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Morgan State, coming off an open date, will be on the road for the fourth straight week when it opposes Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls on Saturday afternoon. The week off gave several injured players a chance to recover, but there are other problems to contend with.The Northern Iowa fans have a tradition of shaking keys when the visiting team has the ball, and at the 16,400-seat UNI-Dome, that can mean a lot of noise."The crowd is quiet when its team has the ball, but when the other side gets it, with everybody shaking keys, you can't hear anything else," said Joe McIver, a Morgan State assistant athletic director.

COLLEGE PARK -- The Wofford Terriers were a curiosity that landed at Byrd Stadium last night, a tiny Division I-AA school dreaming of slaying a dragon by comparison. And for a brief period of time, the Maryland Terrapins actually were locked in a legitimate battle with this pesky group from South Carolina. But it didn't take long for reality, physics and talent to take over as Maryland shook off a sluggish start offensively, asserted itself with a dominant second quarter, scored the game's first 30 points, then settled for a 37-8 victory before an announced crowd of 44,098.

Trailing by one with 1:23 left in Saturday's opener, Frostburg State football coach Rubin Stevenson had simple words for his freshman kicker, Nick Quisgard. "I just said, `Hey big man, this is what you go to college for - go out and have fun,' " Stevenson said. Quisgard, a John Carroll grad, went on to kick a 30-yard field goal that lifted the Division III Bobcats to a 25-23 upset win at Division I-AA Marist. The last of a number of standouts on the day, he received a game ball and was named Atlantic Central Football Conference Rookie of the Week.

Towson University will announce today that it has been accepted as the 12th football-playing member of the Atlantic 10 Conference. "It's been a long process, but it will be worth the wait," football coach Gordy Combs said yesterday. "This is a very competitive league from top to bottom, and we'll be happy to be a part of it." The Atlantic 10 is considered the premier Division I-AA football conference in the East. Three members, William and Mary, Hofstra and Maine, made the NCAA playoffs from the league last season, and Massachusetts won the national title in 1998.

If Morgan State is to fulfill the "Arise" theme of its 2006 season, players who have migrated from football programs elsewhere must provide noteworthy contributions. Division I-A transfers are so prominent on the roster that as many as four could start on the rebuilt defense, a source of optimism after the Bears took a nose dive to a 2-9 record last year.

Navy plays its only Division I-AA opponent of the season this weekend and has very little to gain except momentum lost in last week's drubbing from Notre Dame.A victory over Delaware (7-2) is anticipated. A defeat can only harm the 5-2 Midshipmen's stock in the eyes of the postseason selectors."The bowl committees wouldn't look at this as a great win," said Navy slotback Cory Schemm. "But if we lose, they'll look at it as a tremendous setback."With five victories over Division I-A teams, Navy needs only one more to officially qualify for a bowl.

It's an occurrence that has become so unlikely, and so rare, that you almost have to repeat it again and again to believe it: Navy in a rout, Navy in a rout, Navy in a rout. . . .As strange as that sounds, it is true. With fullback Brad Stramanak rushing for three touchdowns, Navy routed Eastern Illinois, 31-10, last night at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.It was the largest margin of victory for Navy in a home game since 1988, when the Midshipmen beat Yale, 41-7, in the fourth game of the season.

COLLEGE PARK - Starting with football coach Ralph Friedgen, the Maryland Terrapins have spent all week forcing themselves to respect an opponent they are expected to crush tonight at Byrd Stadium. Never mind that the Wofford Terriers represent a tiny Division I-AA school of 1,100 students in Spartanburg, S.C. Forget that the Terriers were a late throw-in to Maryland's schedule, when Troy State pulled out of its date in College Park last spring after agreeing to a deal with Missouri. Dismiss the notion that the Terps (2-2)

Towson University finally exorcised its Patriot League demon yesterday. After nine consecutive losses to Lehigh, the host Tigers thrust themselves into the league championship race with a 23-19 victory before 3,137. The outcome ended a 16-game conference winning streak for Lehigh, which was ranked ninth and 10th in the two NCAA Division I-AA polls last week. Towson (4-2 overall, 2-1 league) now has command of its destiny with two more toughies, Bucknell and Colgate, to follow the next two weekends at home, where the Tigers are unbeaten in three starts.

COLLEGE PARK -- Give Maryland quarterback Ken Mastrole a "C" for surviving a dismal first quarter and leading an impressive, 63-yard touchdown march in the third quarter.Give the Terps' defense a "B" for virtually shutting down James Madison for three quarters.But the only "A" last night went to senior linebacker Eric Barton, who took over the game in the second quarter when the Terps were clinging to a three-point lead against the Division I-AA Dukes.Barton dominated the second quarter with two sacks, two tackles and a fumble recovery he returned for 16 yards, sending Maryland on its way to a 23-15 victory over James Madison in its season-opener before 36,547 at Byrd Stadium.