Stirring up a Jacket's nest

After an inconsistent and disappointing start to its 2011 season, maybe all the Terrapins football team needs is to get away. Perhaps the pressure of ACC play will restore the sense of urgency we saw in the season's opening game against Miami. Traveling to No. 13 Georgia Tech could be what kick-starts the Terps' season.

Considering what the Yellow Jackets have done this year to ascend the national polls, that isn't very likely.

Tomorrow's game could be the perfect storm for a Terps disaster: one of the most electric offenses in the country versus a defense that can't stop the run. An offense that eats up time of possession facing one that can't give the ball back fast enough. A team that has had six plays go for 70 yards or more, and 40 plays of 20 or more yards, playing one that hasn't had a huge play since the first game of the year.

And just to make things even worse, Georgia Tech runs the type of offense you hardly see in the college game anymore: the triple option.

Can the Terps keep up with the Ramblin' Wreck offense? The better question might be, will they even have the ball long enough to try?

The Terps are ranked 117th in the nation in time of possession. One-hundred seventeenth! That puts them in the same breath as Idaho, Air Force and Tulsa. Not exactly what the Terps had in mind when they installed Gary Crowton as offensive coordinator.

His fast-paced offense looked good against Miami and methodically moved down the field, but it hasn't found the same success since. The Terps are playing with fire, and they've been burned. The style tires out the defense if it fails to find a rhythm and pick up first downs. And when you lose the time of possession battle to Towson, it might be time to reconsider your offensive approach.

Coach Randy Edsall and quarterback Danny O'Brien both hinted at the possibility of slowing down the breakneck speed of the offense, one that has held onto the ball for less than 25 minutes a game this year.

Edsall wouldn't comment further on the pace Thursday, but slowing down the Terps' offense would be a wise move. If the Terps want any chance against the Yellow Jackets, they'll have to eat up some clock.

And even if they move the ball effectively, they'll have their hands full against Georgia Tech's rushing attack.

Flash back to the Terps' debacle against Temple. I'm sure you'll remember it as the game in which the Owls went for nearly 300 yards on the ground. The Terps knew exactly what was coming that day: a smash-mouth, straightforward power running attack. And they still couldn't stop it.

Against Georgia Tech, it won't be any easier. Not only are the Yellow Jackets more talented than Temple, but their triple option is much more complicated and difficult to slow than what Temple used to blow out the Terps.

Edsall talked Thursday about how no one has been able to stop the triple-option offense since it was invented. If the Terps hold Georgia Tech to around 300 yards, Edsall said, they will have done "a pretty good job."

Three hundred yards? Well, actually, as bad as it sounds and as horrific the Terps have been against the run this year, the smart money is on the over. The fact they've reacted to play action this year like it's some sort of trick play they've never seen before doesn't bode well, either.

But maybe, just maybe, the Terps can turn it around all of a sudden. They should be able to score a bit on the Yellow Jackets' defense. And the Terps did handle the triple option well against Navy in last year's season opener. But that was a year ago, with a much better linebacking corps and a lot more time to prepare.

This time around, the odds are against them. The Terps' matchup against the Yellow Jackets is not a favorable one, and their offensive and defensive shortcomings play directly into Georgia Tech's strengths.

The forecast for tomorrow afternoon in Atlanta is sunny, with temperatures in the 70s. But if you're heading to Bobby Dodd Stadium, you might want to bring an umbrella.

Because as much as the Terps want to get their second ACC victory, the perfect storm for a Georgia Tech blowout seems to be brewing.

schneider@umdbk.com