Sorry Terps.

Today in the print edition of The Diamondback, I predicted a Cal blowout (38-16) in tomorrow’s Terps vs. Golden Bears season opener out in Berkeley.

We promised an explanation, you know, in case anyone out there gets angry over what one college student newspaper sports editor has to say. (I sure hope that isn’t the case.)

Basically, it boils down to this:

If this game was played in the first week of October instead of in the first week of September, the Terps would not lose by as many as 22 points (the point spread has remained steady at +21.5). But the fact is, Saturday will be the very first significant game action for too many Terp starters to elicit much confidence.

Cal probably isn’t as good as some are predicting. They have their own issues in the receiving corps and despite quarterback Kevin Riley’s decent performance in College Park last season, I don’t buy him as a guy capable of making a difference on a national scale.

Ideas of Cal challenging USC for the Pac-10 title might be hasty as well, but in Saturday’s game, it won’t matter.

Cal has a decided advantage on both the offensive and defensive lines, an inspired running back with game-breaking potential and all the necessary motivation.

The Terps do have a chance to be a quality team this year, and by quality I mean seven or eight wins. But Saturday, it’s just not going to happen.

Aaron Kraut is The Diamondback’s sports editor. He can be reached at akraut@umdbk.com. (But please be kind and post your “I told you so’s” in the comments section below for all to see!)

This entry was posted on Friday, September 4th, 2009 at 1:33 am and is filed under Athletics Department, Football. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.