Raiders

PASSING Att. Com. Pct. Yds. TD Int. Lg. Rat. J. Russell 232 111 47.8 1185 3 10 86t 49.6 Gradkowski 150 82 54.7 1007 6 3 75t 80.6 C. Frye 62 35 56.5 401 0 4 33 49.2 M. Bush 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 ...

Maryland has piled up a 6-2 record in this series, but Colgate has won the last two meetings - both of which have occurred in the regular-season finales for both sides. The Raiders (8-6) are limping into their last game of the year, having lost four of their past five contests. Senior attackman and 2012 Tewaaraton Award winner Peter Baum leads the offense in assists (15) and points (48), but sophomore attackman Ryan Walsh paces the team in goals (35). The No. 11 Terps (9-3) have dropped two of their last three games, and although a lock to qualify for the NCAA tournament, they are in danger of losing out on one of the eight seeds and opening the first round on the road.

RAVENS PASSING GAME: The big play has been mostly absent lately from the Ravens' passing game with Joe Flacco completing only nine passes of 20 or more yards over the last four games. Speedy wide receiver Jacoby Jones has just four catches during that span and tight end Dennis Pitta has also seen his production decrease. However, Flacco has been a different quarterback at home, averaging 317.8 passing yards per game and throwing seven touchdowns to two interceptions. RAIDERS PASSING GAME: While the Ravens have said otherwise, Carson Palmer probably isn't the quarterback that he was when he used to torment the Ravens as a Cincinnati Bengal, beating them nine times in 13 games.

No. 11 Maryland will not skate through Saturday's regular-season finale against visiting Colgate — the Terps must win to cement a seed and a home game in the first round of the NCAA tournament. They will also have another motivation: history. The Raiders have ended Maryland's regular season with losses in 2011 and 2012, forcing the Terps to open the NCAA tournament on the road. It did not terribly damage them as they advanced to the national title game in both years, but coach John Tillman said he has not had to remind Maryland (9-3)

By the numbers 2 Years in a row the Ravens have made the playoffs under coach John Harbaugh. 3 Rushing touchdowns scored by Willis McGahee against the Raiders on Sunday. 14 Touchdowns by McGahee this season. 102 Season-low passing yardage by Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco. 123 Catches by the Patriots' Wes Welker, who was injured Sunday and might be out for the postseason.

1 Run Ray Rice. It's stating the obvious, but the Raiders rank 29th against the run and have given up 21 rushing touchdowns. 2 Stop the Raiders' ground game. With the second-worst passing attack in the NFL, Oakland can only win by running the ball. 3 Finish off Oakland. The Raiders have outscored teams 136-80 in the second half this season. - Jamison Hensley

Jamison Hensley Ravens, 31-10 The Raiders haven't won at an AFC North stadium since 2002. David Steele Ravens, 20-17 Even at home, they'll get a harder time from Oakland than from Miami. Edward Lee Ravens, 24-13 The Ravens have won four of the past five meetings. Make that five of the past six. Peter Schmuck Ravens, 26-12 Joe Flacco's education continues, and Matt Stover comes through with four field goals. Ken Murray Ravens, 31-0 Sebastian Janikowski will have to hit from 60 yards to get the Raiders on the board this week.

The Ravens' defensive intensity has been amazing in the postseason. Two tough, physical games and a cross-country flight could take a toll. But this team -- and especially this defense -- won't be denied. Ken Murray's prediction: Ravens, 14-12. When the Ravens have the ball The Ravens' offense has been hit-and-miss for a month now, struggling for points perhaps even more than in October's five-game touchdown drought. Back then, it produced field goals. The Ravens are averaging 78.3 rushing yards per game over the last three games, and just 104 passing yards over the last four.

LOS ANGELES -- Jeff Hostetler now wants the reputation to go with the ring.Even though he quarterbacked the New York Giants to a Super Bowl victory over the Buffalo Bills three years ago while filling in for Phil Simms, Hostetler has yet to be ranked among the game's top quarterbacks.But Hostetler took a step toward getting the respect he wants yesterday, when he bombed the Denver Broncos for 294 yards and three touchdowns to give the Los Angeles Raiders a 42-24, AFC wild-card playoff victory before 65,314 fans at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Many Americans didn't think football should be played yesterday. The Los Angeles Raiders agreed.Instead, they observed three hours of silence, finally getting their wish in the middle of another dank Buffalo afternoon, when the Bills finally quit scoring. Fifty-one to three was quite enough.Maybe the Raiders should go back to snarling, to fighting. Maybe to spying. The Buffalo no-huddle offense that had terrorized Miami last week fell on them from above, undetected, in the AFC championship game.

With an 8-6 record and one final regular-season contest at No. 11 Maryland, Colgate has not been mathematically eliminated from consideration for an at-large berth in the NCAA tournament. But unlike last year when the team went 13-3 in the regular season and garnered only the program's second tournament appearance, coach Mike Murphy is not holding out for another at-large spot when the 16-team bracket is unveiled Sunday night. “I'm sure there's probably some sort of mathematical substance to that, but we're 29th in the RPI, and I don't know that a team outside of the top 17 or 18 in the RPI has ever made it to the NCAA tournament that wasn't an automatic qualifier,” he said Tuesday.

After Wednesday morning's practice, Johns Hopkins football coach Jim Margraff was joking about an imaginary bucket list, but one not for him. Instead, it was a bucket list for Division III football teams. Saturday, Margraff and his Blue Jays will get a chance to cross off one of those objectives: play at national power Mount Union. The No. 15-ranked Blue Jays (10-1) head to Alliance, Ohio, to take on the No. 1 team in the country in the second round of the NCAA playoffs at noon. "This is an opportunity that few [teams]

As a volunteer at the Arundel House of Hope, Phil Bailey doesn't get paid for his services — for doing dishes, doing laundry or performing any of his other duties. After 20 years of working at the facility that provides shelter, health care, food, case management and more to the homeless, Bailey was finally recognized for making a difference in the lives of the people he serves. The Ravens honored Bailey as a "community quarterback" during a ceremony at M&T Bank Stadium before the team's game against the Oakland Raiders on Nov. 11. He was among three finalists who were thanked for outstanding service to their respective communities.

Ravens strong safety Bernard Pollard looked like his old self Sunday against the Oakland Raiders. Pollard finished with 11 tackles, tying for the team lead with weak-side linebacker Dannell Ellerbe. Pollard was delivering some vicious hits and flying to the ball. He was playing aggressively and recklessly again, something that has been absent from his game since bruising his rib in the Week 2 game against the Eagles. The enforcer is back. “You never get 100 percent healthy,” Pollard said.

Baltimore Sun columnist Mike Preston answers a selection of reader questions after the Ravens' 55-20 win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. Andy in Hagerstown: It's hard to gauge what improvements the Ravens have actually made, as the Raiders are a pretty bad football team. But what did you take away from the game that would give you confidence into the matchup against the Steelers? Mike Preston: I thought the pass coverages and drops by the linebackers were good.

Buried in the leftover rubble and next to the carcass of the Oakland Raiders at M&T Bank Stadium is a concern that won't go away. The Ravens' pass coverage still scares me. They blew out the Raiders 55-20 Sunday in their most impressive game of the past two or three years, but they still surrendered 368 passing yards. It might not be a concern if the Ravens played the Cleveland Browns or Kansas City Chiefs next, but they have a big game against the Steelers on Sunday night in Pittsburgh.

Ravens quarterbacks coach Hue Jackson spent a third straight day in Oakland interviewing with the Raiders for a coaching position Thursday. Despite media reports that Raiders owner Al Davis has recently been interviewing candidates for an assistant coaching position, it should not come as a surprise if Raiders coach Tom Cable is fired and Jackson replaces him, according to a source. The Raiders could not be reached for comment. The Raiders like Jackson, 45, because he played a major part in the development of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer, and Oakland also likes what he has done working with Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco the past two seasons.

In Sunday's 55-20 win over the Oakland Raiders, Ravens defenders channeled their inner Dikembe Mutombo, swatting six of quarterback Carson Palmer's passes at the line. All that was missing was the finger-wagging. “It's something that [defensive coordinator] Dean Pees has been harping on us all week,” linebacker Paul Kruger, who knocked down one pass and intercepted another, said Sunday. “We've been practicing it. It's a credit to the coaches, to just making sure we had all the little things in our minds, that really paid off today.” The Ravens knocked down eight passes, and six came from defensive linemen or outside linebackers as the Ravens eschewed their usual space-eating defensive tackles for a more nimble defensive front.