Eagles  19    Terrapins  17

Boston College (7-4) at Maryland (2-9)

Sports Network | November 25, 2009

FACTS & STATS: Site: Byrd Stadium (54,000) -- College Park, Maryland. Television: ESPN U. Home Record: BC 6-1, Maryland 2-4. Away Record: BC 1-3, Maryland 0-5. Neutral Record: BC 0-0, Maryland 0-0. Conference Record: BC 4-3, Maryland 1-6. Series Record: Boston College leads, 4-2.

GAME NOTES: The Maryland Terrapins will try to end a tough season on a positive note, as they welcome the Boston College Eagles to Byrd Stadium for an ACC showdown.

The Terps have lost each of their last six games to fall to 2-9 on the season. Last Saturday, they fell to Florida State, 29-26, after the Seminoles scored the go-ahead touchdown with 32 seconds remaining. That loss was especially tough to swallow in that Maryland rallied to take the lead not once, but twice in the final quarter.

As for the Eagles, their quest for a perfect home season came crashing down with last week's 31-13 loss to 23rd-ranked North Carolina. They were rolling along prior to that, with wins in two straight games and three of their previous four. In road games this season, BC has gone just 1-4.

Boston College holds a slight 4-2 edge in the head-to-head series, although Maryland picked up a 42-35 win in last year's meeting.

BC running back Montel Harris is averaging 110.3 rushing yards per game, which ranks him second in the ACC and 18th nationally. Against UNC, Harris ran for 132 yards on 23 carries, with a long gain of 27 yards. Rich Gunnell (49 rec, 708 yds, 6 TD) had six catches for 60 yards and a touchdown. However, it was a rough game for quarterback Dave Shinskie (12-of-28, 101 yds), who was intercepted four times, including one that was returned for a score, and lost a fumble that was also returned for a touchdown. Shinskie had another pick that was negated by a pass interference call, and two more fumbles that were recovered by BC.

Boston College ranks fourth in the conference in both total defense (322.2 ypg) and scoring defense (19.6 ppg). The Eagles' run defense ranks 22nd in the nation, allowing only 108.4 yards per game. The headliner of this unit is linebacker Luke Kuechly, who ranks third in the nation with 11.5 tackles per game. Last week, he piled up a game-high 19 tackles, including 2.5 for loss. Strong safety Marcellus Bowman chipped in with 10 tackles and an interception. The Eagles allowed only 278 total yards and came up with four takeaways against the Tar Heels, but Shinskie's turnover parade often painted the defense into a corner.

Maryland running back Da'Rel Scott, An All-ACC First Teamer last season, returned from a four-game absence last week against Florida State and ran for 83 yards on 19 carries. He helped the Terps to a season-high 196 rushing yards. Duplicating that performance won't be so easy against BC's stout run defense (108.4 ypg). Backup quarterback Jamarr Robinson made his second career start last week, completing 20-of-27 passes for 214 yards and a touchdown. Starter Chris Turner has been out since injuring his knee against NC State earlier this month, though he could possibly return this weekend.

The Terps thought they were on their way to victory when Cameron Chism intercepted FSU quarterback E.J. Manuel with just under three minutes to play. But a three-and-out by the UM offense, followed by a long punt return by FSU, had the Seminoles set up on the Maryland 44 with 1:35 remaining. After a couple of long scrambles by Manuel, the Seminoles were knocking on the door, and running back Lonnie Pryor punched in the go-ahead score on a one-yard run with 32 seconds on the clock. Those final moments washed away an otherwise solid effort by the Maryland defense, which came up with three interceptions for the game.

The Eagles rediscovered their ground game with the return of Harris last week. That's bad news for a Maryland defense that allowed four rushing touchdowns and a combined 8.2 ypc to FSU running backs last week.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Boston College 31, Maryland 21

Saturday, November 28th, 3:30 p.m. (et).