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FACTS & STATS: Site: Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium (54,000) -- College Park, Maryland. Television: None. Home Record: MTSU 1-0, Maryland 1-0. Away Record: MTSU 0-1, Maryland 0-1. Neutral Record: MTSU 0-0, Maryland 0-0. Conference Record: MTSU 0-0, Maryland 0-0. Series Record: Maryland leads, 2-1.

GAME NOTES: The upstart Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders hope to pull off an upset on the road, as they head to Byrd Stadium in College Park to tangle with the Maryland Terrapins in a non-conference matchup.

Dating back to the 2007 season, the Terps have won eight of their last nine at home. However, last weekend they needed overtime to beat visiting James Madison, 38-35. This is the second of a four-game homestand for Maryland.

Meanwhile, the Blue Raiders are riding high following last weekend's impressive 31-14 win over Memphis. They showed improvement in all phases of the game after falling to Clemson in the season opener. Middle Tennessee plays its next three games on the road.

Maryland has a 2-1 edge in the all-time series, although the Blue Raiders notched a 24-14 victory when the teams met last season in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Middle Tennessee quarterback Dwight Dasher had himself a day against Memphis, as the junior signal-caller was responsible 320 total yards (231 passing, 89 rushing) and two touchdowns. Dasher completed an efficient 18-of-26 passes while spreading the wealth to nine different receivers, and he averaged 5.2 yards per carry on the ground. For his efforts, he was named the Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Week. However, Dasher can't be expected to account for such a disproportionate amount of the team's total offense each week. His 150 rushing yards through two games represents a team-high in that department, while starting tailback Phillip Tanner has a quiet 83 yards on 18 carries.

After two games, the Middle Tennessee defense leads the SBC and ranks 21st nationally in pass defense (142.5 ypg). Some of that has to do with the offensive styles of their two opponents, though a lot of it can also be attributed to the Blue Raiders staying disciplined with their assignments in the passing game. Last weekend, they held Memphis quarterback Arkelon Hall to 93 yards and an interception on just 13-of-22 passing. They also held their own against the run, limiting the Tigers to 93 yards on 37 carries (2.5 ypc) as a team. Seeing Middle Tennessee defenders in the backfield was commonplace, as the Blue Raiders notched 12 tackles for loss.

Despite putting up a healthy 38 points against JMU, there is plenty of room for improvement for the Maryland offense. After all, this is a unit that managed just 151 yards of offense in the first half of a home game against a school from the Football Championship Subdivision. Late in the third quarter, Maryland quarterback Chris Turner threw an interception that was returned 62 yards for a touchdown to put JMU on top. Turner finished a respectable 25- of-38 for 236 yards and a score, though that pick stands out most from his stat line. The Terps didn't have a whole lot going on in the run game, either. Da'Rel Scott carried 17 times for 68 yards (4.0 ypc) and a touchdown, but penalties wiped out a few gains and somewhat shifted the offensive game plan.

Maryland top cover corner and senior captain Nolan Carroll was lost for the season when he broke his right tibia in the fourth quarter of last week's game. Considering the Terps are giving up an average of 480 yards and 43.5 points after two games, his loss presents obvious concerns. Last Saturday's overtime win against JMU was the result of a missed 41-yard field goal attempt more so than anything the Maryland defense was able to do. After building a 21-6 lead in the second quarter, the defense surrendered 22 unanswered points as JMU surged ahead for a fourth-quarter lead. The Terps let up a fair amount of big plays, too, perhaps none bigger than a back-breaking 70-yard touchdown scamper by Dukes quarterback Drew Dudzik in the fourth quarter. Still, the Terps were just glad to escape with a win, while the coaches try to correct those mistakes this week in practice.

The Blue Raiders handled Maryland by 10 points when these teams met in Murfreesboro last season. It will be a different environment at Byrd Stadium, but the Terps haven't provided a lot of evidence to suggest the end result will be different.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Middle Tennessee 30, Maryland 27