If you were in College Park for the 2011 Terrapins football season opener, you probably remember the excitement around the campus after coach Randy Edsall’s debut. The team had beaten Miami, 32-24, quarterback Danny O’Brien appeared poised for a breakout season, and the Terps looked the part of an ACC contender.

You might also recall the second game that year, though, in which West Virginia visited Byrd Stadium, picked O’Brien off three times and squelched a Terps comeback by handing the hosts a 37-31 defeat. That was just the first of 10 losses in what would unfold as an abysmal campaign for the Terps.

That frustrating loss certainly wasn’t an unusual outcome. The Mountaineers have consistently humbled the Terps for the past nine years, posting a 7-0 mark against their border rivals since the end of the 2003 season.

But the Terps’ increased talent level and newfound cohesion this season combined with West Virginia’s lack of its typical star power are reasons to believe the tide in the rivalry could be turning. And recent history suggests it would bode well for the program’s future if the Terps can end their seven-game losing streak to the Mountaineers on Saturday in Baltimore.

In the seasons between 2001 and 2003, the Terps went 4-0 against West Virginia — a stretch that included a 41-7 thrashing in the 2004 Gator Bowl — and that dominance was mirrored by the program’s consistency. In each of those three years, the Terps finished the season ranked in the top 20 in the final AP poll.

In 2004, the Terps’ losing streak against their border-state rival began, and they haven’t finished the season in the top 20 since.

This year’s Terps, however, aren’t paying any attention to those stats.

“Its just information,” Edsall said Thursday. “Most of these guys haven’t had a chance to play them.”

Even the Terps players that have had a few shots against the Mountaineers haven’t played a West Virginia team quite like the one headed to M&T Bank Stadium this weekend.

In the mid-2000s, the Terps struggled to deal with star quarterback Pat White and running back Steve Slaton, who had a scholarship offer from this university rescinded by former coach Ralph Friedgen because other talented tailbacks had already committed to the Terps.

White and Slaton plagued the Terps’ defense for several years and led the Mountaineers to perennial contention in the Big East, while the Terps settled into the middle-of-the-pack in the ACC.

When Edsall took over the program in 2011, West Virginia was still full of playmakers. Quarterback Geno Smith and wide receiver Tavon Austin led the Mountaineers to victories over the Terps in each of the past two seasons.

But Smith and Austin were drafted in April while Slaton and White have already fizzled out in the NFL. West Virginia’s most notable player might be redshirt freshman quarterback Ford Childress, who threw three touchdowns in his first career start Saturday in a 41-7 win over Georgia State.

“He made good decisions,” Edsall said. “Ran their offense really well, seemed composed for his first start and really did a good job of managing the game.”

Sure, Childress may be off to a good start, but past Mountaineers quarterbacks haven’t been restricted to managing the game, they’ve been able to take over themselves.

And West Virginia isn’t the only team headed to Baltimore this weekend with a new look. The Terps are off to a 3-0 start, have totaled 500 yards of offense in each of their games and lead the nation in sacks.

They haven’t played the stiffest competition, but it’s clear the Terps have legitimate firepower that’s been missing in recent years. The Terps might not have a clear-cut advantage over West Virginia, but at least now they won’t be overmatched.

With the improvements this season, the Terps have their sights set on abolishing some recent struggles.

They want to make a bowl game for the first time since 2010. They want to end the season ranked in the top 20 of AP’s poll for the first time since 2003. And — even if they won’t say it — the Terps want to finally put away those pesky Mountaineers for the first time in eight tries.