Maryland will kick off with Miami on ESPN
Randy Edsall won’t have to leave College Park for the first month of his first season at Maryland.
The Terps’ 2011 schedule, released Monday by the ACC, begins with four games at Byrd Stadium, including a nationally televised season kickoff with Miami on Labor Day.
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| Maryland schedule |
| Week » Date » Opponent |
| 1 » Sept. 5 » Miami* |
| 3 » Sept. 17 » West Virginia |
| 4 » Sept. 24 » Temple |
| 5 » Oct. 1 » Towson |
| 6 » Oct. 8 » at Georgia Tech |
| 7 » Oct. 15 » Clemson |
| 8 » Oct. 22 » at Florida State |
| 9 » Oct. 29 » Boston College |
| 10 » Nov. 5 » Virginia |
| 11 » Nov. 12 » Notre Dame** |
| 12 » Nov. 19 » at Wake Forest |
| 13 » Nov. 26 » at N.C. State |
| * ESPN Monday night |
| ** at FedEx Field |
Coming off a 9-4 season under Ralph Friedgen, Maryland will play seven games at Byrd and another at FedEx Field, where it will face Notre Dame on Nov. 12. Miami will be the only game not contested on a Saturday. It will be the third straight year Maryland will not play a Thursday ESPN game after playing at least one a year for 10 straight seasons (1999-2008).
By contrast, Virginia Tech will play back-to-back Thursday nights in November, at Georgia Tech and at home against North Carolina. It is the 10th straight year Virginia Tech has at least one Thursday night game. Those games highlight a low-stress schedule, which does not include a BCS conference team outside of the ACC.
Virginia Tech has an excellent chance to start quickly as its first four games are against Appalachian State, East Carolina, Arkansas State and Marshall. It’s next two are at home against likely ACC contenders Clemson and Miami. All four of Virginia Tech’s ACC road games will be against teams that had losing records last fall. All four of the Hokies’ ACC home games will be against teams that went to bowl games.
Virginia drew the short straw when it came to its ACC schedule. Seven of the Cavaliers’ eight ACC opponents went to bowl games last year. The non-league schedule is highlighted by Virginia’s first-ever trip to Indiana as Cavaliers tight end Colter Phillips faces his younger brother, Paul, a tight end for the Hoosiers.
Virginia has a challenging Thursday night game, Oct. 27 at Miami, five days after playing North Carolina State. The game will end a brutal October for Miami, which plays at Virginia Tech, at North Carolina and against Georgia Tech.
