’t make up for the pitiful weekend the ACC suffered, but it was classic nonetheless. Both QB’s looked impressive, especially Jacory Harris from Miami.

The Good: Miami vs. Florida State was an instant classic. Randy Shannon made the right decision to stick with Jacory Harris over Robert Marve. Florida State’s young defense made some plays. Paul Johnson's Triple Option looks better in year 2. Demaryius Thomas is the best receiver no one has ever heard of. Boston College has 3 good running backs. Thaddeus Lewis the only bright spot from Duke, as was Ryan Williams for VT. CJ Spiller returning the opening kick-off for a TD.

Weekend Preview

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 1:34:52 EDT

So it's about midnight on Wednesday night/Thursday Morning. I spent my night watching Leverage (an underrated show) and Top Chef: Las Vegas. As you can imagine, I'm ready for meaningful football. Thursday marks the kickoff of the 2009 season and the first weekend should be very entertaining with some rare early top-25 non-conference matchups .

Thursday:

The game that kicks them all off is South Carolina at NC State at 7pm. NC State was already without star linebacker Nate Irving, but will also be missing starting Cornerback DeAndre Morgan with an ankle injury. South Carolina will be led by Sophomore QB Stephen Garcia, who played in 8 games last year as a freshman. USC will be without starting defensive end Clifton Geathers due to injury and academic issues. Prediction: NC State 27, USC 24

Gary Does It Again, But Is That A Good Thing?

Sun, 23 Aug 2009 13:11:13 EDT

This week Gary Williams and the Maryland Terrapins (yes, it's never too early to talk college hoops) received their third commitment for the 2010 season. SG Mychal Parker (#62 by MaxPreps , #42 by Scouts, Inc and #53 by Rivals). Parker joins SF Terrence Ross (#30 by MaxPreps , #39 by Scouts, Inc and #43 by Rivals) and PG Terrell Stoglin (#43 by MaxPreps , #88 by Scouts, Inc and #122 by Rivals).

Maryland is also on the final top 5 lists of other highly touted prospects:

Tobias Harris - #3 ranked PF, #7 overall. 6'8" 210lbs. Considering - UConn , Louisville, Georgia Tech, Maryland and Tennessee

C.J. Leslie - #4 ranked PF, #9 overall. 6'8" 205lbs. Considering - Kentucky, UNC , Florida, Maryland and UConn

Starting DT Leaves Terps

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 13:50:49 EDT

Starting DT Dion Armstrong has decided to leave the team and will transfer. No decision on where he is headed has been made.

"He came in this morning and thanked me and said he was sorry he disappointed me and said he was going to transfer," coach Ralph Friedgen said. "I said, 'Fine. It's time to move on,' " Friedgen said. "I don't want to get into the whole thing and make a big deal. We have to worry about kids who want to be here. That's where I'm going with that."

This means the Terps have lost all four starting defensive lineman from last season. Redshirt Freshman A.J. Francis has been taking the 1st team snaps while Armstrong sat out while taking care of academic issues.

The defensive line was already considered the weakest unit on this team and losing Armstrong doesn't help at all. Thankfully, Maryland doesn't play Georgia Tech this year. Unfortunately, Virginia Tech and Florida State are at the end of the year. Virginia Tech will have time to get there three-headed attack figured out and Florida State will have time to replace Antone Smith. Clemson and C.J. Spiller are early in the season and the offensive line that was a problem last year, should be much improved. Let's not forget that Maryland has to face the nation's leading returning rusher in Cal's Jahvid Best. Too bad Kevin Barnes is now a Redskin, maybe some of you remember that hit that knocked Best out last season.

Huge Loss for the Hokies

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 12:59:56 EDT

RB Darren Evans was asked yesterday what his status was, he responded "I have a strained knee". The team doctors disagreed saying it was sprain. Last night it came out that it was neither. Instead, Evans has a torn ACL and will miss the season. Evans set many freshman records last season during his 1,265 rushing season. He also added 11 touchdowns. His best performance came against Maryland when he went off for 253 yards and was virtually unstoppable.

"Darren Evans suffered a left knee ACL tear this afternoon," head athletic trainer Mike Goforth said in a prepared statement. "He was evaluated by Dr. Marc Siegel and Dr. Gunnar Brolinson and received an MRI at Montgomery Regional Hospital that showed the ACL tear. He will be re-evaluated later this week to see when the ACL reconstruction surgery will take place. Our hope is to be able to repair the knee prior to classes starting so that he can get started on his rehab and continue his course work."

Early ACC Thoughts

Sat, 08 Aug 2009 16:29:58 EDT

With Virginia Tech not releasing a summer depth chart (yet), the wait is on. Other sites have "predicted depth charts" but seeing as how they have conflicts with actual depth charts, I'll wait until it's official.

For Starters, let's look at the local players on the All-ACC Preseason Team.

* TE Greg Boone, Virginia Tech - One of the top returning TE's in the country. HS QB who will see time in a modified wildcat formation.

* OG Sergio Render, Virginia Tech - Was 2nd team All-ACC last season. 40 career starts headed into his senior season.

An Early Look at Maryland Football

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 14:08:24 EDT

I wanted to take an early look at the depth charts of the local colleges, so today we will do Maryland and tomorrow will be Virginia Tech. Some may argue it's too early, and if you believe that is true, enjoy watching the last place Nationals. So here goes a way too early look at Maryland with the depth chart released this past Monday, a new one should be out in the following weeks, but there shouldn't be too many changes barring injuries.

One way to describe the Maryland football team is consistently inconsistent. They had the opportunity to win their division with two games left and just had to win one. They ended up being blown out by Florida State at home (The "Blackout" never works at College Park, see here and here ) and then lost to Boston College on the road.

Back to School

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 0:43:36 EDT

You may recognize my name; I began as an intern for the Big O and Dukes Show and eventually became a part-time producer for the show on the old WJFK . I've have past experience covering local college sports, primarily Maryland. Covering college sports for the the new 106.7 The Fan is the perfect opportunity for me. My blog will cover mostly local college sports: Maryland, Virginia Tech, Georgetown and George Mason. You may see some Navy and Virginia coverage from time to time as well.

I'll give you a little background knowledge on me: I'm a Senior at Maryland and I've lived in DC my entire life, except a year spent in Bowling Green, Ohio for college, which is a terrible place. The Skins, Wizards and Capitals are the only teams I've ever rooted for. I jumped on the bandwagon once the Nationals came to town because I was tired of Angelos . I used to have season tickets to Navy Football and Maryland Football in the same season, and still support both teams, strongly. I'd rather watch the Triple Option than the Spread Offense. There is no better time of year than the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. I always root for the underdog, unless Maryland is the favorite. I couldn't give you one answer if you asked me who the greatest college football team of all-time is, but I could give you two. I think the BCS system is totally flawed. The coaches poll was the single worst idea adopted by college sports. The college basketball eligibility debate should be settled the same way football decided upon. I haven't owned Madden since 2004, but I've had every copy of NCAA Football. It must be nice being this guy .