THE GAME – This week, the Panthers travel to College Park, Md., to face the Terrapins. Last week, FIU went into Kyle Field and gave the Texas A&M Aggies all they could  handle, but fell short of the upset in a 27-20 loss. FIU took a 20-6 lead into the fourth quarter, but couldn't stop the Aggies' rushing attack as Texas A&M scored three fourth-quarter touchdowns to earn the victory.

This weekend will mark the third-ever meeting between FIU and Maryland. The Terrapins have won the previous two contests, 14-10 in College Park (9/23/06) and 26-10 in Miami (9/8/07).

TENACIOUS D – A week after a dominating performance against Rutgers that had FIU ranked second in the country in total defense, the FIU D proved it's for real as it sacked Texas A&M's Jerrod Johnson six times and picked off the Heisman hopeful four times. The six sacks and four interceptions were both one shy of the FIU single-game record.

Despite the Aggies amassing 400 yards of total offense, FIU is still ranked 28th in the country in total defense with an average of 286 yards-per-game. After the four picks against the Aggies, FIU now has five for the season, which ranks ninth in the country. The six sacks FIU picked up helped the D move up to 12th in the country in sacks-per-game (3.50), and the 10 tackles for loss against A&M moved FIU to ninth in the country at 8.50 tackles for loss-per-game.

RATTLING A HEISMAN HOPEFUL – Going into the game against FIU, Texas A&M quarterback Jerrod Johnson had been talked about as a potential Heisman Trophy candidate. The FIU defense was more than up to the task as it held Johnson to just 11-of-31 passing and picked him off four times. After two weeks, FIU has held QBs to an 85 efficiency rating, the sixth-best mark in the country.

HELMET STICKER FOR ALL – For their efforts against Texas A&M, the entire FIU defense was awarded an ESPN.com Helmet Sticker. The award was one of four given out to members of schools from non-BCS conferences.

GAITOR IS BACK AT IT – After picking off five passes in 2008, Anthony Gaitor had just two interceptions in 2009. Already in 2010, Gaitor has picked off two passes, which ranks second in the country. Gaitor's latest interception was a big one as he took it 54 yards for a touchdown that gave FIU a 20-6 lead over the Texas A&M Aggies. Gaitor also sacked Jerrod Johnson, forcing a fumble that FIU recovered and turned into a field goal that gave the Panthers a 3-0 lead at the time.

TWO AWARDS FOR NUMBER SEVEN –For his outstanding performance on September 18 against Texas A&M,  Gaitor was named the Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Week. This marks the second time Gaitor has received the honor, the first coming in 2008 after intercepting two passes and returning one for a touchdown against Middle Tennessee (10/11/08). For his efforts, Gaitor was also named Honorable Mention Defensive Back Performer of the Week by collegefootballperformance.com.

CYPRIEN'S CAREER-HIGH – Jonathan Cyprien set a career-high in tackles against Texas A&M, making 11 stops against the Aggies. Cyprien, who was an Honorable Mention All-Sun Belt Conference selection in 2009, set his previous career-best in the 2009 finale against Florida Atlantic when he made 10 tackles.

NEW AND IMPROVED O-LINE – The FIU offensive line went through a major overhaul this offseason. Not only did Alex Mirabal take over as new offensive line coach, but FIU lost three starters off last year's O-line. With the addition of Caylin Hauptmann, the
emergence of Cedric Mack, Giancarlo Revilla and Rupert Bryan, and of course, Rimmington Watchlist member Brad Serini, the FIU offensive line was dominant against Rutgers, allowing just one sack and opening up gaping holes for the running game. Against Texas A&M, the O-line was even better as it didn't allow a sack. After the two performances, FIU's O-line is ranked 12th in the nation with just .50 sacks allowed per game.

HICKMAN IS THE MAN – This offseason, several FIU freshmen got plenty of media attention. One man that didn't get that publicity was Greg Hickman, and after two contests, that should change. The freshman linebacker is tied for the FIU lead with three tackles for loss and two sacks, having picked up a sack in each of the first two games.

DISRUPTIVE FORCES – After picking up 10 tackles for loss against Texas A&M, FIU now has 17 through two games. The 8.5 tackles for loss per game is ranked ninth in the country. Ten different Panthers have picked up TFLs, led by Greg Hickman and Aaron Davis who both have three.

A LOOK AT THE TERRAPINS

• Maryland mounted a second-half rally last weekend, but it wasn't enough to overcome 21st-ranked West Virginia, which got off to a hot start and held off the Terrapins, 31-17, in Morgantown, W.Va.

• The Maryland offense, under third-year coordinator and assistant head coach James Franklin, has seven starters back from last year

• With 149 receiving yards vs. WVU, Torrey Smith recorded the fourth 100-yard receiving game of his career. That mark ties him for sixth all-time on Maryland's 100-yard games list. His 80-yard reception was the longest of his career, beating his previous best of a 64-yarder against MTSU last season.

• The Terrapins have over 70 percent of the offensive and defensive two-deep back from the end of 2009. There are 17 of 22 offensive players back and 14 of 22 defenders. In addition, all six special teams starters (KR, PR, PK, P, LS, H) are back in uniform.