The best is yet to come for Terps

If the Terrapins football team's season opener against Miami was a test, it was a curved one. As eight Hurricanes players served detention for "improper" behavior, the Terps got the points they needed to make the grade in a 32-24 victory.

With a new test tomorrow, it's time to put your pencils out and your notes away, Terps. This time, it won't be so easy.

For as good as they looked in the season's opening week, it's their showdown with West Virginia that just might show us what this team is really made of.

Miami came to College Park in the throes of a controversy that affected not only the team's roster through attrition but also distraction. The Terps did what they needed to do, beating a team that was missing some of its key players.

They won't have that same advantage tomorrow.

"We got a tremendous challenge in front of us on Saturday going against West Virginia," coach Randy Edsall said. "We're going to have our work cut out for us."

On Tuesday, Edsall took offense to the idea that the victory over Miami was tarnished or lessened in some way by the suspensions. Whether he likes to admit it or not, it was in a sense. West Virginia won't have any Sean Spences missing when it takes the field at Byrd Stadium.

Instead of throwing against a mediocre Miami secondary further weakened by suspension, quarterback Danny O'Brien will face off against standout defensive backs Terence Garvin and Keith Tandy. While he wasn't sacked once against the Hurricanes, O'Brien will have Bruce Irvin and Julian Miller breathing down his neck Saturday.

The defense faces a tall order, as well. Don't expect quarterback Geno Smith to throw a pick-six with the game on the line, especially with Tavon Austin to throw the ball to and a stout offensive line in front of him. Smith could easily pick apart the Terps' secondary.

As good as the Terps looked against Miami, they will need to be better against the Mountaineers. Trips to the red zone without touchdowns will be punished. Big plays through the air, like wide receiver Kevin Dorsey's 52-yard reception that set up the game-winning field goal, won't be easy to come by. Placekicker Nick Ferrara might not get a chance to redeem himself for a missed chip-shot field goal.

The challenges the Terps will face would make a victory that much more impressive. If they can beat the nation's 18th-ranked team, we really can start talking about the Terps as contenders in the ACC.

As big a victory as it would be, a loss would be just as detrimental. Even though it's only Week 2, this is one of the biggest games of the year. The Terps likely won't face a ranked opponent for another month after Saturday. Considering how weak Notre Dame (0-2) has looked so far this year, this could be the biggest nonconference game the Terps play all year. Not to mention that West Virginia is the closest thing the Terps have to a true gridiron rival.

Just try telling that to Edsall.

"Every game has a life of its own, and this week, it happens to be West Virginia. What we want to do is win every game. So there's just as much importance on this game as it was the game against Miami," Edsall said. "To really accomplish the goals we want to accomplish, we have to treat this just the same.

"It's one of those situations where, to me, it's the most important game because it's the game we're playing."

It may be just one game, but it's a big one — one that could be a bellwether for just how good, or bad, this team really is. The Terps face one of their biggest tests of the year Saturday, and they've had 11 days to study.

They better have hit the books.

schneider@umdbk.com