Central Michigan

CENTRAL MICHIGAN (3-7)@NAVY (6-3) Time: 3:30 p.m. TV: CBS College Sports Radio: 1090 AM, 1430 AM Line: Navy by 141/2 Last meeting: Navy def. Central Michigan, 63-34, Nov. 22, 2003 Home not so sweet: The Midshipmen have yet to turn in an offensive performance at home that rivals victories over Notre Dame at New Meadowlands Stadium on Oct. 23 and last Saturday's record-setting performance in...

Back for a second season, we'll be previewing each of Maryland's football games by conducting a Q&A with a reporter who covers the Terps' next opponent. This week, we traded emails with Jesse Dougherty , sports editor for The Daily Orange, one of the country's most respected college papers. Be sure to check out  more of their coverage here  before the Terps and Orange kick off Saturday at 12:30 at the Carrier Dome.   Tracking the Terps: He's far from a household name, but Scott Shafer has gotten off to a strong start in his year-plus as the head coach at Syracuse.

Navy quarterback Ricky Dobbs hasn't practiced this week, leaving the senior's availability for Saturday's game against Central Michigan in doubt one week after he reportedly suffered a minor concussion resulting from a light blow to the head early in a 76-35 victory over East Carolina. Dobbs played into the fourth quarter against the Pirates, rushing for 100 yards and one touchdown and passing for 75yards and two touchdowns, before yielding to backup Kriss Proctor , who would start if the coaching staff decides to hold out the academy's all-time leader in touchdowns.

COLLEGE PARK -- For Maryland, Saturday's game at Syracuse is a chance to get back on track after last week's loss to West Virginia and an opportunity to move to 3-1 heading into Big Ten play. But for Terps coach Randy Edsall , it is also a return to his alma mater. Edsall was a quarterback at Syracuse from 1976-79. He then began his coaching career at Syracuse as a graduate assistant 1980 and spent 11 seasons on the Orange's staff before moving on to Boston College in 1991.

The emotions and energy Navy puts into its annual game against Air Force typically takes a lot out of the Midshipmen for their next game. A year ago, after a controversial overtime loss to the Falcons in Annapolis, Navy was throttled the next week at home by Southern Mississippi, losing by 28 points. Beating its bitter rival, as Navy did last week in Colorado Springs, can also cause what Niumatalolo calls "being on Cloud 9" to linger. It happened in Niumatalolo's first season as head coach five years ago when the Midshipmen lost at home to Pittsburgh two weeks after a six-point win at Falcon Stadium.

Archbishop Spalding senior Malia Swieconek has accepted a full scholarship to play Division I field hockey at Central Michigan University in the fall.Swieconek, a high school All-America selection by the United States Field Hockey Association and a first-team All-Metro goalkeeper, closed out a three-year varsity career with a banner senior season for the Cavaliers.In 19 games last fall, she turned back 88 percent of the shots that came her way, averaging 13 saves a game with a total of 247.Swieconek, who carries a 3.5 grade-point average, considered a number of other Division I schools,including Boston College, Old Dominion, Boston University, Duke and North Carolina.

Ricky Dobbs holds a special place in the recent history of Navy football. In the two seasons he started at quarterback, he led the Midshipmen in rushing and put up more than respectable numbers passing. He led the team to 10- and nine-win seasons. He helped Navy twice beat Notre Dame, as well as Missouri in a bowl game. He nearly beat Ohio State at "The Horseshoe. " As a result, Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo and offensive coordinator Ivin Jasper have been hesitant to compare any of their team's quarterbacks since to Dobbs.

SALT LAKE CITY - The Mid-American Conference has been a giant-killer in the NCAA tournament for several years, and Central Michigan didn't disappoint last night in the opening round of the West Regional at the Huntsman Center. While the 11th-seeded Chippewas didn't knock off one of college basketball's big-name teams, they did provide the first big upset in this year's tournament with a wild 79-73 victory over sixth-seeded Creighton. Led by senior forward Mike Manciel, who scored 15 of his career-high 29 points in the first half, Central Michigan (25-6)

Navy quarterback Trey Miller was held out of practice Monday after sustaining an ankle injury in Saturday's 28-21 overtime win at Air Force. With his left foot in a boot, Miller watched as freshman Keenan Reynolds ran most of the drills in preparation of Friday's game at Central Michigan. Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said before practice in Annapolis that the protection on Miller's foot was "a precaution" and he wouldn't know until seeing how the junior responds to treatment whether he will play this week.

Motor City Matchup -- Central Michigan (9-4) vs. Middle Tennessee State (7-5) Where -- Ford Field, Detroit TIME, TV -- 7:30, ESPN KEY STATS -- Central Michigan is ranked 19th nationally in pass offense (258.4 yards per game, 27 TDs). Middle Tennessee is 105th nationally in total offense (282.7 ypg). THE GAME -- Central Michigan is the Mid-American Conference champion; the Chippewas won the title on the same field last month. But they'll be without their main head coach, as Brian Kelly took the coaching job at Cincinnati (Jeff Quinn is the interim coach)

Inside Lacrosse published its list of Division III men's Preseason All-Americans on Thursday, and as expected, numerous slots went to players from the Baltimore area. One year after tying a school record with nine USILA All-America selections, Stevenson had five players selected as Preseason All-Americans in Inside Lacrosse's Face-Off Yearbook, highlighted by senior defenseman Kyle Holecheck (Loyola), who was named to the first team. Joining Holecheck were sophomore attackman Stephen Banick and sophomore midfielder Tony Rossi (Calvert Hall)

As last Friday's game at Central Michigan unfolded for the Navy football team, one thing became abundantly clear: With freshman quarterback Keenan Reynolds running the offense, the Midshipmen began to resemble the teams from Ken Niumatalolo's first three seasons as head coach and Paul Johnson's last five years in Annapolis. It was not only the first time that Navy had dominated a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent both in terms of the scoreboard (31-13) and time of possession (35:47 to 24:13)

The emotions and energy Navy puts into its annual game against Air Force typically takes a lot out of the Midshipmen for their next game. A year ago, after a controversial overtime loss to the Falcons in Annapolis, Navy was throttled the next week at home by Southern Mississippi, losing by 28 points. Beating its bitter rival, as Navy did last week in Colorado Springs, can also cause what Niumatalolo calls "being on Cloud 9" to linger. It happened in Niumatalolo's first season as head coach five years ago when the Midshipmen lost at home to Pittsburgh two weeks after a six-point win at Falcon Stadium.

Ricky Dobbs holds a special place in the recent history of Navy football. In the two seasons he started at quarterback, he led the Midshipmen in rushing and put up more than respectable numbers passing. He led the team to 10- and nine-win seasons. He helped Navy twice beat Notre Dame, as well as Missouri in a bowl game. He nearly beat Ohio State at "The Horseshoe. " As a result, Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo and offensive coordinator Ivin Jasper have been hesitant to compare any of their team's quarterbacks since to Dobbs.

Navy quarterback Trey Miller was held out of practice Monday after sustaining an ankle injury in Saturday's 28-21 overtime win at Air Force. With his left foot in a boot, Miller watched as freshman Keenan Reynolds ran most of the drills in preparation of Friday's game at Central Michigan. Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said before practice in Annapolis that the protection on Miller's foot was "a precaution" and he wouldn't know until seeing how the junior responds to treatment whether he will play this week.

Arkansas State (4-6) @ Navy (7-3) Time: 3:30 p.m. Site: Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium TV: CBS College Sports Radio: 1090 AM, 1430 AM Series: First meeting Senior farewell: Emotions figure to be running high in the final game at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium for the Midshipmen's 23 seniors. Navy, however, has struggled to start well at home, having fallen behind in each of its past three games in Annapolis. The Mids are 3-1 at home this season, with one of those victories coming against Football Championship Subdivision team Georgia Southern, 13-7.

— Sure has been a strange month for Navy. Three weeks ago, the Midshipmen were on top of the world with a 35-17 upset win over Notre Dame at New Meadowlands Stadium. They followed that with the mother of all let-downs, losing at home to Duke, 34-31, in a game in which they trailed 24-0 at halftime. And they followed that with a 76-35 shellacking of East Carolina, the most points by a Navy team since 1919. (That was the year the Middies beat Colby, 120-0, which should have left Colby thinking about dropping football for, say, croquet.)

CENTRAL MICHIGAN (3-7)@NAVY (6-3) Time: 3:30 p.m. TV: CBS College Sports Radio: 1090 AM, 1430 AM Line: Navy by 141/2 Last meeting: Navy def. Central Michigan, 63-34, Nov. 22, 2003 Home not so sweet: The Midshipmen have yet to turn in an offensive performance at home that rivals victories over Notre Dame at New Meadowlands Stadium on Oct. 23 and last Saturday's record-setting performance in...