Absolutely nothing went right for the Terrapins football team at Byrd Stadium on Saturday. In one of the worst losses in recent history, the Terps fell to Temple, 38-7.

Temple running back Bernard Pierce shredded the Terps for 5 touchdowns, the Terps offense was completely ineffective and even the special teams were a disaster, as a blocked punt in the first half helped set up an Owls touchdown.

It was a worst-case scenario for the Terps, who were looking to rebound from a tough loss to West Virginia last weekend. Instead, they followed a six-point loss to a nationally-ranked team with a 31-point drubbing to a non-BCS opponent.

It was the worst loss at Byrd Stadium since 2008 — and that was against Florida State, not Temple.

Be sure to check out Monday’s Diamondback for a full recap of a nightmare afternoon at Byrd Stadium.

The Terrapins football team faces off against Temple in less than an hour, giving the Terps a chance to bounce back from last week’s heart-breaking loss to West Virginia. The Owls may have been a pushover in recent years, but they’ve looked good so far in 2011. Here are three questions heading into the game.

1. How does Danny O’Brien bounce back?|
The redshirt sophomore had one of his roughest games last week. The pick he threw in the games final minutes — one of three interceptions on the day — killed the Terps’ comeback. By all accounts, O’Brien has taken the loss to heart and was as focused as ever heading into this game. The fact that two of his top wide-outs were suspended for that game was obviously a factor, and may help explain those interceptions.

Ronnie Tyler and Quintin McCree aren’t back for this game, but O’Brien has had a full week of practice with Tony Logan and all the receivers that will have to step up this week.

I’d expect a big day from O’Brien, erasing any doubts of a sophomore slump.

2. How will the Terps’ offensive line handle the Temple pass rush?
Danny O’Brien is yet to be sacked this year through two games, but that will likely change today. The Owls are seventh in the country in sacks, providing a good test for the Terps. I’m not just interested to see how the offensive line handles the challenge, but how O’Brien will react if and when he is sacked. He’s been hit hard this year, but getting sacked can be a little bit different.

The Terps’ 0-line is good enough to hold its own against Temple, but coach Randy Edsall has said he isn’t happy with how the the unit has blocked in the run game. Should be interesting to see if they can open up holes for Davin Meggett and D.J. Adams like they did against West Virginia.

3. Will Kenny Tate be a difference-maker?
Tate is likely the most talented player on the Terps defense, but has looked lost at the linebacker position this year after converting from safety. Edsall has called his play “average,” and Tate hasn’t denied that he’s underachieving. Whether it’s a matter of him making the adjustment to the new position or just executing better, he needs to be better if the Terps are going to improve on that side of the ball.

Jeremy Schneider is The Diamondback’s Terrapins football columnist. He can be reached at schneider@umdbk.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jschneider_.

Checking in here at Byrd Stadium for the Terps’ 12:30 kickoff with Temple. Here’s some miscellaneous pregame ramblings:

New week: Today’s game will finally give the Terps a chance to move on from last weekend’s heartbreaking loss to West Virginia. While coach Randy Edsall and most of the players insist they’ve been 100% focused on Temple all week, there’s little doubt they’re looking to bury the memory of the West Va. game.

Better than you’d think: Simply put, Temple’s a much better team than people would think. They’re very physical on both sides of the ball. They’ve allowed 8 points per game to this point in the year, and should have beaten Penn St. last weekend before faltering late in the fourth quarter. Running back Bernard Pierce is, quite frankly, a beast, and with a massive line in front of him, he’ll test the Terps’ D. Defensively, Temple’s front-7 is strong and physical, and they put pressure on the quarterback. Expect Danny O’Brien to get smacked around a lot more today than he has so far.

Familiarity: I’d look for the Terps’ passing game to be much improved today from what it was last weekend. Wide receivers Ronnie Tyler and Quintin McCree are still suspended, but a week of practice with the likes of Tony Logan, Kerry Boykins and Devin Burns will have created a lot more chemistry between O’Brien and his WRs. Don’t forget: Tyler and McCree were suspended last Thursday. Not exactly a lot of time to adjust before last Saturday’s noon kickoff.

Edsall history: Edsall saw plenty of Temple during his time at Connecticut. In that time, the Huskies were 3-3 against Temple, and the most recent meeting between the two was a 30-16 win by Temple last September (early in the same season the Huskies would win their first-ever Big East title). Temple’s got a new coach, though, with former coach Al Golden jumping ship to Miami in the offseason.

That’s all for now. Be sure to follow columnist Jeremy Schneider and yours truly for updates during the game.

With the Terrapins football team falling just short of miraculous second half comeback against West Virginia last week, I have a feeling it redeems itself against Temple this week. I have the Terps winning 24-13. Here’s why:

DANNY O’BRIEN: Let’s be honest, the sophomore quarterback’s performance against the Mountaineers wasn’t pretty. But it also wasn’t typical. With all the attention surrounding the young budding star, the three-interception was bound to happen. O’Brien, though, puts in too much time for another repeat performance. Expect a dominating day.

RANDY EDSALL: Edsall is not losing two of his first three games of his coaching tenure. I’m sure he has revenge on his mind after the Owls took down his Connecticut Huskies last weekend.

The Terps may not blow the Owls out, especially against a stout Temple defense, but they’ll certainly find a way to win. They’ve shown that they’re too good.

Chris Eckard is a senior staff writer for the Diamondback. Reach him at ceckard@umdbk.com and follow him at ceckard@umbk.com.

Wanna know the Terrapins football team’s game plan heading into Saturday’s game against Temple? I’m not sure what it is. Will they try to run the ball more, or maybe drop Kenny Tate into coverage? I don’t know.

We do, however, know what uniforms the Terps will be wearing.

Coach Randy Edsall tweeted the announcement on Thursday that the team captains had selected black helmets, gold uniforms and black pants.

This marks the third different combination the Terps have worn in three games this year. They wore the flag-swag “Maryland Pride” uniforms against Miami, and the all-black look against West Virginia.

I think it’s one of the better looks the Terps have, though it isn’t my favorite. Any time you have the pants and helmet matching it looks pretty decent. We’re yet to see the Terps wear their white turtle shell helmets (save for warmups before the Miami game) and the Terps still haven’t worn red.

If the Terps lose this game, the novelty of the crazy uniform combinations might wear off – if it hasn’t already. In the meantime, I vote that the Terps take the field to this song to go with the uniforms they’ll be wearing.

Jeremy Schneider is The Diamondback’s Terrapins football columnist. He can be reached at schneider@umdbk.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jschneider_.