Composed but a bit morose, Boston College coach Al Skinner offered a sliver of optimism Saturday when a reporter noted only a quarter of the ACC league schedule was complete. There was time for anyone --- even the downtrodden Eagles --- to turn things around.

“There’s no question about it,” Skinner said. “I think we recognize that. In the league, the water’s muddy right now.”

Naturally, Boston College went out and mucked things up even more with a road victory at Miami. Then Wake Forest took out North Carolina. And Duke stumbled at N.C. State. All along, Virginia sat alone atop the conference, the supposedly talent-deprived Cavaliers using a new system and a friendly schedule to achieve of measure of relevance in coach Tony Bennett’s first season.

But Virginia hasn’t proven it has staying power. And no one else seems prepared to seize the conference. Which begs a vital question in the conference race: Why not Maryland?

Indeed. Why not? And how soon might we know more about the league pecking order.

“I think it’s going to take two more weeks,” Maryland coach Gary Williams said. “Everybody [can] play four more games. That’ll almost take you to halfway through. Then you’ll have an idea.”

The Terrapins (12-5, 2-1 ACC) are far from a sure-thing, at least right now. They’re less than a month removed from losing to William & Mary and barely own one top-50 victory (Florida State checks in at No. 50 on the nose). So there’s work to be done. Yet with nothing but conference games left in the regular season starting with Saturday’s date with N.C. State (13-6, 2-3) at Comcast Center, it’s not hard to pick up on weaknesses facing the rest of the league.

North Carolina, after all, is inexperienced and suddenly in the throes of the sort of season expected from it four years ago when it was coming off its last national title. Miami is 1-4 in the conference after breezing through a Downy-soft nonconference schedule without a blemish. Clemson is chugging along fine, but it usually does before February hits; the Tigers are 26-26 after Feb. 1 over the last four years.

N.C. State has dropped five straight to Maryland. For Georgia Tech, the skid is eight games. The Terps have already toppled Florida State. Same goes for Boston College, who they won’t see again until the ACC tournament at the earliest. Wake Forest was a one-time opponent, too, but the Terps took the Demon Deacons to overtime last week on the road before falling.

Despite its strong start, Virginia still faces talent questions. Virginia Tech’s depth will eventually be a factor. And then there’s Duke, which entered the week the prohibitive favorite even after suffering a loss at Georgia Tech. The Blue Devils’ talent --- particularly with veterans Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith --- appeared just a bit above the rest of the league, and they were generally playing more consistently than anyone.

Then Wednesday’s 14-point loss at N.C. State happened, and things don’t seem so certain any more.

“That’s week to week sometimes with the way the league has been,” Williams said. “There’s a lot of teams in our league that think they can win any game they play. That’s always interesting when teams feel that way. Virginia was picked last by everybody, and they’re first. That gives you something right there. Everybody else, I think there’s a feeling among most of the teams that it’s just a one-game deal, that ‘We can play with that one team.’”

The Terps believe they can. And they might be right.

There’s a veteran backcourt (Greivis Vasquez and Eric Hayes), a defensive presence (Sean Mosley), a steady-if-undersized forward (Landon Milbourne) and a back-to-the-basket big man (Jordan Williams) --- not to mention an awakening bench and one of the conference’s top game coaches.

None of which guarantees a conference crown. The Terps haven’t finished as high as second in the ACC since 2003, and their last appearance in the conference tournament final was in 2004. It’s no sure thing that streak ends this year. The water, though, is still muddy and murky. But it’s crystal clear there’s at least a chance for Maryland to hang around the top of the conference for the remainder of the season.

-- Patrick Stevens, Inside Maryland Sports Contributor