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TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Ticker) -- Ralph Friedgen may be the most popular man on the Maryland campus, but he faces his toughest test to date on Saturday when the No. 12 Terrapins visit No. 18 Florida State in a key Atlantic Coast Conference clash. In his first year at Maryland, Friedgen has the undefeated Terrapins off to their best since 1985, the last time they won an ACC title. But Maryland (7-0, 5-0 ACC) has been an easy mark for the Seminoles, who have won the ACC title every year since joining the conference in 1992. Maryland is 0-11 all-time against Florida State and has allowed at least 45 points in all five visits to Tallahassee. In addition, the Seminoles are making their first appearance at Doak-Campbell Stadium since they ended Miami's 37-game home winning streak two weeks ago. While Maryland is the ACC's only unbeaten and has a one-game lead over North Carolina, Friedgen does not know how good his team is. He is about to find out. A victory on Saturday will give Maryland, a former ACC dormat, the first 8-0 start in school history. The Terrapins rolled over lowly Duke, 59-17, last week, opening a 21-0 lead midway through the first quarter and not punting until the game's final play. Bruce Perry, the nation's leading rusher earlier in the season, has cooled off after a fast start. He surpassed 100 yards in his first five games, but has been held to a combined 128 in the last two contests. The sophomore still needs only 51 yards to reach 1,000. While Florida State's hopes for a national championship are over, the Seminoles (4-2, 3-1) are still very much in contention for another ACC title. A victory this weekend will give Florida State a tiebreaker edge over Maryland, while North Carolina still has a tough road game left against Georgia Tech. The Seminoles rebounded from the loss to Miami to rout Virginia, 43-7, last week. Florida State struggled early, but took advantage of five turnovers to score 30 second-half points. The victory gave Florida State coach Bobby Bowden his 319th career victory, tying him with Glenn "Pop" Warner for third on the all-time NCAA Division I-A wins list. Bowden trails only Penn State's Joe Paterno and Alabama's Bear Bryant, who are tied with 323. Freshman Chris Rix shook off a slow start to complete 11-of-21 passes for 205 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. The Seminoles outgained Virginia, 533-201, limiting the Cavaliers to 34 yards rushing. Rix, however, has committed eight turnovers while throwing only two touchdowns in the last two games. Bowden had freshman Adrian McPherson take snaps with the first team this week, leading the speculation that two quarterbacks could be used this week.
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