A new day rises

Sixty minutes on the field against No. 16 West Virginia were torturous enough for Danny O'Brien. Reliving the game in the film room three times that same Saturday night only further tormented the Terrapins football quarterback.

And after another week spent mulling over the mistakes that led to his forgettable three-interception performance in the Terps' 37-31 loss, O'Brien wants nothing more than to get back on the field.

He'll finally get that chance when the Terps host Temple tomorrow.

"This game can't come fast enough," O'Brien said Tuesday. "It was a tough one to swallow, so going through that and coming out the other side, I just can't wait to play again."

The Temple team that awaits him, though, is far from the pushover that fans have come to expect the Owls to be.

After posting an 8-4 record last season — including a win over coach Randy Edsall's former team, Connecticut — Temple's success has carried over into this season.

The Owls pummeled Villanova and Akron to start the year, and they led Penn State well into the fourth quarter last weekend before faltering late in a 14-10 loss.

"Temple's a pretty good team. They are no slouch," wide receiver Kerry Boykins said. "I don't know if we're trying to make a statement, but we're definitely trying to get this win to get this taste out of our mouths."

The Owls will pose problems for the Terps on both sides of the ball. They'll lean on a huge offensive line and running back Bernard Pierce, who is averaging 116 yards per game, to grind down a Terps defensive front that has been inconsistent to this point. And with a defense that has surrendered a total of 24 points through three games, Temple should challenge O'Brien.

"They're going to be physical, they're going to run the football," Edsall said. "We're going to have a tremendous challenge."

That may be just what the Terps need, though, as they look to move forward from an emotionally and physically trying loss to the Mountaineers.

"Temple is not at all a team to look over," running back D.J. Adams said. "That's the problem that a lot of teams face. You get on a big high for a ranked opponent, then you come down and you get upset or snuck up on. We know that Temple is not at all an easy team, so we'll be ready."

The Terps' ultimate goal for the season — an ACC Championship — remains intact after the West Virginia loss, and a loss to Temple tomorrow would have no effect on their conference standing, either.

What tomorrow's game does represent is the team's first chance to demonstrate that its up-and-down performance was not indicative of the team it believes it is.

"What's going to show how good our team is how we bounce back, and that's what we plan on doing against Temple," Adams said. "We feel like we have something to prove, and after a loss it's even more."

TERPS NOTE: Edsall said yesterday that he's confident linebacker Darin Drakeford will return to the field Saturday.

After amassing a team-high 14 tackles against Miami, the team's weakside linebacker missed the West Virginia game with a nagging ankle injury initially sustained against the Hurricanes.

Drakeford's return would allow Demetrius Hartsfield to move back to middle linebacker, likely bumping freshman Lorne Goree out of the starting lineup.

cwalsh@umdbk.com