Eastern Michigan

COLLEGE PARK - As they prepare to face the heart of their Atlantic Coast Conference schedule in the coming weeks, the Maryland Terrapins are looking a little sickly. Their offense is sputtering, beginning with a quarterback position battle that has yet to be settled with authority. They are committing too many turnovers. Their defense is showing resilience but is still failing to make the big play on too many occasions. Look for some confidence to be restored tonight when a temporary cure known as Eastern Michigan comes to Byrd Stadium.

With a large fan base, full-time coaches and corporate sponsorships, college club hockey is much like a varsity sport minus the scholarships. It's serious hockey. The premier club teams will be on display today through Sunday in the American Collegiate Hockey Association's national tournament at the Gardens Ice House in Laurel. Towson will be the host of the tournament for the first time in the event's 13-year history. "People in general associate club sports with beer drinking and whoever shows up," Towson coach Marshall Stevenson said.

The Maryland football team, originally scheduled to play a school-record 13 regular-season games in 2002, may play just 12 after Troy State pulled out of a Sept. 28 date last week. Troy State, which lost, 47-14, in College Park last season, paid Maryland as much as $175,000 to enter a three-year arrangement with Missouri - beginning this year - that would provide for one home game. Several major Division I-A programs still are seeking opponents for the 2002 season - Nebraska, Penn State and Georgia the most prominent among them - but it is more likely that Maryland will search for an opponent it can play at home.

Freshman guard Lucious Jordan had 23 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and five steals as the Loyola men's basketball team ended a 28-game road losing streak with a 74-63 win over Fairleigh Dickinson last night in Hackensack, N.J. Loyola (1-2) led by just two points with eight minutes left in the second half before building a 13-point advantage and putting away the Knights (0-5). Donovan Thomas had 19 points and nine rebounds off the bench for Loyola, and B.J. Davis added 12 points. Loyola held FDU to 34 percent shooting, including 27 percent in the second half.

Defense is a newfound strength and the offense is coming along for the 2-0 Maryland football team. Heading into the team's third straight home game against West Virginia on Saturday, coach Ralph Friedgen now pines for consistency from his kicking game. The key word is concern, not crisis, after Saturday night's 50-3 rout of Eastern Michigan. Botched extra-point attempts and missed field goals didn't matter much for Maryland against a team that came to Byrd Stadium for a guaranteed payout.

COLLEGE PARK - Overconfident? Not a chance. That pretty much sums up Maryland's 50-3 rout of overmatched Eastern Michigan last night at Byrd Stadium, which was highlighted by three touchdowns and 133 rushing yards from tailback Bruce Perry and another dominating performance by the defense. In blowing out an inferior opponent - the biggest mismatch since a 52-0 Maryland win over Wake Forest in 1996 - Ralph Friedgen's team erased any fears that it would produce a dull performance in the afterglow of its season-opening win over North Carolina.

COLLEGE PARK - As the middle linebacker for the Maryland Terrapins, junior E.J. Henderson is supposed to be a disruptive force. In last night's 50-3 rout over Eastern Michigan, the junior from Aberdeen High School led a nasty Terps defense that shut down running lanes constantly and harassed Eagles quarterback Troy Edwards relentlessly. Eastern Michigan averaged just 2.1 yards per play and produced only 124 yards and nine first downs, most of which were surrendered by the Terps' defensive backups.

COLLEGE PARK - For a college football program that hasn't had a winning season since 1990, brashness wouldn't seem to be a possible foe after a season-opening victory. But Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen has that concern going into tonight's game against visiting Eastern Michigan. The Terps are favored by 24 1/2 points against the Eagles, who went 3-8 last season and struggled to defeat Division I-AA Southeast Missouri State last week in their opener, 16-12. "Last week, I was worried about confidence.

E. Michigan (1-0) at Maryland (1-0) Site: Byrd Stadium, College Park Time: 6 p.m. Radio: WBAL (1090 AM), WTEM (980 AM) Series: First meeting. Last week: Eastern Michigan beat Southeast Missouri State, 16-12. Maryland beat North Carolina, 23-7. Outlook: Special teams are the main strength for Eastern Michigan, which got two field goals from Eric Klaban and another from Toller Starnes in the win over Southeast Missouri State, a Division I-AA team. Freshman tailback Chris Roberson ran for 101 yards on 18 carries in the win, including the game-winning score.

COLLEGE PARK - He is barely removed from an exhilarating start to his first year as a head football coach, yet Ralph Friedgen refuses to get too excited. Forget that, with Saturday's season-opening 23-7 victory over North Carolina, the Maryland Terrapins took an important step toward what could be their first winning season in six years and their first bowl-game bid in 11 seasons. Forget that Maryland produced a fine showing on defense and special teams and that its offense, which sputtered for much of the day, committed no serious mistakes and pounded the Tar Heels with a physical running game in the second half.