The Terps' underwhelming defense will welcome C.J. Spiller and Clemson to Byrd for its ACC opener. Photo by Adam Fried/Diamondback

As my colleague Adi Joseph pointed out yesterday, the ACC has been doing its best Jekyl and Hyde impression so far this season.

The conference has been toiling in the land of mediocrity over the past few seasons while the SEC and Big 12 roll on past.

But in some ways, that makes the conference so fun. While most of the other conferences have clear front-runners and cellar dwellars, the ACC is a toss-up.

So what do we know?

We know that Virginia Tech is good, and that Maryland, Duke, and Virginia are not. But there are eight other teams sandwiched in between, all with conference title aspirations.

The best part is, that for the most part, the non-conference schedule is over. With the exception of Miami and Georgia Tech, everyone else will be playing a ACC opponent.

Hopefully that will make our job a little easier.

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Judging by the reaction I have seen and heard inside Byrd Stadium, around campus and on online message boards this week, I think it is safe to say a lot of people have lost hope for this Terrapin football season.

The Terps are 1-3, they have lost two consecutive home games against less-than-stellar programs, and they need to go 5-3 against a decently tough ACC schedule just to qualify for a bowl game.

But somehow, the Terps remain optimistic.

I wouldn’t expect to hear players and coaches on any team say they are giving up after four weeks, their team is not very good, and there is no chance they will turn it around.

But the Terps seem to have no problem taking the positive-thinking approach a step further and throwing out some very lofty goals they still hope to achieve.

So for those of you who have not yet jumped off the bandwagon, and like Alex Wujciak cling to dreams of playing in January at the Orange Bowl, here is a compilation of some inspirational quotes fired off by the Terps this afternoon at their weekly press luncheon.

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You’re getting tired of hearing about the Terps youth.

Coach Ralph Friedgen knows this, but he doesn’t have any better answers at this point.

After 10 more costly penalties and five game-changing turnovers against Rutgers, Friedgen was again perplexed Saturday evening.

The ninth-year coach indicated he might have to “go live” to simulate game conditions to cut down on the fumbles and penalties with more realistic repetitions.

“If we were a good team right now, we wouldn’t win [because of those mistakes],” Friedgen said.

The players see it, too. The Terps’ atrocious -10 turnover margin makes both the offense and defense look bad. They’d love nothing more than to put this early season story line behind them.

But until then, they’ve got to keep searching for their own answers.

“It’s definitely frustrating because it’s stuff that we work on every day in practice,” wide receiver Torrey Smith said. “We work harder than I believe, I’m not scared to say it, than any team in the country. It’s just frustrating when everything is stuff we’ve seen before and we were really prepared for, and it’s just mental mistakes that kill you.”

The Terps’ ACC slate starts Saturday against Clemson. It’s time to grow up fast or come up with a better explanation for these inexcusable mistakes.

Eric Detweiler is The Diamondback’s Terrapin Football Team columnist. He can be reached at edetweilerdbk@gmail.com. You can follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/edetweiler.