COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Both Georgia Tech and Maryland come into Thursday night's game in need of a win to remain in the race for the ACC championship.

The Terrapins won the conference and made it to a BCS bowl last year in Ralph Friedgen's first season as coach, but this year they struggled early on offense because they had to break in a number of new starters. They didn't really hit on all cylinders until the West Virginia game when they put up 48 points and 215 rushing yards.

	Georgia Tech at Maryland
	Kirk Herbstreit joins Mike Tirico and Lee Corso for tonight's 7:30 p.m. ET battle between Georgia Tech and Maryland on ESPN. Herbstreit's Thursday Night Lights will appear weekly and breakdown the Thursday night game.

A big reason for that performance was Terps quarterback and West Virginia transfer Scott McBrien going back home, and he told me this week that the game started to slow down for him and he is gaining a better understanding of Friedgen's complex scheme.

But don't fool yourself, the UM offense relies heavily on its ability to run the ball. Josh Allen and Chris Downs have given the Terps a spark there and tonight you will see them trying to get the offense into third-and-short situations.

Depleted D wants redemption
Jon Tenuta is the defensive coordinator at Georgia Tech, and despite the loss of Greg Gathers and Hobie Holiday his group has been able to step up and play well. The exception would be last week's game against Wake Forest where they had 17 missed tackles and didn't make many plays.

The defense has had 12 days to think about that, though, and is anxious to redeem itself. The linebackers are the strength of this unit with players like Keyaron Fox, Daryl Smith and Recardo Wimbush. The Yellow Jackets' ability to stop the run is something to watch because the Terps will struggle offensively if they cannot stay out of third-and-long situations.

New-look Offense
The Georgia Tech offense is in a similar situation. Chan Gailey came from the pros and is in his first year at Tech, and he retained Bill O'Brien as his offensive coordinator. They are doing things on offense similar to the schemes Friedgen employed during his time as the coordinator there, but Gailey has added a few wrinkles of his own.

Spotlight Player

Ga. Tech RB Ace Eziemefe and Maryland LB E.J. Henderson When Georgia Tech is on offense it will rely on a committee of tailbacks led by Eziemefe and run right into the teeth of the Maryland defense. Henderson and his mates will have to step up, and the winner of this battle could decide the outcome of the game. Maryland QB Scott McBrien Coming off a game against West Virginia where he threw for one touchdown and ran for another, can his confidence continue to grow in a situation where his team desperately needs a win?

Tennessee transfer A.J. Suggs has struggled at quarterback for the Yellow Jackets and has even been booed at home. Redshirt freshman Demarius Bilbo is the backup and we should see him on the third series of the game. Suggs is more of a veteran who will work the pocket passing game and rely on the running backs, while Bilbo will use play-action and designed quarterback runs. He is a great athlete, one of better athletes on the team, and gives Maryland a whole different package to defend.

Georgia Tech's strength is its offensive line, particularly Hugh Reilly at center and 6-6, 330-pound sophomore Nat Dorsey at left tackle. Dorsey proved how good he is last year in a Thursday night game against North Carolina, keeping eventual No. 2 overall draft pick Julius Peppers away from the quarterback.

The Jackets also have good receivers in Will Glover and Kerry Watkins, but the problem has been not having a quarterback who can get the ball to them consistently and, since Tony Hollings went down for the season, no tailbacks to give balance to the offense. Freshman Ace Eziemefe is the most talented back they have in the rotation.

Fear the Turtles
Georgia Tech's offense will have its hands full with the Maryland defense. Terps defensive coordinator Gary Blackney put together a package last year that helped them have one of the best defenses in the country, and linebacker E.J. Henderson is one of the best defenders in the nation and is finally getting healthy after a hip injury limited him early this year. He had only one full-contact scrimmage before the opener against Notre Dame, and he told me he is back into playing shape and is 95-100 percent healthy.

The Terrapins will crowd the line of scrimmage with lots of people and they are willing to take some chances. This is a hard defense to run against because it plays a scheme designed to keep the offensive line and quarterback guessing where the pressure is coming from and does a good job of disguising coverages.

The best player on the Maryland defensive line is Randy Starks, who has five sacks and six tackles for loss. He's only a sophomore but is a good, solid presence in the middle. Henderson and Leon Joe are going to have to step up and make plays at linebacker because of Tech's need to run the ball.

The Bottom Line
There is some familiarity between the staffs even though Gailey replaced George O'Leary. Friedgen was the offensive coordinator coordinator for the Yellow Jackets and knows most of the players there personally. Whichever team runs the ball better will win this game and there will be a lot of pressure on the backs and lines because both passing games have struggled and each team has relied on the run to set up the pass.

Kirk Herbstreit is an analyst for ESPN's Thursday Night Football as well as ESPN College GameDay.