Sure, lovable loser Maryland won 10 games last season, won the ACC title and went to the Orange Bowl. That was good. That was fine.

But what have the Terps done for us lately? In mid-September, the answer was: not much. Three games into the season, Maryland was 1-2 and had been outscored 59-10 in losses to Notre Dame and Florida State.

Maryland, which had averaged four victories for 15 seasons before last year's bonanza, walked like a fluke and talked like a fluke.

Army, Air Force Renew Rivalry

If Army doesn't defeat Air Force on Saturday, someone might as well rename the Commander in Chief's Trophy. Just call the thing Air Force's Trophy. The Falcons have won the 31-year-old competition 15 times, more than Army (six times) and Navy (five) combined, and with a win against Navy earlier this season they could wrap up another one Saturday. Air Force has won it every year but one since 1989, causing President Clinton to make these remarks at the presentation ceremony in 1999: "Every year I turn on the White House Christmas tree; every year I give a pardon to a Thanksgiving turkey. You know, there are things you do every year," he said. "And when the history of our administration is written, I will be credited with instituting a new permanent tradition: Every year I give the Commander in Chief's Trophy to Air Force." Even though Air Force has dominated the competition -- the Falcons are 42-19 all-time in competition games, and none of their seniors has ever lost to Army or Navy -- the table is set for a competitive game Saturday at West Point. For one thing, Air Force (6-3) hasn't won in almost a month; after breaking into the Top 25, the Falcons have lost three straight games. For another, Army is getting better; the Knights (0-8) remain winless, but they have hung tough in recent losses to TCU (46-27) and UAB (29-26). "We're holding our own a little bit more," said Army coach Todd Berry. "We're starting to make some plays." To win Saturday, Army will have to make sure Air Force quarterback Chance Harridge (852 rushing yards, 17 touchdowns) doesn't make too many plays. To win consistently in this series, Army will have to start matching Air Force, a Mountain West Conference team, on the recruiting trail. Berry said that should be more feasible now that the Knights, a long-time independent, are in Conference USA. "They've basically out-recruited Army and Navy (after going) into a conference," Berry said. "It was significant for us to get into a conference. I know at one point in time those young people that were interested in going to an academy said, 'I can (go to Air Force and) play Notre Dame, BYU and Colorado State, or I can go to Army and play Lafayette and Bucknell.' If you aspire to do great things in football, you want to play against the best. You want to play against the big guys." -- Gregg Doyel

But then something really quacky happened -- the Terps stopped looking like a fluke.

They warmed up with two easy victories against Eastern Michigan and Wofford, then dominated West Virginia on the road 48-17, the same West Virginia that would put a scare into No. 1 Miami three weeks later.

Maryland kept getting better, picking apart Georgia Tech on national television, 34-10, and making a pesky Duke team look awful, 45-12.

Last week the Terps smothered North Carolina 59-7, their biggest win ever in Chapel Hill, and basically they had stopped trying to score after building a 52-7 lead in the third quarter.

"I think we passed four times in the second half," Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen said, "and I didn't want to throw it that much."

Riding a six-game winning streak -- average score: 45-10 -- the Terps have muscled their way into contention for a second straight ACC title. Florida State remains a game ahead, and having already lost to the Seminoles, there's nothing Maryland can do about that. But NC State is another one-loss team in league play, and Maryland can definitely do something about that: The Wolfpack come to town Saturday, fresh off a crushing loss to Georgia Tech that erased NC State's long-shot hope at a national championship.

"Unfortunately," said Amato, "we have to go on the road to play the hottest team in the ACC right now."

That would be Maryland, a no-fluke team that apparently will be an ACC contender for as long as it can keep Friedgen. And given his background -- he's a Maryland alum -- it's unlikely Friedgen would consider leaving the Terps any time soon, certainly not for another college job.

But if another NFL team comes calling, as the Tampa Bay Bucs did after last season, could you blame them? Friedgen's offense helped the nondescript San Diego Chargers reach Super Bowl XXIX, and what it has done for the Terps this season has been every bit as unlikely.

Maryland's quarterback is Scott McBrien, an undersized transfer from West Virginia who wasn't good enough to claim the then-lowly Mountaineers' starting job two years ago. The tailback was supposed to be reigning ACC Offensive Player of the Year Bruce Perry, but thanks to Perry's array of injuries the Terps have had to turn to 5-foot-7 fifth-year senior Chris Downs. One of the top receivers, Latrez Harrison, was a third-string quarterback last year.

This is the crew Friedgen has turned into one of the most productive offenses in the country. The Terps are 11th nationally at 35.8 points per game.

"Isn't it amazing?" said Amato. "They had the ACC Offensive Player of the Year last year, Perry, who averaged something like seven yards a carry. If you look at what they've done the last several ball games, the guys they have in there for Perry are averaging almost the same thing."

So, Amato was asked, it's the Maryland system more than the Maryland players?

"That's kind of what I just said," he said.

And their defense remains stifling, leading the ACC in total defense after placing second last season, when it created an ACC-best 34 turnovers.

"Maryland is a big, physical football team," Duke coach Carl Franks said. "They intimidated us."

Around the ACC

Clemson
No surprise here: Coach Tommy Bowden is sticking with freshman QB Charlie Whitehurst for the North Carolina game after the surprise starter threw for 420 yards last week against Duke. ... Clemson's bad rushing attack (national rank: No. 94) gets a crack at North Carolina's even worse rushing defense (rank: No. 112).

Duke
The Blue Devils are off this week, giving them extra time to prepare for a rejuvenated Georgia Tech. That game is Nov. 16 at Atlanta. ... Duke's best All-ACC candidate could be DE Shawn Johnson, who leads the league with 10 sacks.

Florida State
TB Greg Jones (knee), the ACC rushing leader, is out for the season after being hurt against Wake Forest. Nick Maddox (6.4 yards per carry) isn't a bad fill-in. ... No surprise here, Part II: The Seminoles will stick with sophomore Adrian McPherson, who directed the comeback victory against Wake Forest last week. ... The football team's gain may be the basketball team's loss: McPherson isn't likely to skip spring practice to play basketball if he remains the starter.

Georgia Tech
When Chan Gailey was hired a decade ago at Samford, the coach he replaced was Terry Bowden -- son of Bobby Bowden, whose Seminoles face Gailey and the Jackets this week. ... The Jackets have never beaten Florida State in ACC play.

Maryland
The Terps have good memories of NC State, since that was the team Maryland defeated last year in Raleigh to clinch the ACC title. ... In Maryland's six-game winning streak, QB Scott McBrien has thrown for 1,242 yards, eight touchdowns and one interception to increase his efficiency rating from 92.7 to 148.6.

North Carolina
True freshman Mahlon Carey now is the No. 1 tailback, though he could move to safety next season. ... WR Sam Aiken needs six catches for 144 yards to set UNC season records. Aiken, who has 50 catches for 827 yards, has accepted an invitation to the Senior Bowl.

NC State
The perfect season is over, but the Wolfpack still can win the ACC title and, most likely, represent the league in a BCS game if it wins out. That won't be easy, with games at Maryland and Virginia followed by a home date with Florida State. Combined ACC record of those three teams: 12-3. ... T.A. McLendon's 8-yard touchdown run against the Jackets was his 15th score of the season, a new ACC freshman record.

Virginia
The Cavs held Penn State TB Larry Johnson to 39 yards last season, 240 less than he had last week against Illinois. But as Cavs coach Al Groh pointed out, Johnson was one of three backs sharing carries then. ... After losing the first four series games by an average of 20 points, Virginia has won the last two, including the 20-14 win in Charlottesville, Va., last year.

Wake Forest
Here comes TB Tarence Williams. After missing most of the first half of the season with a broken foot, he has averaged 125 yards the last two games, with a high of 149 last week against Florida State. He has an outside chance at another 1,000-yard season. ... The Deacons are off this week. And next week. Weird, huh?

Around Conference USA
Army has lost its last five games against Air Force, including 34-24 last season. ... The Knights come into the game against Air Force's awesome rushing attack having played their best game of the season against the run, holding UAB to 56 rushing yards in their last game. ... Cincinnati plays at Louisville on Thursday and hopes to hold down Cardinals quarterback Dave Ragone for a second consecutive year. Last season he was 12-for-28 for 154 yards, though the Cardinals won 28-13. ... Bearcats kicker Jonathan Ruffin, a former Groza Award winner, was not among four league kickers in the 20 national semifinalists. ... One of the four Groza finalists is East Carolina's Kevin Miller. ... The Pirates have played Houston just four times, winning three -- including the last meeting, 62-20 in 2000. ... ECU will carry a number of individual streaks into the game: TB Art Brown's touchdown-per-game streak, WR Richard Alston's 18-game streak with a catch, and Miller's run of 23 straight field goals inside 41 yards. ... Houston RB Joffrey Reynolds needs just 39 yards against ECU to become the 16th Cougar with at least 1,000 yards in a season. ... Reynolds' job has been made easier by QB Nick Eddy, who has thrown at least two touchdown passes in the last four games. ... Louisville has beaten Cincinnati the last four times they've played, and leads the all-time series 25-15-1. ... The Bearcats need to pay attention to Cardinals WR Damien Dorsey, who has scored at least twice in the past two games, notching a career high in receiving yards both times. ... Memphis will defend C-USA's honor against future league member South Florida, which already has defeated East Carolina and Southern Miss this season. ... The Tigers hope to end South Florida's 17-game home winning streak, the No. 2 active streak in the country. ... Southern Miss hopes to get back RB Derrick Nix (ankle) Saturday against UAB. ... Golden Eagles All-American LB candidate Rod Davis (thigh) was knocked out of the TCU game, but he will play. ... TCU has won seven in a row and already is bowl eligible, but the Horned Frogs would love to avenge last season's 48-22 loss to Tulane. ... TCU true freshman TB Lonta Hobbs has posted two straight 100-yard rushing games and is averaging 95.7 in his four games. ... Tulane RB Mewelde Moore has become the Green Wave's all-time rushing leader with 3,127 yards, breaking Eddie Price's 53-year-old record (3,095). ... Tulane LB Anthony Cannon leads the country's true freshmen with 73 tackles. ... UAB K Nick Hayes is another Groza semi-finalist. ... Blazers true freshman TB Dan Burks is coming strong, having run for 276 of his 317 yards in the past four games. ... UAB and Southern Miss enter this game today with 3-1 league records. The Blazers are 0-2 against Southern Miss.

Gregg Doyel covers college football for The Charlotte Observer and can be reached at gdoyel@charlotteobserver.com.