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FACTS & STATS: Site: Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium (48,055) -- College Park, Maryland. Television: ACC Network. Home Record: Temple 1-1, Maryland 1-1. Away Record: Temple 1-0, Maryland 0-0. Neutral Record: Temple 0-0, Maryland 0-0. Conference Record: Temple 1-0, Maryland 1-0. Series Record: Maryland leads, 6-0.

GAME NOTES: Maryland has dominated the Owls in the all-time series, but this is a different Temple squad and the Terrapins will be well prepared when the Owls take the field this Saturday at Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium.

The last time these two schools collided the Terps clobbered Temple, 38-7, taking a 6-0 lead in the all-time series.

The Owls gave everything they had this past weekend against Penn State, but fell just short of claiming one of the greatest wins in program history. Temple led for the majority of the game against the Nittany Lions, but a late touchdown by PSU gave coach Steve Addazio his first loss at Temple, coming after two convincing wins over Villanova (42-7) and Akron (41-3).

As for the Terps, they opened the season with a thrilling, 32-24 victory over Miami-Florida, giving the team a 1-0 start in ACC action. After a week off the Terps took on a tough West Virginia squad, and even though Maryland fought hard, coach Randy Edsall suffered his first loss as the head coach in College Park.

This might be the first year for coach Addazio, but the Owls are showing a similar attack offensively to years prior. So far Temple has relied heavily on its ground game, mainly Bernard Pierce, who has already rushed for 347 yards and seven touchdowns. As a whole, the Owls are producing an impressive 206.3 yards per game via the run.

The ground game however, did not find much room to run against Penn State, as the team finished with just 74 yards on 30 carries (2.5 ypc). Pierce led the way with 50 yards and also found the end zone once.

What has hampered this offense has been the play by quarterback Mike Gerardi. He completed just nine of his 22 passes in the loss to Penn State and also tossed two interceptions. Gerardi has completed just 50.8 percent of his throws on the year and has only three touchdowns against two interceptions.

Gerardi will start again this Saturday, but if the passing attack does not improve quickly, coach Addazio might have to make a change before opponents begin to key solely on the rushing attack.

Temple might have been defeated by Penn State, but the defense stood tall against Joe Paterno's offense, allowing just 14 points. Temple allowed just 10 total points in its first two games and against stiffer competition, Temple stood up and proved its defense is solid.

Temple stymied the Nittany Lions on the ground, limiting the Big Ten opponent to just 92 yards on 2.6 yards per attempt. So far every opponent has found little room to run against this unit and as of now Temple is holding the opposition to just 85.3 yards per matchup.

It is still September, but the Owls could have the best all-around defense in the MAC. Temple has yet to allow a passing touchdown and comes into this weekend with five interceptions. The secondary is benefiting from the relentless pressure the front line has put on opposing quarterbacks, as the team has already collected 11 sacks.

Three players have two sacks, but linebacker Tahir Whitehead has done the most damage for this unit, with six TFLs and two forced fumbles.

The Terps might have lost this past weekend to West Virginia, but they did some positive things offensively, and should continue to do so in the upcoming weeks.

As a team, the Terps rumbled for 188 yards against WVU, but it was mainly the Davin Meggett and DJ Adams show. Meggett, who rushed for 92 yards against Miami, racked up 113 yards and one score against Maryland, while Adams added two touchdowns to go along with 64 yards.

Quarterback Danny O'Brien played to mixed reviews last time out. The quarterback threw for 289 yards and one touchdown, but was intercepted three times and one of those picks was returned for a touchdown.

Making sure the offense has a balanced attack is one thing coach Edsall is dealing with, but his main problem has been the poor play by the defense. Sure, the Terps defeated Miami in the opener, but the defense still surrendered 172 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

Maryland did a better job against WVU, holding the Mountaineers under 100 yards on the ground, but it was West Virginia's passing attack that did in coach Edsall's defense. The Terps were torched for 388 yards in the contest and out of the 27 first downs accumulated by the Mountaineers, 17 came via the pass.

So far this unit has been abused by the run and the pass, but if the defense for Maryland is going to be successful this weekend the team must stop the run, because Temple will likely roll with Pierce early and often.

Maryland went against a Miami squad that ran the ball much of the game because its starting quarterback was out and the weather was terrible. In that game the Hurricanes gashed the Terps. West Virginia is more of a passing team, which is why the Mountaineers did not break through the 100-yard plateau. Temple will follow Miami's lead and try to overwhelm the Terps with the run.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Temple 24, Maryland 14