Part of the Doc's ACC Week. The first point of order in any discussion of Ralph Friedgen's tenure at Maryland is that the Fridge is about as good as any coach the Terps have ever had: Since H.C. "Curley" Byrd's 23-year tenure ended in 1934, only two coaches, James Tatum (1947-55) and Jerry Claiborne (1972-81) have lasted as long in College Park as Friedgen, and he'll pass both of them if he hangs on another two years. Friedgen has significantly more wins in eight seasons (64) than his than his three most recent predecessors had in 14 seasons (55), along with a seemingly impossible conference championship in 2001, six bowl games and the only back-to-back ten-win seasons in school history, in a far more competitive conference. Certainly he's in the Terp Hall of Fame.

And yet Friedgen's seat has been mildly simmering for the last three years, with the heat reaching a crescendo last year after a double-digit loss at Middle Tennessee State and, after pulling it together to beat Cal and Clemson, a shocking 31-0 beating at reeling Virginia, a loss that more or less summed up the last five years at UMD:

Just got back from the Maryland locker room. Ralph Friedgen, frankly, seemed out of answers. He said he is not reaching the players. He said they lacked focus. You know how it is, they have been through this before, like last month in Murfreesboro. But this loss was even more damaging for the Terps. ...

Maryland can win or lose any game left on its schedule.

Which is more or less what happened: The Terps whipped Wake Forest, hung on for close wins over N.C. State and North Carolina and lost to Georgia Tech, Florida State and Boston College, the last two with the division title on the line. A win over outmanned Nevada in the bowl game, and voîla, a respectable 8-5 record despite being slightly outscored and outgained by opponents on the season. That's par for the course -- when Maryland went 9-4 in 2006, it was outgained by almost 50 yards per game and scored the exact same number of points it allowed despite the relatively glittering record. At one point that year, the Terps won six straight games by six points or less despite being demonstrably below average in every aspect.

Which in one sense makes them emblematic of the schizophrenic, parity-driven ACC in general. But it's a far cry from the sky-high take-off at the start of the decade:

The trend there is obvious -- UMD hasn't been consistently good at anything over the last five years, especially when you consider how pedestrian ACC offenses are in general, and has been consistently bad on defense all the way around -- and subsequently there wasn't much surprise or consternation when Maryland announced offensive coordinator James Franklin was in line to succeed Friedgen at some point in the next three years. No, the surprise and consternation was saved for Friedgen's speculation a few weeks ago that he may coach beyond the designated window for elevating Franklin, which would cost the university $1 million.

But more frightening than the bill must be the prospect of continuing to tread water, wondering when the tide will finally pull the program under. If the gurus are right, this will be that year -- Maryland is almost unanimously forecast in the Atlantic Division cellar. In one sense, the relative lack of expectations may take some of the pressure off: Another seven or eight-win season will make the Terps overachievers again. If the forecasts are accurate, though, a .500 or losing season will be a grim reminder of how far the program has slipped from its height at the start of the Friedgen era, with no turnaround or sight. Or rather, with a possible turnaround in sight, but only if Friedgen is willing to yield the wheel without a mutiny.