By BJ Bennett
SouthernPigskin.com

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For Maryland it’s been a season of proving doubters wrong as theTerrapins stand directly in the mix in the conference championship race.

Having lost two of their last four after a 4-1 start, the pressure is on the Maryland Terrapins if they hope to keep pace in the unpredictable ACC Atlantic Division. The ‘Terps were seconds away from upending Miami and winning their seventh game of the year last weekend, only to see Hurricane backup quarterback Stephen Morris throw a game-winning touchdown pass to Leonard Hankerson with 37 seconds to play.

“I don’t know what to say. It was really disappointing. For our players, it was bad for them because they played their hearts out. They gave it everything they had,” head coach Ralph Friedgen said after the loss. “We made some mistakes, but that was a pretty talented team we were playing and I thought we fought them tooth and nail. I really felt we deserved to win, just disappointed that we couldn’t get it.”

In college football, there’s no time for losses to linger and the Terrapins must now focus on a hungry Virginia team that has shown improvement in year one of the Mike London era. The challenge for Maryland is two-fold; this team can’t look ahead to the last two weeks of the regular season against Florida State and NC State and must try to play better on the road. The ‘Terps are 1-2 in their last three games away from College Park, with the one victory coming by just three points over struggling Boston College.

Focus will be key in an unpredictable rivalry showdown with the Cavaliers.

“Right now we need to concentrate on Virginia and see what happens after that. I mentioned to the team last night, we need to jump back up on our feet. Last night I showed a power point on what each game means. Right now we’re one of ten teams eligible for a bowl game. I told them that just because you are bowl eligible, does not mean you are going to make a bowl. So every win from here on out will determine which bowl we go to,” Friedgen explained on Tuesday. “That was not all that was mentioned, we also spoke about what Virginia is able to do that could jeopardize not jut our bowl contention but our conference championship.”

For Maryland it’s been a season of proving doubters wrong. Picked last in the ACC Atlantic by a considerable margin by the media back in the pre-season, the Terrapins stand directly in the mix in the conference championship race and, at the very least, appear to be looking at a solid bowl bid.

While aforementioned home games against Florida State and NC State will help define the season, the ‘Terps can’t overlook Virginia as they look towards the postseason.