#4 West Virginia (2-0, 0-0 Big East) at Maryland (2-0, 0-0 ACC)
Thursday, September 13
7:30 PM ET on ESPN
Byrd Stadium (Natural Grass)

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After a disappointing start to the season, it was nice to bounce back last Thursday with a win. Even better, it was an easy win as Cincinnati – a 3.5 point home underdog – absolutely ran away with the game in the second half en route to a 34-3 drilling of Oregon State.

It doesn’t seem too long ago that everyone was mourning the death of Big East football when powerhouses Miami and Virginia Tech bolted for the ACC. Suddenly with the emergence of Rutgers, South Florida and now Cincinnati – joining top programs Louisville and West Virginia - this conference is no laughing matter. In fact, with the marginal teams that Miami and Florida State presently have, you would have to say the Big East certainly has the upper hand on the ACC in terms of gridiron prowess.

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Speaking of the ACC and the Big East, this Thursday night these two conferences will go head to head in a rivalry that’s gotten pretty heated over the years. Granted, Maryland vs. West Virginia is no “Back Yard Brawl”, as the annual West Virginia vs. Pittsburgh game is known, but there is certainly no love loss between the schools either.

It’s pretty easy to point to the moment when the rivalry meter started rising between these two programs. It coincided exactly with the hiring of two quality coaches in Ralph Friedgen at Maryland and Rich Rodriquez at West Virginia. Both of these coaches were hired by their respective alma maters in 2000 and both have done great things since their arrival.

And that’s just the reason this rivalry has heated up. Its not that these coaches don’t like each other personally, its just when you are trying to take your program to the next level and someone with the same aspirations is continually on your schedule, continually crossing your path on the recruiting trail…well, you know the story, someone has to lose and needless to say, competitive coaches don’t like to lose.

Friedgen and Rodriguez have given each other a healthy dose of losing over the years but it certainly has been the Mountaineers with the upper hand lately.

Friedgen's impact was felt immediately at Maryland and success followed quicker than anyone could have imagined. In just his first season at the helm in College Park (2001), the Terps won their first seven games on their way to an ACC Championship and a trip to the Orange Bowl, their first postseason appearance since 1990. Friedgen followed up that trick with two more consecutive double-digit winning seasons and trips to New Years Days bowls.

Rodriguez did not have the immediate success of his counterpart but there is no denying the direction his program is heading now. The memories of a rocky 3-8 2001 season that started off Rodriguez's tenure in Morgantown are now distant for a program that has won the Big East Championship three of the last four years and appeared in a bowl game five years running, highlighted by a 38-35 Sugar Bowl victory over Georgia to end 2005.

But for all these two coaches have in common, there is a general feeling around college football that while the #4 Mountaineers are currently one of the top programs in the nation, Maryland has taken a bit of a step backwards after Friedgen's initial success.

Last year’s battle between these two did nothing to discourage that line of thought. Thanks to some turnovers, the Terps were down 14-0 before their offense ever stepped on the field and even worse, down 28-0 at the end of the first quarter.

Give Friedgen’s troops credit, they continued to battle but the 45-24 final score certainly didn’t sit well with the visitors from College Park. The question now is can the Terps dish out revenge this time around on their home turf?

To do so will require a near perfect game from Friedgen's troops, especially on defense.

West Virginia boasts one of the top offenses in the country and certainly when it comes to the ground game they have no rival. Behind an electric pair of juniors in RB Steve Slaton and QB Patrick White, the Mountaineers can run any defense into the ground as evidenced by their 461.4 yards and 38.8 points per game averages in 2006.

So far this season West Virginia hasn't played a quality opponent, facing just Western Michigan and Marshall. They struggled in the first half last weekend against the Thundering Herd, actually going into the locker room trailing 13-7 at the half. But the White and Slaton show eventually took off in the second half and the Mountaineers ran away with a 48-23 win – managing to cover the 24.5 point spread.

Through two games West Virginia’s offense is averaging 55 points a game.

Just looking at the schedule, you wouldn't think Friedgen and his Terps have been tested yet either. After all, starting off the season at home against Villanova and at Florida International can't exactly be described as a challenge.

However, looking at the results will show that while Maryland was never in serious danger of losing either game, it surely doesn't seem as if the Terps have found their form yet. Maryland defeated Villanova 31-14 and finally was able to put away FIU by a score of 26-10. Don’t forget, that FIU program have lost 14 straight games - the second-longest current drought in major college football behind Duke.

By comparison, through two games Maryland’s offense is averaging 28.5 points a game – almost half the output of the Mountaineers.

Now Maryland faces the daunting prospect of having to host one of the top offenses in college football – with not one but two bona fide Heisman candidates - on a short week of preparation with a team that is admittedly not in top gear yet.

Thursday Night Factoids:

Scores from every game between these schools with Friedgen and Rodriguez as coaches:

2006 - 45-25 West Virginia (at West Virginia)
2005 - 31-19 West Virginia (at Maryland)
2004 - 19-16 OT West Virginia (at West Virginia)
2003 - 41-7 Maryland (Gator Bowl)
2003 - 34-7 Maryland (at Maryland)
2002 - 48-17 Maryland (at West Virginia)
2001 - 32-20 Maryland (at Maryland)

Maryland's last win against a Top 5 opponent came in 2004 when they beat Florida State (then # 5) 20-17 at home.

This is the 46th meeting between these two schools and amazingly the series record is almost dead even with West Virginia holding a 22-21-2 lead.

West Virginia RB Steve Slaton originally committed to Maryland before deciding on the Mountaineers.

Maryland and West Virginia have played each other every year since 1980 with the Mountaineers winning 10 of those 17. Maryland has won four of the last seven but West Virginia is riding a three game winning streak against the Terps.