FACTS & STATS: Site: Byrd Stadium (48,055) -- College Park, Maryland. Television: ABC. Home Record: Clemson 4-1, Maryland 2-2. Away Record: Clemson 1-1, Maryland 2-1. Neutral Record: Clemson 0-0, Maryland 0-0. Conference Record: Clemson 2-2, Maryland 1-2. Series Record: Clemson leads, 29-24-2.

GAME NOTES: Atlantic Coast Conference rivals collide in College Park, as the Clemson Tigers are set to square off with the Maryland Terrapins. The Tigers are coming off last weekend's 70-14 thrashing of Central Michigan. For a Clemson team that prides itself on playing rock-solid defense, the offensive outburst could spell bad news for the rest of the ACC. The lopsided win also snapped a two-game slide for the Tigers, who are 2-2 in conference. As for the Terrapins, they enter the tilt trying to erase the memory of last weekend's 18-17 Homecoming loss to eighth-ranked Virginia, in which the Cavaliers scored the game-winning touchdown with 16 seconds remaining. The loss snapped a two- game win streak for Maryland. This tilt marks the last leg of a three-game homestand for the Terps, who are 2-2 this season at Byrd Stadium. Clemson has a 29-24-2 edge in the head-to-head series, although Maryland won last year's meeting on the final play from scrimmage.

With last week's 70-point outburst, the Tigers now lead the ACC in scoring, at 35.57 ppg. They are second in passing offense (277.86 ypg) and total offense (434.86 ppg), and are fourth in rushing (157 ypg). Quarterback Cullen Harper tied a school record with five touchdown passes last week, as the Tigers rolled up 656 yards of total offense. Running back James Davis scored three times, while his backfield mate, C.J. Spiller, ran for 96 yards and another TD. Aaron Kelly led the receiving corps with 121 yards and two TDs on seven catches. On the season, Davis is averaging 5.6 ypc and has found the end zone six times. Harper is completing 63.8 percent of his passes while averaging 257.6 ypg, and he has thrown 19 touchdowns to just four interceptions. Kelly has six receiving touchdowns and is averaging 91 receiving yards per game.

While the offensive statistics certainly grab attention, the Clemson defense remains the heart and soul of the team. Any quarterback who has faced Clemson this season can attest; there is simply nowhere to throw the football. Allowing a minuscule 146.7 passing yards per game, the Tigers rank third in the nation in pass defense. Teams have had more than their fair share of trouble converting third downs and sustaining drives against this unit. Clemson ranks 10th nationally and second in the conference in total defense, allowing 289.7 ypg. Linebacker Nick Watkins paces the defense with 68 tackles, while the front-seven has supplied steady pressure on opposing QBs. As a team, the Tigers have tallied nine interceptions in seven games this season.

At this point in the season, Maryland head coach Ralph Friedgen might want to rip out most of the pass plays from the playbook. Simply put -- they haven't worked. Behind sophomore quarterback Chris Turner, Maryland ranks 105th in the nation in passing offense. Turner took over for injured starter Jordan Steffy on September 29th and led the Terps to 20 second-half points en route to a 34-24 upset of then 10th-ranked Rutgers. Turner threw for 255 the following week in a win over Georgia Tech, but he was also sacked four times. Last week against UVA, he threw for just 103 yards on 13-of-19 passing. Protecting the quarterback has been the biggest problem for the Terps, who rank 109th in the nation with an average of 3.43 sacks allowed. Still, the offense filters through the backfield combination of Keon Lattimore (4.2 ypc, nine TDs) and Lance Ball (4.8 ypc, eight TDs), as the Terps rank second in the ACC in rushing offense.

Those who look at the glass half full will say Maryland simply ran into a red- hot Virginia team that has now won seven straight, especially since Cavaliers' reserve running back Mikell Simpson ran for 119 yards and two scores, and caught 13 passes for another 152 yards. Considering Simpson had only two carries prior to that game, which constitutes about 10 seconds of game film, perhaps the Terps were caught by surprise. In either case, they can ill-afford to be so unprepared with the Davis-Spiller combination coming into town. While stopping the run will clearly be a focal point, the Terps, who rank in the bottom third nationally in both sacks and tackles for loss, cannot allow Harper to get comfortable in the pocket.

Both teams enter the game with plenty of confidence after reaching the win column last week. But if the Terps fall behind early, they will not be able to air it out against a stout Clemson defense.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Clemson 34, Maryland 14