COLLEGE PARK - Saturday was a day of firsts for the Maryland football program under Randy Edsall.
Thanks to their 27-24 overtime victory at Virginia Tech, the Terrapins (6-4, 2-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) are bowl eligible for the first time under Edsall and have guaranteed themselves no worse than a break-even record for the first time under their third-year coach.
And as they prepare to face Boston College (6-4, 3-3) on Saturday at Byrd Stadium, the Terrapins - again for the first time under Edsall - have something to build on as the season winds down.
Saturday's victory was the team's first in November since Edsall took over the program. A disastrous run of injuries limited what his first two Maryland teams could accomplish, especially as the season wore on. Until last weekend, Maryland hadn't won a game after mid-October during Edsall's tenure.
Injuries to both of the team's play-making wide receivers (Stefon Diggs and Deon Long), plus other assorted aches and pains has left Maryland at less than full strength for the last couple of weeks.
But they managed to overcome their personnel deficiencies to surprise Virginia Tech, beating the Hokies for the first time since they joined the ACC.
"You've got to believe in each other," Edsall said. "A lot of people counted us down and out and didn't think we'd get another win the rest of the year. But if you believe in yourself and believe in the people around you, regardless of what's thrown in front you, you can go win. That's a tough hurdle to overcome.
"Now we know that regardless of who we have available, we can go win games. I think that's the biggest thing we got out of [the game] and can carry forward."
The six-game losing streak that ended last season remains fresh in almost everyone's mind. A loss last week would have been Maryland's fourth straight and would have dropped them back to .500 (5-5 overall) after a 5-1 start.
Now, having sprung the upset at Virginia Tech, there's more of a sense on confidence among team members, rather than anxiety.
"Just getting that sixth win off our back definitely helps us," said quarterback C.J. Brown, who admitted last week that he was getting "antsy" waiting for that sixth victory. "Going down to Lane Stadium and winning that game, it kind of swung the momentum. I said after the game, it was kind of a tipping point. The season could go either way and I'm glad it went the way it did."
Now the Terrapins have a chance to solidify their position in the postseason with another victory or two. As of now, they're merely bowl eligible, and not guaranteed a postseason spot anywhere.
"It's the first time we've been bowl eligible in a couple of years," safety A.J. Hendy said. "We're looking for more [wins] because six doesn't guarantee much."
The possibility of moving up in the bowl hierarchy - an 8-4 regular-season record is still possible - is a welcome change for players more accustomed to playing out the string this time of year.
"Our situation is still undefined," Brown said. "We're still at six wins and we have two games to go. It just puts more emphasis on this week - that we can go out and improve our situation. I'm excited."
GOING BOWLING: It's too early to make any kind of accurate projections about which ACC team might wind up at a particular bowl. The conference has eight (with a provision for a ninth) tie-ins with postseason games and as many as a dozen conference teams could become bowl-eligible by the end of the regular season.
However, the 2013 Military Bowl in Annapolis probably makes the most economic sense for Maryland. That game gets the eighth pick among ACC bowl-eligible teams, but the presence of the Terrapins at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on Dec. 27 would all but guarantee a good crowd. That would benefit both the school and the game from a financial standpoint.
Maryland last played in the Military Bowl in 2010, when the game was played at RFK Stadium. The Maryland-East Carolina matchup that year drew a crowd of 38,000 to watch what was Ralph Friedgen's last game as Maryland's football coach.
FINAL KICKOFF SET: Maryland's regular-season finale at North Carolina State on Nov. 30 has been designated by the conference for a 12:30 p.m. kickoff. The game, which will be Maryland's last on the gridiron as a member of the ACC, will be televised locally on channel WJZ in Baltimore and WDCA in Washington.
