We should be impressed with Maryland regardless of the problems that Texas is having. Maryland has somehow figured out how to challenge one of the best programs in all of college footbal history, and they have beaten them. I do not know if this means that Maryland is magical and perfect, but it does mean that they may be better than we thought. This is more of a statement about what conference pride can do for a team that needs a little boost.
Conference pride matters
I know the whole conference pride thing make very little sense, but it seems to help.
The Big 12 is a disaster, and that lack of pride, lack of belief, and lack of expectation makes their teams just a little bit worse. There is a reason they have had a hard time wth the College Football Playoffs, and I think part of it is conference belief. People who love Maryland love their conference, and literally every other conference in America has gotten a boost except for the Big 12. You can see the results as Maryland beat Texas today.
West Virginia takes over
Now we can see if West Virginia perhaps has some juice that will help them where Texas has already fallen. We can effectively count out a bubble team if they are losing this early to Maryland, and I think we should consider the Maryland football program a serious player as long as they can keep winning.
We just never know. West Virginia, on the other hand, is good right now. They can make gains right now. They can come over the top and perhaps compete for a spot in the playoffs. I would not pick them today, but I would watch them closely.
The Under Armour thing makes sense
Kevin Durant was asked a while back why kids from DC do not go to Maryland, and he said most of them come up playing Nike.
All the kids who grow up playing under armour go to Maryland. Well, Under Armour is more closely associated with football to the casual fan, and maybe they are getting players who are Under Armour kids to come play football there. Assuming this is true, Maryland may start to get better every year. It would be fun to see that happen considering they have those cool helmets now.
I would go play there just for the helmets, and I would definitely play there because the ocean and mid Atlantic states are nice places to live.
Tom Herman is not your savior, Texas. Maryland has a long way to go, and West Virginia may have benefited the most from this weekend's events so far. I am curious to see if they stay on this diverging trend.
