The Terrapin football team won't have to wait long this fall to test its status as an ACC contender.
The Terps will open their 12-game 2011 slate with a nationally televised Sept. 5 showdown against conference foe Miami, the first of eight home games for the team in a schedule that also features a matchup with Notre Dame at nearby FedEx Field in mid-November.
"We were approached by the ACC about playing Miami in a prime-time national broadcast on ESPN," Athletics Director Kevin Anderson said in a release. "Based on the positive experience that our student-athletes and many of our fans enjoyed last season playing on Labor Day [against Navy], we agreed to the request."
The Terps, who went a surprising 9-4 during the 2010 season, were originally slated to open the season at home against Towson before the ACC proposed the Miami game. The game, set for an 8 p.m. kickoff, will mark the first time the Terps open the season with a conference matchup since 2001, Ralph Friedgen's first year as coach and the last time the Terps won the ACC.
"We are excited to have the opportunity to open the 2011 season in Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium on national TV against an ACC rival," Anderson said.
A Nov. 12 date with Notre Dame at FedEx Field in Landover highlights the Terps' nonconference slate. The game will be the Terps' first in the stadium and only the second meeting ever between the two teams.
After a bye in Week 2, the Terps host rival West Virginia on Sept. 17 and Temple the following week.
The Terps then play FCS squad Towson on Oct. 1 in what will be the first meeting of the two in-state schools. After that matchup, the Terps launch into a typical conference schedule.
Following four home games to open the season, the Terps will face a depleted Georgia Tech team on Oct. 8 in Atlanta's Bobby Dodd Stadium, where they have won only once in nine games.
Clemson will come to College Park one week later, where they'll look to avenge the 2009 loss they suffered against a Terp team that finished a program-worst 2-10.
The Terps play at defending Atlantic Division champion Florida State on Oct. 22 before rounding out their home slate with games against Boston College and Virginia. They'll wrap up the season with back-to-back road games at Wake Forest on Nov. 19 and at NC State on Nov. 26.
The Terps avoided a regular-season meeting against ACC champion Virginia Tech for a second straight year. The team also will not play North Carolina or Duke in the regular season.
schneider@umdbk.com
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