2009 Maryland Campus Correspondent Portfolio

campus coRRespondent1

Ben Gold: 2009 maryland campus correspondent

Princeton review says Maryland has Best athletic facilities

august 2, 2009

I’m full of it. no, no, not like that. I’m full of maryland pride. I’ve always been a homer and I LoVe maryland sports. that being said, even I was surprised when the princeton Review rated maryland as having the best athletic facilities in the nation. sure, the cRc is probably one of the nicest gyms I’ve been in, and most of our facilities are relatively new, but still. I love Byrd stadium and love the atmosphere of game day, but I have to admit the ranking still came as a shock.

I’ll take any victory we can get. this will just give me more ammo to lob when arguing with duke and clemson fans.

Preseason Prediction: Bc

august 2, 2009

In my official 2009 preseason acc ballot, I had Boston college finishing last in the atlantic division, which is where they ended up after all the media votes were tallied. Yes, the eagles ended up winning the division last year but there just seems to be too many holes to fill this year.

It starts at the top, as Bc adjusts to new coach Frank spaziani after the dismissal of Jeff Jagodzinski. they also lost defensive standouts B.J. Raji and Ron Brace and have had to deal with the sad story of linebacker mark Herzlich’s battle against cancer.

the quarterback situation is shaky since dominique davis was forced to transfer for academic reasons and the defense will have to prove itself. a quick look at the tough schedule shows why I picked Bc to finish last.

Northeastern: an easy win here over Fcs opponent northeastern. should be a nice blowout to start the season.

Kent State: another easy win. only thing Bc will have to worry about is looking ahead to the five tough games after this one.

Clemson: this game starts the real tough portion for Bc, as they have five tough games ahead. this stretch will determine the season for the eagles and it won’t start out well. It’ll be a battle but I can’t see Bc overcoming a tough clemson team.

Wake Forest: this will be an interesting game. Wake will be tough this year and Bc will be in the midst of the toughest portion of their schedule. It’ll be close, but I have the eagles pulling out a victory in this one. unfortunately, it’ll be the last one they have for awhile.

Florida State: I have Florida state winning the atlantic in my preseason ballot and I see them having no trouble against the eagles. the game is at home and the team will be riding a high after beating Wake, but there’s just too much talent here for Bc to deal with.

Virginia Tech: Like Florida state in the atlantic, everybody seems to have Virginia tech not only winning the coastal but also winning the acc championship. a win here would be a huge boost for the team. unfortunately, it won’t be happening.

North Carolina State: everybody wants to talk about the Big Four on the schedule, with four


straight against clemson, Wake, Fsu, and Vt. I think we need to start calling it the Big Five, as north carolina state will be no pushover. I have nc state as a surprise team this year, and an eagles team coming off consecutive losses to Fsu and Vt won’t have enough left in the tank for this one.

Notre Dame: the eagles will travel to notre dame for the catholic Bowl and I have Bc pulling out a win here. Winning at notre dame doesn’t mean nearly as much as it used to, but the W will be the start of a nice stretch for the team.

central michigan: coming off a win in the catholic Bowl, the eagles should be able to handle central michigan and start a nice little win streak.

Virginia: make it three in a row as the eagles take a win on the road against Virginia. I’m sure al Groh’s post-game press conference will be enthralling. While the three game win streak is nice for Bc fans, this one will be the last one for the season.

North Carolina: traveling to north carolina, the eagles will come up just short. Whoever ends up starting at quarterback for this team will have had some experience at this point, but a tough defense is just too much here.

Maryland: Bc had no problem dispatching maryland in the last game of the season last year. that was a different team last year, though. Look for maryland to avenge that loss as the season comes to a close for the eagles. (come on, you didn’t really think I’d pick against my terps did you?)

Bottom line for the eagles: as you can see from the above I have Bc going 6-6 overall and 2-6 in the conference. there’s just too much to overcome for this team, though the future looks bright with coach spaziani. of course, Bc fans should be thanking me. predicting this team to finish poorly has led them to consecutive trips to the acc championship game. Is a third one in the cards? I don’t think so.

Preseason Prediction: cleMson

august 4, 2009

Last year, it seemed everybody, including me, was picking clemson to win not only the atlantic division but the acc title. clemson couldn’t come through though, finishing a disappointing 7-6 and firing tommy Bowden midway through the year.

despite all that, I’m predicting a strong year for the tigers. I don’t think they’ll win the division (that distinction goes to Florida state) but this is a good team that should make some noise this year.

the team responded well to dabo swinney after he took over as interim coach last year and he should be able to build on his success. the big name, of course, is c.J. spiller, who the school is touting as a potential Heisman contender. Let’s take a look at the schedule:

Middle Tennessee: I was going to make some joke here about how badly clemson will beat middle tennessee and then I remembered that maryland actually lost to this team last year. Let’s just say the tigers will win this one and move on.

Georgia Tech: this one won’t be nearly as easy. a marquee match up between spiller and Georgia tech’s Jonathan dwyer should be a lot of fun to watch. this game will feature plenty of offense but I think tech hands the tigers their first loss of the year.


Boston College: this one will also be tough, but the tigers will get it done. Bc has lost too much on defense to contain spiller, who should run wild in this one.

TCU: It’s easy to take a quick peek at this one and say clemson will pull it out. While tcu has been getting more credit lately, they’re still better than most people think. clemson has the home-field advantage here but I still don’t see them winning this one.

Maryland: call me biased, but I’m calling it two straight losses for the tigers. maryland has had clemson’s number in the past and this one will be at Byrd stadium. chris turner, quarterback for the terps, said at acc Football Kickoff that clemson is one of his favorite teams to play. expect him to bring his “a” game.

Wake Forest: the eagles get back on track by beating Wake. Like Boston college, the demon deacons have just lost too much on defense. another huge day for spiller.

Miami: miami will be tough but I think clemson makes it two in a row. the canes have a lot of talent, but not enough to overcome the tigers.

Coastal Carolina: three in a row for dabo and co. as the team beats up on coastal carolina. only thing the team needs to worry about here is looking ahead…

Florida State: to this game. clemson vs. Florida state will probably be the biggest match up in the atlantic division this year. expect the winner to end up taking the division. It’ll be a great game but Florida state is just too much for the tigers to handle. tough loss here.

N.C. State: clemson bounces back from the Florida state game to notch a win against n.c. state. the Wolfpack are good will surprise people this year, just not the tigers.

Virginia: the tigers finish up the conference schedule with acc softie Virginia. make it two in a row for clemson.

south carolina: The Tigers travel to hated South Carolina to finish up the year. It’ll be a close game but clemson will finish out the year with a nice three game win streak.

Bottom line for the Tigers: as you can see from the above, I have clemson going 8-4 overall and 5-3 in the acc. clemson is a good team with a good coach and a great running game but I don’t see them getting past Florida state this year.

Preseason Prediction: florida state

august 5, 2009

Having come so close to playing in the acc championship game last year, Florida state is my pick to finally get there this year. the atlantic division will be tougher than people realize, but there’s just too much talent here. Florida state used to be nationally recognized as a football powerhouse. Look for them to take the road back there this year.

Let’s take a look at the schedule:

Miami: Randy shannon has a lot of good, young players at miami but Florida state will be ready for them. Bobby Bowden begins to get back some of those wins he may lose.

Jacksonville State: While the miami game will be close, this one won’t be. Look for the seminoles to run all over Jacksonville state here.

BYU: Florida state won’t have many slip-ups this year but will take an early season loss here. BYu and max Hall are a dangerous team to play and they’ll be excited to take on the seminoles.


South Florida: coming off a tough loss to BYu, Florida state will bounce back nicely here. Look for ponder to have a big game.

Boston College: at one point in time a marquee match-up, the eagles unfortunately won’t be the same team they were the previous two years. Florida state makes it two in a row.

Georgia Tech: Here’s where the schedule starts really getting tough. this will be one of the best acc games of the year as Gt comes through with the upset. It’ll be close, but Jonathan dwyer is just too much for the seminoles to handle.

North Carolina: another tough game as Florida state goes on the road. a 4-2 record at this point will have some Fsu fans worried, but the seminoles will rebound nicely here with a win that starts them down the right path.

North Carolina State: the win streak is only just beginning. I’m starting to sound like a record player but north carolina state will surprise a lot of people this year. unfortunately for them, they won’t be surprising Florida state.

Clemson: death Valley is never an easy place to play and clemson won’t be an easy team to beat this year. as I mentioned in my clemson preview, this is probably the atlantic division game of the year. Winner of this ends up taking the division and I have Fsu winning the division.

Wake Forest: coming off three straight wins, and a huge one previously over clemson, the seminoles will be on way too much of a high to drop one here.

Maryland: I can’t say I’m looking forward to this one too much. Fsu completely destroyed us last year and while it will be much closer this time around, things still end poorly for the terps. Fsu fans will be particularly happy, as maryland’s loss to Bc at the end of the year last year cost the seminoles a spot in the championship game.

Florida: there’s a lot to like from Fsu in this game. they’ll have won five straight and you know they’ll do whatever it takes to beat hated rival Florida. But come on, there’s no way Fsu takes this one. the only question here is whether the number of disappointed Florida state fans will outnumber the articles written about tim tebow this week.

Bottom line for the Noles: as you can see from the above, I have Florida state going 9-3 overall and 7-1 in the acc. the march back to national prominence begins now.

12 days of footBall Maryland Preview

august 5, 2009

Inconsistency. It’s the one word that defined last season for the terps, and the one word that made fans miserable. With wins like the shutout against Wake Forest and the victory over cal, team showed it could contend for the acc title. With losses to middle tennessee and the embarrassing showing against Virginia, the team looked like one that could contend for last place.

“[coach Friedgen uses the word consistency] almost every time he talks to us. every day. If he keeps harping on it, we’ll hopefully get the message,” cornerback nolan carroll said at acc media day.

unfortunately, it’s probably a safe bet to assume that the terps will continue that inconsistency in 2009. this is a team that could make some noise in the atlantic division or one that could finish 5th, where they were picked in the preseason ballot.


the team lost 30 seniors last season and return only eight starters. While there are questions concerning the defense, with new coordinator don Brown taking over, the offense will return a host of skill players.

chris turner looks nothing like a prototypical quarterback, but has stepped up time and time again when it matters most. after enduring quarterback battles in the past, turner finally enters this season as the unquestioned starter. We all know that turner steps up in big games. the question is whether he can avoid playing down to the level of lesser teams. Fans are hoping that another year under his belt will allow turner to play more consistently. If he can get things enough to allow the ground game to take over, things should be fine. early season contests against middle tennessee state and James madison should provide an answer.

Running back may the terps greatest strength this coming year and fans should expect the offense to be mainly run oriented. the terps bring back da’Rel scott, who rushed for 1,133 yards last year, as well as davin meggett and morgan Green, both of whom showed flashes last year. While none of the three are as good as Jonathan dwyer or c.J. spiller, the trio itself may be the best in the conference. If all three can stay healthy, expect a strong ground game for the terps.

of course, that ground game means nothing without a solid offensive line. turner sounded confident in his line at media day, but what else can you expect him to say? the line lost three starters, including all-acc center edwin Williams, and seniors phil costa and Bruce campbell will be looked upon to guide the younger players. the success of the line will be the success of the team.

Receiver has probably been the most talked about position this summer. With darrius Heyward-Bey leaving for the draft, maryland lost its top target. the big question on everybody’s minds is whether the receiving corps can step it up. While it’s definitely early, I think so. torrey smith, a lightning bolt in the return game last year, is nearly as explosive as Heyward-Bey was and turner said he has complete faith in him. Ronnie tyler and LaQuan Williams also have potential to play a major role this year.

of course, it’s the defensive side of the ball that has people worrying the most. the defense wasn’t exactly a high point for the team lost year and has to deal with the loss of seven starters and a new coordinator. the big problem last year was the defensive line, an issue that will come up again this year. Jeremy navarre and trey covington are gone and dion armstrong is a question mark because of shaky academics. travis Ivey is still around but fans have to be worried about how the line will be able to perform.

the story at linebacker is similar to that of the defensive line. experience was lost, but there are definitely players still there. alex Wujciak, who was named to the preseason all-acc team, is back and should help star for the team. Wujciak is a tackling machine and will need to put up similar numbers to last year, when he was second in the acc with 133 tackles.

at the acc Kickoff, defensive back nolan carroll couldn’t stop raving about the secondary. While the rest of the defense may be suspect, the secondary could actually be a strength for the team. carroll spoke about the need for the team to be more aggressive and that shouldn’t be a problem this year. the team will miss Kevin Barnes but the secondary is full of big hitters, the biggest of which may be sophomore Kenny tate, who carroll compared to Kam chancellor. terrell skinner and Jamari mccollough are also physically aggressive players who should give opposing defensive coordinators headaches. don’t overlook carroll either, as he’s blossomed into the leader of this defense. of course, if the defensive line and linebacking corps can’t put pressure on opponents, then the secondary will have too much pressure to really shine.


In terms of special teams, the terps have one of the best punters in the acc, travis Baltz, who also was named to the preseason all-acc team. Kicker is a different story, as the team looks to replace obi egekeze. While nick Wallace looks like the early favorite for the job, don’t count out nick Ferrara or even fifth-year senior david may, who has yet to see any game action. the return game is in solid hands with smith, who set the single-season acc record for most kickoff return yards last season.

Bottom Line: It’ll be another frustrating year for the fans, as the terps inconsistencies strike once again. officially, I have them finishing fifth in the division, right above Boston college, but I hope that I’m way off. With plenty of tough games on the schedule, it will definitely be interesting to watch how the season plays out.

Preseason Prediction: north carolina state

august 7, 2009

If you’ve read any of my previous blog posts, you know I consider nc state to be one of my surprise teams this year. Will they win the division? no, Florida state and clemson are just too strong for that. It will, however, be an interesting year for the Wolfpack as they give contention a serious run.


South Carolina: Going against steve spurrier and a tough sec team is a hard way to open a season. nc state will put up a fight but will suffer a tough opening loss here.

Murray State: the perfect antidote to that tough loss as nc state wins this one in a blowout.

Gardner-Webb: a second straight Fcs opponent allows the Wolfpack to start out strong. another big win for tom o’Brien and co.

Pittsburgh: pitt is nothing like the two Fcs opponents that nc state will have just faced. they’ll keep it close but another tough loss will even their record at 2-2.

Wake Forest: this one will be real close. Riley skinner has a chance to take over this game, but Wake won’t be able to capitalize. Look for a win here for the Wolfpack.

Duke: duke is slowly improving and will have something real in a few years under david cutcliffe. the Wolfpack are just too much here though as they win two in a row.

Boston College: Bc isn’t the same team it has been. mark it as a third straight win for nc state.

Florida State: this starts five consecutive tough games. If they can even win 2 of the next 5 it’ll be an achievement. the wins won’t start here, though. this year, Florida state is the class of the division and will be too much to handle.

Maryland: I went back and forth on this one trying to pick it. the terps will be good this year and have the potential to really blow this game out. again though, it’s the inconsistency that could get to them. It pains me to do it, but I’m going with a big nc state win.

Clemson: Like Florida state, another tough game from a team that will be just too much to handle. the Wolfpack won’t have to travel to death Valley but it won’t matter as clemson ekes out a close victory.

Virginia Tech: another very tough game for the Wolfpack. While Florida state is the class of the atlantic division, Vt is the class of the entire acc. this would be a huge win for the Wolfpack


but unfortunately I can’t see them pulling off the upset.

North Carolina: nc state closes out the season with another tough game against that unc defense. the two in-state rivals will play a close one, but the Wolfpack will finish the season on a disappointing swoon.

Bottom line for the Wolfpack: as you can see from the above, I have nc state going 6-6 overall and 4-4 in the conference. It’ll be a frustrating year for fans, but they’ll be treated to close games, as nc state will play every team tough.

Preseason Prediction: wake forest

august 8, 2009

those of you who have been keeping up with my predictions will notice that these next couple of ones will be a bit abbreviated. I’d like to give some long explanation as to why this is, but the truth is I’ll be out of the country with very limited, if any, internet access. Hope you still enjoy the predictions!

While Wake Forest lost defensive standouts aaron curry and alphonso smith to the nFL, they bring back Riley skinner, a force at quarterback with the ability to take over games. added to that a strong running game should give them a lot to be happy about.

despite all that, however, I don’t see the demon deacons going far this year. While I think that they will beat up on their non-conference opponents, it’ll be the conference opponents they have difficulty with, ultimately dooming their season.


sept. 5 Baylor W

sept. 12 stanford W

sept. 19 elon W

sept. 26 Boston college W

oct. 3 nc state L

oct. 10 maryland L

oct. 17 clemson L

oct. 24 navy W

oct. 31 miami W

nov. 7 Georgia tech L

nov. 14 Florida state L

nov. 28 duke W

Preseason Prediction: duke

august 9, 2009

duke was one of the surprise stories of the acc last year, winning four games and finally beating an acc opponent. they’re really heading in the right direction under david cutcliffe, but their recruits are still young and it may take awhile before they can really make some noise in the division.


still, they return quarterback thaddeus Lewis, one of the most underrated quarterbacks around, and wide receiver Johnny Williams has a lot of speed. on the defensive side, Vince oghobaase will be relied upon to help shore up a poor rush defense.

While duke won’t do much this year, they will come up with a couple wins and may even come close to qualifying for a bowl.


sept. 5 Richmond W

sept. 12 army W

sept. 19 Kansas L

sept. 26 n.c. central W

oct. 3 Virginia tech L

oct. 10 n.c. state L

oct. 24 maryland L

oct. 31 Virginia W

nov. 7 north carolina L

nov. 14 Georgia tech L

nov. 21 miami L

nov. 28 Wake Forest L

season Prediction - MiaMi

september 4, 2009

Randy shannon is known as a great recruiter but not necessarily as a great coach. However, the Hurricanes were a very young team last year and still went to a bowl game. the Hurricanes are looking to grow from that year and try and return to the national prominence they once enjoyed.

With Robert marve transferring, Jacory Harris takes over as the lone signal caller. While the offense was a weak point for the team last year, it has a chance to be something special this year. Harris will have to keep up the efficiency he showed at times last year and adjust to a new offensive coordinator.

the big question, however, is how the line will hold up. the line lost chris Rutledge and Xavier shannon and the Hurricanes will need a strong line in order to get the offense going.

While the Hurricanes won’t be much of a threat this year, they’ll keep games close and pull off an upset or two.


sept. 7: Florida state: L

sept. 17 Georgia tech: W

sept. 26 Virginia tech L

oct. 3 oklahoma L

oct. 10 Florida a&m W


oct. 17 ucF: W

oct. 24 clemson L

oct. 31 Wake Forest L

nov. 7 Virginia W

nov. 14 north carolina L

nov. 21 duke: W

nov. 28 usF: L

season Prediction - north carolina

september 4, 2009

With a trip to the meineke Bowl last year, the tar Heels showed the acc that they were clearly a team on the rise. this year, with a stifling defense that lost only two starters, north carolina looks to make big strides in the coastal division.

While the defense will win games for the tar Heels, the offense looks like it could be a weakness. While t.J. Yates returns as a starter, the tar Heels lost wideouts Hakeem nicks, Brooks Foster, and Brandon tate. new receivers will have to step up, especially because running back shaun draughn is nothing special.

unfortunately for the tar Heels, I don’t think this is the year they overtake Virginia tech or Georgia tech.


sept. 5: the citadel: W

sept. 12 connecticut: L

sept. 19: east carolina W

sept. 26 Georgia tech W

oct. 3 Virginia L

oct. 10 Georgia southern W

oct. 22 Florida state: L

oct. 29 Virginia tech L

nov. 7 duke W

nov. 14 miami W

nov. 21 Boston college W

nov. 28 n.c. state: W

season Prediction - virGinia

september 4, 2009

unfortunately, Virginia looks to have another down year. While al Groh brought in new coaches, I don’t expect the hires to have much effect in terms of wins and losses.


Running back mikell simpson will help the run game as he returns from an injury but there are just too many weaknesses for this team to do any damage. the linebacking corps is paper thin, as is most of the offense. this just isn’t the year for the cavaliers.


sept. 5: William and mary W

sept. 12 tcu L

sept. 19 southern miss L

oct. 3 north carolina W

oct. 10 Indiana W

oct. 17 maryland L

oct. 24 Georgia tech L

oct. 31 duke L

nov. 7 miami L

nov. 14 Boston college L

nov. 21 clemson L

nov. 28 Virginia tech L

season Prediction - virGinia tech

september 4, 2009

the class of the acc, Virginia tech has taken the last two championship titles and there’s no reason to think it won’t happen again this year.

the defense should be a strength for the team, and the only thing they have to worry about is the offense producing. that shouldn’t be a problem, as almost all of their offensive skill players are back and with another year of experience under their belt.

Look for Virginia tech to not only challenge for the acc title, but to potentially challenge for a national championship as well. If they can get by an opening game against alabama, it could happen.


sept. 5: alabama: L

sept. 12 marshall: W

sept. 19 nebraska W

sept. 26 miami W

oct. 3 duke W

oct. 10 Boston college W

oct. 17 Georgia tech: W

oct. 29 north carolina W

nov. 5 east carolina W


nov. 14 maryland W

nov. 21 nc state W

nov. 28 Virginia W

Preseason Prediction: GeorGia tech

september 4, 2009

paul Johnson’s option offense was the talk of the acc last year as the Yellow Jackets ended up winning nine games. the team now has a year of the new offense under its belt, which should make 2009 a great year for Georgia tech.

the team lost a lot on the defensive side but return Jonathan dwyer, who many believe is the top running back in the acc. Roddy Jones teams with him to make a great duo. Between that, and the experience they now have with the offense, the Yellow Jackets should contend for the acc title. ultimately, though, I have them falling just short of Virginia tech.


sept. 5 Jacksonville state: W

sept. 10 clemson W

sept. 17 miami L

sept. 26 north carolina L

oct. 3 mississippi state W

oct. 10 Florida state W

oct. 17 Virginia tech: L

oct. 24 Virginia W

oct. 31 Vanderbilt L

nov. 7 north carolina state: W

nov. 14 duke: W

nov. 28 Georgia: L

Maryland vs. cal PostGaMe recaP

september 6, 2009

despite a big win over cal last year, maryland entered last night’s game as 21 point underdogs, the largest spread in Ralph Friedgen’s tenure. the campus and the team took that number personally, immediately playing the classic “no respect” card. turns out, the number was pretty generous.

the terps were destroyed last night, falling 52-13 to a clearly superior cal team that consistently showed how unready for the spotlight this young maryland team is.

the terps entered this game with a lot of question marks: How would a very inexperienced offensive line hold up? How would the defense adjust to a new coordinator? Would anybody in the receiving corps step up? Would a year of experience allow chris turner to shine?


It was only one game, but so far none of the answers to those questions has to be too pleasing. the offensive line was horrendous, allowing six sacks and never even giving turner a chance to get in rhythm. the line play was downright embarrassing.

the defense looked almost as bad. this was supposed to be an aggressive, blitzing team that would force opponents into making mistakes. this unit resembled nothing close to that. cal’s offense looked unstoppable, on the air and on the ground, finishing with 544 yards of total offense.

turner looked respectable when he had a chance, but the constant pressure made that nearly impossible. He finished 17 of 30 for 167 yards but you have to wonder how many more big hits he can take.

and a receiving corps looking to replace first round pick darrius Heyward-Bey looked lost. torrey smith, the speedster and trendy pick to pick up the slack, was a non-factor, as were the other receivers.

mistakes also doomed the team. a team knowing it needed a mistake-free game had five penalties in the first quarter alone and fumbles by turner and smith didn’t help matters.

Jahvid Best started his Heisman campaign early, breaking off a 73-yard touchdown run on cal’s second offensive possession.

Best, who last year was seen vomiting after a hard hit from Kevin Barnes, ran all over the team this year, getting his revenge the best way possible. despite only carrying the ball 10 times, Best finished with two touchdowns and 137 yards on the ground. He wasn’t the only offensive star, as Kevin Riley lit up the terp backfield, finishing with 298 yards and four touchdowns.

as one user on twitter put it, it looked like the team was trying to give up a point for every pound Friedgen lost this offseason.

already down – at the half, most fans just started praying the team would score a touchdown. they did-da’Rel scott had a 39-yard touchdown run in the third quarter-but it did little to comfort anyone.

at the end of the day, we all knew maryland would probably struggle in this game. the terps are just too young to truly contend this year. It’s the blowout-and the lack of quality play from any unit-that really has everybody down today. You can sense the despair already in people walking around. I think my friend summed up the feelings of the entire student body this morning:

“I’m still pissed.”

MerriMan arrested, accused of chokinG reality t.v. star

september 7, 2009

according to an espn report, chargers star and former maryland standout shawne merriman was arrested sunday ad accused of choking and throwing reality t.v. star tila tequila to the ground.

according to the report, tequila signed a citizen’s arrest warrant charging merriman with battery and false imprisonment, both of which are felonies.

For his part, merriman claims that he was trying to prevent tequila from driving while intoxicated and that he will eventually be cleared of all wrongdoing.

It’s never good to see terps in the news like this. Hopefully, merrimans name will be cleared. I’ll keep providing updates to the story as they come.


the one BriGht sPot

september 8, 2009

saturday’s game at cal wasn’t very pretty. the terps endured a 52-13 thrashing by the Golden Bears and the depression from that game has seeped onto campus. You can’t go to class without hearing someone talk about just how bad things were on saturday.

While it seemed almost everyone was playing poorly for the terps last week, there was one bright spot to be found: freshman kicker nick Ferrara. as I mentioned in the preseason post for maryland, kicker was one of the positions that was seemingly undecided heading into the season. everyone from Ferrara to david may, a fifth year senior, was seen as a possible candidate.

coach Friedgen, however, decided to start Ferrara, a freshman, and the kid didn’t dissapoint. He hit two field goals, 26 and 42 yards respectively, in the first half and accounted nearly half of the point total for the team. It’s sad, but Ferrara was probably our offensive star for the game.

Ferrara’s importance shouldn’t be lost on fans. anyone who saw the maryland offense last week should know how important a good kicker will be to this team. Without a functional offensive line, chris turner will be limited and da’Rel scott will have all kinds of problems.

Games this year could come down to how many field goals we’re able to muster, and it’s nice to know that it looks like we’ve got someone reliable to handle that job.

can the teaM recover froM the cal loss?

september 10, 2009

I was lucky enough to take part in a conference call with coach Friedgen yesterday. I asked him about the morale of the team, whether they were falling apart and losing steam after losing so bad at cal. He said the team had put the loss behind them and were instead looking forward to James madison. While I’d like to believe that, I can’t imagine that it’s true.

In fact, I’m worried as to how much the loss is going to affect this team. Getting blown out is not the way to start a season and it wouldn’t surprise me if the team shows up flat for the next few games. Here are a few things I worry about:

Youth:

all anybody could talk about after the cal loss was how young this team is. It’s true, and that’s why a big opening loss scares me so much. Veterans know that there are going to be tough times and know how to rebound. For a lot of our guys, though, this was their first time really playing in the spotlight. Imagine going out to california, in a nationally televised game, and getting destroyed. For a lot of the young guys on this team, that has to be hard to deal with.

Offensive Line:

the o-Line had a huge opportunity to silence their critics last week. they failed miserably, allowing six sacks and never giving chris turner any time to throw. the line will be feeling all kinds of external pressure this week, as they look to finally jell together and offer some protection. the fans aren’t going to settle for a terrible offensive line. they’ll have to learn to step it up and put the loss behind them.

Chris Turner

He played a relatively decent game but you’ve got to worry about his mindset. as a st. Louis


Rams fan, I’ve seen firsthand with marc Bulger how much a poor offensive line can mess with your psyche. How will turner play after last week’s game? Will he have faith in the line and be able to calmly execute? or will he constantly worry and force himself into making bad decisions?

Defense

at least the offensive line was expected to play poorly. the defense, however, was supposed to give teams fits. Billed as an aggressive, blitzing team, the unit fell completely apart against a good cal offense. Is new coordinator don Brown feeling the pressure? can the defense put last week’s showing behind them?

Hopefully, all of my fears will be for nothing and we can turn this season around starting saturday night. I know it’s only James madison this week, but talk to duke and Virginia fans if you think this one will be a cakewalk.

acc Power Poll

september 10, 2009

1. miami

2. Georgia tech

3. Virginia tech

4. Florida state

5. north carolina

6. clemson

7. north carolina state

8. Boston college

9. maryland

10. Wake Forest

11. duke

12. Virginia

Maryland vs. JaMes Madison Preview

september 11, 2009

to the outside world, this saturday’s game against James madison probably seems like a cupcake, easy win game. What those people probably don’t realize is that this may be the most important game of the season for the terps. a decisive win means the team is back on track, and an ugly loss against a very good cal team is in the rearview mirror. a loss, or potentially even a close win, could spell disaster.

Yes, the dukes are an Fcs team but they shouldn’t be taken lightly. a premier team, they went 12-2 last year and are ranked 6th in the Fcs polls. It’s also worth noting, of course, that both duke and Virginia lost to colonial athletic association schools last week so this game shouldn’t be taken lightly.

Here are a few key things to pay attention to:


The play of the offensive line:

the line was one of the biggest question marks heading into the season and they played terribly against cal. How they do against James madison will be the key to the game. defensive line is the best unit Jmu has and they’ll be testing the line all day. defensive end arthur moats is the teams best player and he and defensive tackle sam daniels were named preseason Fcs all-america. If the line can contain those two, the game will get out of hand quickly. If they can’t, it’ll be a long day for the terps.

The Maryland offense

this one is directly related to the play of the offensive line. chris turner can be effective with time but the big question is who’s going to catch the ball? We’re all hoping adrian cannon has a breakout game and torrey smith needs to do much more then he did against cal. the dukes have a very inexperienced secondary so look for turner to exploit that. the ground game will also be important. If they can get past the big front four, they should have a field day against an inexperienced linebacker corps. da’Rel scott and davin meggett will get most of the carries but coach Friedgen said Gary douglas will see some time as well.

Stopping JMU quarterbacks

the dukes are expected to play both junior drew dudzik and freshman Justin thorpe, both big bruisers who will run the ball. Will the terps front seven be able to handle either of them out of the pocket?

Special teams play:

It’ll be an interesting battle on special teams. smith was electrifying return man for the terps last season but couldn’t get anything during the cal game and even lost a fumble. on the other side, the dukes have scotty mcGee, who feasted on opponents last year.

this should be an easy, decisive win but the terps are a young, inexperienced team so anything is possible.

prediction: maryland: 28 Jmu: 9

Maryland vs. JaMes Madison recaP

september 14, 2009

there probably isn’t a worse feeling in the world then winning but not enjoying it. Yes, the terps needed this one badly. Yes, obviously I’m thrilled that they won the game. But how can you be happy when the team needs overtime to beat a Fcs team? I know that James madison is good (they went 12-2 last year) but the last time they beat an FBs team was 1990. 1990!!! We knew after the cal game that this would potentially be a long year, but at least we could rationalize to ourselves that cal is one of the best teams in the nation. can’t really do the same with Jmu. that’s why the campus was pretty quiet last night (except for during the game. during the game we were absolutely roaring). people are happy we won, sure, but this wasn’t really winning. the terps needed a decisive victory and couldn’t come through. there were, however, a lot of things to also be excited about. Let’s take a look at some of the things we learned from the game:

The loss of Nolan Carroll will hurt this team

those who have watched the last two games might think that things can’t get worse on defense, but the loss of carroll, whose probably out for the season, is going to hurt a lot. aside from


being a productive player, carroll was the heart and soul of that defense. I had a chance to talk to him at acc media day and you can see why Ralph Friedgen considers him a leader. this will be a big loss for the team.

Chris Turner is a good quarterback

turner wasn’t bad against cal, he just didn’t have time. and he was awfully productive against Jmu, finishing 25-38 for 236 yards. He played tough and efficient and it’s easy to see how much he’s progressed as a QB in the last few years. If given the time, turner has proven he can deliver.

Torrey Smith had his coming out party…but special teams is still a problem

smith had a great game, finishing with two touchdowns, including one on a kick-return. I talked all offseason about how smith had the potential to step up and be the missing link to darrius Heyward-Bey and smith finally started to prove me right. smith is an electrifying player and it’ll be fun to watch his progression as the year goes on. special teams, however, remains a problem. For the second consecutive game there was a fumble, as Kenny tate botched a punt return. mistakes are going to kill this team.

The Terps won’t win in the trenches…on either side

the offensive line didn’t allow any sacks, but it was still a pretty poor performance. the line simply has to play better if the terps want to avoid an embarassing season. on the defensive side, the line play was terrible. there were no sacks and no penetration at all.

Nick Ferrara looks like the real deal

the offensive start of the cal game looked good again, passing his first under-pressure test. nailing a field goal in overtime is no easy feat, no matter what team you’re playing. the freshman looks good.

all in all, it was an ugly, disappointing win, but still a win. the team has a good chance to regroup next week against middle tennessee and needs to take advantage if they want to salvage this season.

surPrise strenGth

september 15, 2009

Going into the season, one of the questions facing the terps was who would step up at wide receiver. With the loss of darrius Heyward-Bey, who went to the Raiders in the first round, everyone was wondering who would take his place. Would it be sophomore torrey smith, who excelled in the return game? or maybe adrian cannon or Ronnie tyler?

With two games in the books, it seems that somehow wide receiver has become one of the strengths of the team (which, admittedly, may not be saying much). smith had his breakout game against James madison, scoring two touchdowns and finishing with eight receptions for 80 yards. cannon got in the mix as well, with five receptions for 55 yards and even tyler contributed, with four receptions.

Between those three, and with the possibility Quinton mccree turning it on, this group has surprisingly become the best unit on the team. It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out as the season goes on.


terPs in the nfl

september 15, 2009

Figured it was time start a new segment for tuesdays. every tuesday, I’ll take a look at how some of the former terps did in the nFL this past week. Without further ado:

shawne merriman: It’s been a rough time for merriman recently. He missed most of last season and now has to deal with legal issues to start this one. to make matters worse, he didn’t exactly have the greatest game last night. He finished with five tackles but was unable to get to the quarterback, a problem the entire san diego defensive line had. You’ve got to assume “Lights out” will turn it on as the seaon progresses, though.

darrius Heyward-Bey: probably the debut I was looking most forward to. the Raiders got blasted for taking Hey-Bey-Bey so early in the draft and all eyes in oakland were on him last night. unfortunately for them, he literally did nothing. Yes, he’s very fast. Yes, he’s a rookie in his first game. Yes, we should probably hold judgement for later in the year. But he did not look comfortable with that offense last night.

eric Barton: Barton had a solid game for the Browns, finishing with 8 tackles. Which also happens to be about 8 more tackles than the entire st. Louis Rams defense had (sorry, just a bitter fan).

Lamont Jordan: two carries for 5 yards. Keep in mind, though, that he is not the featured back. still, remember when this guy looked like he’d be big? It’s the curse of the Raiders.

Vernon davis: the poster boy for athletic freaks of nature, davis finished with five receptions for 40 yards, good for second on the team. Is this the year he finally realizes his massive potential?

shaun Hill: peter King from sports Illustrated named Hill one of his offensive stars of the week, which is probably the only time you’ll find “shaun Hill” and “offensive star” in the same column. my roommate, a huge 49ers fan, openly wondered aloud during the game whether Hill would throw a pass more than 10 yards. to his credit, Hill finished 18 of 31 with a touchdown, no interceptions, and 209 yards passing. and the guy won the game.

My favorite acc MoMent

september 16, 2009

one night at acc media day, all of the acc bloggers were hanging out when Jonathan, the blogger from nc state, asked all of us what our favorite acc moment was. the answers were extremely interesting and I thought I’d share mine.

seeing as I’m a relative newcomer to the acc (I’m from st. Louis so I didn’t passionately follow the conference until I enrolled at maryland) my memories are pretty limited. my favorite, though, has to be the maryland-B.c. game my freshman year, when matt Ryan was leading the nationally ranked eagles. nobody figured we would give B.c. a scare and for good reason. maryland was fairly mediocre that year and the eagles had national championship hopes. It wasn’t looking like a good game.

I had a friend visiting from nYu who had never been to a college football game before. I kept telling him how great maryland football games were and we were both pretty excited to be going to a primetime game (only the second one that year). We scalped a ticket for my friend and got front row seats.

needless to say, the game was amaZInG. the terps took control early and basically ran away


with the game. the crowd was insane, my friend was having the time of his life, and things couldn’t be better. as the game winded down, I realized that we were clearly going to be rushing the field, which would be my first time.

my friend and I lined up behind the gate and got ready. as the seconds started ticking down, we started our classes “sha na na, Goodbye” chant and you could feel the roar throughout the stadium. there wasn’t a single person not going crazy. the cops on the field began putting their hands up, telling us we couldn’t jump the fence until they gave us permission.

We listened…for about 10 seconds. then a crush of people behind us surged and all hell broke loose. my friend and I hopped the fence (We were some of the first people on the field) and just started running, jumping, and hugging. my friend didn’t go to maryland but you’d never know it. We made a beeline for the players celebrating and quickly joined them. I wrapped my arm around a large football player I didn’t recognize and we just started jumping up and down, going nuts. His shoulder pad was literally crushing my face but I couldn’t have cared less. We had just beaten B.c.!!

I lost sight of my friend and the group of people I was with but it didn’t matter. everyone around me was my new best friend, as we celebrated a victory over a top ten team. after awhile everybody appeared to calm down, until the stadium started blasting with Zombie nation’s Kernkraft 400 (If you don’t know what song I’m talking about go Google it. Right now. It’s oK, I’ll wait). We all went crazy again, jumping in tune to the song, the shoulder pad once again bouncing off my face.

I don’t know how long everything lasted, but eventually things calmed down. I found my group and we walked around the field, taking pictures. as we walked off, getting ready to go celebrate the game with friends, my friend from nYu turned to me, the biggest smile on his face, and said something I’ll never forget:

“I’m transferring to maryland!!”

week 3 Power rankinGs

september 17, 2009

1. Georgia tech

2. miami

3. Virginia tech

4. north carolina

5. clemson


7. Florida state

8. Boston college

9. Wake Forest

10. duke

11. maryland

12. Virginia


Maryland vs. Middle tennessee state Preview

september 18, 2009

Last week the terps survived a huge scare against James madison, an Fcs opponent. this week, they’ll take on middle tennessee state. now, for most schools, a game against the Blue Raiders would be an easy, yawn-your-so-bored contest, one that serves as a tune-up for the upcoming acc games. not so fast for the terps. this is the same team that needed overtime to beat Jmu and need I remind you that this team lost in a massive upset to the Blue Raiders last year?

Like James madison, middle tennessee runs a spread system, but middle tennessee is probably the better team. the terps lost defensive leader nolan carroll, but mtsu will be without running back phillip tanner.

this game will be close, probably a little too close, but in the end maryland should pull out a win. Let’s take a look at the keys to bringing home a terps win:

Stopping the offense:

as mentioned above, the Blue Raiders run a spread offense, which clearly seems to give this defense fits. to make matters worse, middle tennessee often will run a no-huddle, which could take a lot of air out of the terps defensive unit. maryland’s defense has been horrendous the past two games and it’ll be interesting to see how they fare in this one. a bad game from the unit and you can expect them, and us fans, to have zero confidence going ahead this season. Quarterback dwight dasher put 320 yards of total offense against memphis last week and limiting him will be a huge factor in this game. dasher is a threat to both pass and run the ball, and he will be a good test case as maryland will face other dual-threat quarterbacks (christian ponder and tyrod taylor especially) later in the year.

Dealing with the loss of Nolan Carroll:

Last week, the terps lost nolan carroll, who was not only the leader of this defense but also one of the best cover corners on the team. stepping in for him will be sophomore cameron chism. can chism step up and play an effective corner? and how much will the loss of leadership from carroll, who was a team captain, hurt?

The continued development of the offense:

chris turner has looked solid, if not spectacular, after two weeks. He’d be doing more if he had anything resembling protection but you’ve got to work with what you have. the receiving corps came into their own against Jmu and will look to keep growing here. Look for big games from adrian cannon and torrey smith. If turner has time to find them this game could be over early. It’ll also be interesting to see if da’Rel scott can get it going.

Is anyone alive on the offensive line?

Ralph Friedgen has asked for patience as the line tries to gel. I’m not against being patient but eventually this line will have to step it up. maryland won’t be winning many games until the line can get their act together. mtsu does not have as good a defensive front as Jmu showed, so look for improvement here.

How will special teams fare?

there’s been good and there’s been bad. Freshman nick Ferrara has been a pleasant surprise, connecting on all three of his field goal attempts, including the overtime winner last week. smith lit up the return game last week and has been named a special teams captain for the game. the


big question is, can the special teams unit go a game without committing a turnover? the culprit last week was Kenny tate. can they play a mistake-free game this week? We’ll have to see.

Bottom Line: the campus is worried but I can’t imagine the terps letting themselves lost to this team two years in a row. It’ll be a close one though:

maryland 35 middle tennessee state: 21

aBsolute disaster

september 21, 2009

the mood on campus was one of cautious optimism. sure, the team looked pretty bad against cal and James madison, but they couldn’t possibly lose to middle tennessee state, right? not after losing to them last year in a massive upset. and certainly not at home, where more than just pride was at stake. I mean, if the terps somehow lost this one (and how could they? It’s middle tennessee state!) then this season could officially be declared a disaster. Forget battling for an acc title or a bowl game, we’d just be trying to stay out of the cellar. so with all that at stake, the fans knew the terps wouldn’t possibly blow this game.

turns out, all the cautious optimism in the world wouldn’t be enough for this team. despite wanting to exact revenge for last year’s loss, despite playing an inferior opponent, despite the advantages of playing at home, the terps gave this game away, falling to middle tennessee state 32-31 in one of the worst losses of Ralph Friedgen’s career. With two weeks to go before the team even opens acc play, panic has now begun to sink in. the question fans are asking is no longer when the team will get out of the rut, but rather how bad this season will be.

Without further ado, some things we learned from saturday nights game:

You can’t blame Cameron Chism for the loss:

chism, playing in place of nolan carroll, was beat on the key play of the game, a 35-yard pass to chris mcclover that set up the game-winning field goal. But you can’t get too down on chism, who admitted his hamstring was tightening up as the game went on (which is something the coaches should be monitoring). chism played very well in place of carroll, coming down with two interceptions.

But you should be worried about the playcalling: the terps had some disappointing playcalling in the game. With a 2-point lead with 1:35 remaining, the terps faced a fourth-and-2 in Blue Raiders territory. Instead of going aggressive, the terps sent out the kicking team and nick Ferrara missed wide right. true, Ferrara has been money all year, but you have to have faith in your offense. plus, a field goal doesn’t even put the game away. a first down does.

You can’t win when you commit turnovers

especially when you commit four of them. You can’t blame turner too much for his interception, which bounced off davin meggett’s leg, but you can fault da’Rel scott. scott did run for 117 yards, but that’s negated by the fact that he lost two huge fumbles (Jamarr Robinson, in the game for turner, lost another). You simply can’t lost fumbles if you expect to win a game

Torrey Smith is getting better and better

smith, who played great against James madison, continued his development with another monster game. He finished with five catches for 165 yards and two touchdown passes. He’s clearly the playmaker on this team.


And the defense is getting worse:

as I’ve written plenty of times already, fans had extremely high hopes for this defense entering the season. don Brown was supposed to bring an aggressive, blitz-happy scheme, just the kind of thing this soft defense needed. Well, after three games, the defense has given up 119 points. Losing to cal big is semi-understandable, but giving up that much to middle tennessee and James madison is not. the team did finally force some turnovers, but they absolutely couldn’t stop the Blue Raiders when it mattered most, which was most evident on that final drive. this unit is going to have to learn how to come up with stops.

Praise for caMeron chisM

september 22, 2009

Last week I wrote about torrey smith, praising him for stepping up his game and essentially becoming the terps’ biggest playmaker. this week, I’d like to write a few thoughts on cameron chism.

When nolan carroll went down for the season against James madison, his importance to the team was clearly seen, as the pain was evident on Ralph Friedgen’s face. aside from being the teams best cover corner, carroll was the leader of the defense, the heart and soul of a unit that has deservedly come under fire. Fans wondered how the team would cope with the loss.

Well, starting in his first ever college game, cameron chism did his best to ease any worry. With 12 tackles and two interception, chism made an immediate impact, which is made all the more impressive given his relative inexperience.

of course, all anybody will remember from the game is how chism got beat on a 35-yard pass late in the game to set up mtsu’s game-winning field goal. did chism get beat bad on the play? of course. But maybe the blame shouldn’t rest on his shoulders.

chism readily admitted after the game that he was exhausted by the fourth quarter, something the coaches should have picked up on. When you have someone starting for the first time, against a no-huddle no less, you can’t leave him exposed like that late in the game. any player would be exhuasted at that point.

so yes, chism got beat bad and let up what essentially was the game-winning play. Instead of remembering that, however, let’s remember how he gamely stepped in for carroll and played the defensive game of his life.

will Maryland win another GaMe

september 23, 2009

It started out as a joke between friends. While sitting around, someone jokingly asked if the terps would win another game this year. We all laughed…then got suddenly serious. the question was ridiculous, right? How could the team not win another game this year? sure, we’re bad, but that bad? How many questions can I ask in a row?

needless to say, we began to break down the remaining schedule:

vs. Rutgers: this weeks game should be a tough one. Rutgers isn’t the team it used to be, but then again neither is maryland. If you’re a terps fan, you can’t be too excited about this one.


Chance of losing? 55%

vs. Clemson: clemson is a good team, powered by running back c.J. spiller. spiller ran all over us last year and our defense hasn’t improved at all. on the plus side, we usually play clemson well.


at Wake Forest: not the best team in the acc, but better than the terps. We’ll keep it close, but it’ll be another tough one.


vs. Virginia: nothing like a game against Virginia to cure a nasty losing streak. one of the only acc teams potentially playing worse football than us.


at Duke: the other team potentially playing worse than us? Hello, duke! after this game, we potentially could have a two-game winning streak! then again, if we’re having trouble with FBs teams now, real teams won’t be easy to beat.


at North Carolina State: Well, that two game winning streak was nice while it lasted. can’t see us overcoming the Wolfpack.


vs. Virginia Tech: We always have one big upset. could this be it? probably not, but you never know.


at Florida State: See: Virginia Tech.


vs. Boston College: a bit of an easier one to end the year. You’ve gotta hope maryland will want to end the year right. still though, have you seen us play the last three weeks?


We breathed a sigh of relief. With games against Virginia and duke, we should at least have the possibility of winning. and besides, there’s always big upsets and fluke wins. I mean, come on, we’re not actually going to lose out the rest of the way.

Right?

acc week 4 Power Poll

september 24, 2009

1. miami

2. Virginia tech

3. Florida state

4. clemson

5. north carolina

6. Georgia tech



8. Wake Forest

9. Boston college

10. duke

11. maryland

12. Virginia

Maryland vs. rutGers Preview

september 25, 2009

there’s only so many weeks I can write that this week is a must-win game for the terps, but it seems that once again we’re at that place. Reeling off a loss to middle tennessee state, the terps desperately need to come up with a win against Rutgers. coach Friedgen claims his team isn’t in panic mode, but the fans sure are. most have given up on the season. a win against the scarlet Knights would be a huge first step on the road back to respectability.

the last time these two teams met, maryland downed 10th-ranked Rutgers in a huge upset. that was two years ago. We’re looking at two drastically different teams this time around. Let’s take a look at some of the keys to the game for the terps.

Will Tom Savage play?

the true freshman is considered right now to be a 50-50 shot to start the game. savage, one of only four true freshmen to start for FBs teams, has been impressive this year, with 543 passing yards. this offense will be a completely different one without savage and would provide a big break for the terps defense. Whether or not he plays could be tHe key to the game.

Can the defense step it up and stay fresh the whole game?

I won’t bore you guys again with how bad the defense has been these past three games. despite all the negativity, the unit definitely stepped it up in some areas against middle tennessee and needs to build on that improvement. the key will be whether they can stay fresh. cameron chism admitted last week that he was simply exhausted when he let off the big pass play at the end of the game. Will the coaches, and the offense, do a better job of making sure the defense has their legs at the end of the game?

Getting the ball to Torrey Smith:

anyone who consistently reads the blog knows I’m enamored with smith. a huge key to this game will be the involvement of the sophomore, who leads the nation in all-purpose yards. of course, he’s not the only skill player who needs to step it up. adrian cannon needs to improve his game and da’Rel scott will need to get things going to set up the pass. despite all that, smith still remains the key. as the terps’ lone true playmaker, his play-and ability to get the ball-will determine how far this offense goes.

Cutting down on mistakes:

this one is real simple. the penalties need to stop. the turnovers need to stop. You can’t expect to win when you consistently make mistakes.

Prediction: While I actually like the terps chances here, I refuse to pick maryland until they win another game.


Rutgers: 20 maryland: 17

Maryland vs. rutGers recaP

september 27, 2009

“If we keep playing like this, we’re not going to win another game the rest of the year.” -Maryland quarterback Chris Turner.

Well, I’m glad to see that chris has been reading the blog. Looking for another quote to sum up maryland’s play thus far? How about this exchange I had with my roommate:

“Ben, are you planning on writing a recap about this game?”

“Yeah, of course. Why?”

“What more could you possibly have to say about them?”

Yep, this is where campus morale is at. In fact, I had someone come up to me after the game, saw me wearing my maryland shirt, and asked me how bad we lost. no, he didn’t ask whether we won or lost, he just wanted to know how bad the loss was.

people who read this blog probably don’t realize this, but I’m a very positive person. I try and look out for the best and am unabashedly a huge homer. nobody tries to drink the kool-aid of his teams more than I do. But every fan reaches a certain point and I think this game was the straw that broke the camels back for maryland fans.

my usual format for a recap is to write a bit of an introductory paragraph and then go through some of the things we learned from the game. at this point, I’ll spare the readers, since the points will be the same they’ve been for the last three games: the terps need to step it up on defense, the terps need to cut down on turnovers, etc. etc.

the terps had miscues in all aspects of the game. Fans knew it’d probably be a long day after chris turner’s first pass was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. then, to make matters worse, the terps lost arguably their best player when all-acc punter travis Baltz was lost with an ankle sprain in the first quarter.

that’s when the team decided to add insult to injury.

It starts, but doesn’t end with, the turnovers. da’Rel scott fumbled once and turner had a fumble to go with his three interceptions. as the Washington post beautifully put it, Rutgers quarterback domenic natalie (4-12 in pass attempts) only completed one more pass to Rutgers players than turner did.

despite the woeful performance of the offense, the defense kept the team alive and allowed the terps to take a 13-10 lead into the third quarter. But more turnovers, and plenty of penalties, quickly gave the scarlet Knights the lead.

all these issues-turnovers, penalties, the lack of anything resembling a ground game-are corrective, and one has to wonder why the team hasn’t been able to address these issues after four games.

at the beginning of the year, hopeful fans like me thought there might be a chance we could go into next week’s game against clemson 4-0, setting up a huge acc game.

now we can only hope we make it to four wins.


inJury uPdate and links

september 30, 2009

Hey guys,

sorry I’ve been mIa the last couple of days. Just wanted to quickly post a few injury updates and provide a few links.

–travis Baltz is expected to miss at least two weeks with a high ankle sprain, not a good thing for a team looking for something to just go right. meanwhile, steve Yanda had a nice interview with Baltz’s dad I always find it interesting when reporters can find new perspectives.

–also, nolan carroll’s leg will need three to six months to heal but he says he should be ready for nFL workouts. eric prisbell has all the details.

stewart Mandel takes a shot at the acc

september 30, 2009

stewart mandel, who covers college sports for sports Illustrated, was asked a question in his mailbag today on his thoughts on the state of the acc.

His response? “contrary to what I espoused all offseason, the conference has not taken that next step toward respectability. as of today, the league doesn’t look a whole lot different than it did a year ago.”

He goes on to say that the conference hasn’t done much to improve its stock nationally and that Virginia tech is not a serious national contender.

I understand that Florida state and miami have come back down to earth and that certain programs are defintely struggling this year. But let’s wait a little longer before taking such potshots at the conference.

Read his whole answer-and the rest of his mailbag-here.

week 5 Power rankinGs

october 1, 2009

1. Virginia tech

2. miami

3. Georgia tech


5. clemson

6. Florida state

7. north carolina

8. Boston college

9. Wake Forest

10. duke

11. maryland


12. Virginia

Maryland vs. cleMson Preview

october 2, 2009

as I mentioned last week, it’s almost becoming hard to write these game previews. It’s hard to go through keys to a game when they remain the same every week. How many consecutive times can I write that the defense needs to step it up or that the team needs to cut down on turnovers?

as clemson comes to town, it’s almost comical to think that technically the terps might be in good shape record-wise. sure, we’re 1-3 and have lost to middle tennessee but in acc play, we’re still 0-0. as the diamondback pointed out today, the orange Bowl is actually still a possibility.

so can we somehow turn our team around? this is exactly the kind of game we would have won in past years, beating a clearly better clemson team to start a potentially nice run. unfortunately, this is not the same team of years past.

Let’s take a look at some of the keys of the game for the terps:

Can the Terps contain C.J. Spiller?

Really, this question should be whether the terps can contain spiller and Jacoby Ford, the tigers’ two otherworldly playmakers. If the past four games have been any indication, the answer to this question will be a resounding no. the terps simply don’t have the personnel to keep up with a player of spiller’s stature. as he has in the past, he should be able to run all over this team. the most interesting subplot of the game, however, will be spiller vs. torrey smith, two of the best all-purpose players in the game.

Make sure Kyle Parker still looks like a rookie:

parker, clemson’s quarterback, played great against Georgia tech but has since come back to earth. He’s missing passes, has been very inaccurate and has played like the rookie he is. It’s important to note, however, that he’s played against defenses far superior to the one the terps field. He’ll also have spiller to take pressure off the passing game. If the terps want to win, however, they’ll need to force parker into making mistakes.

Will Da’Rel Scott hold on to the ball?

as eric prisbell in the Washington post reported, scott’s been carrying around a football around campus all week. Hopefully he’s learned to hang onto the ball. I’ve said it every single week, but will do so again here: the terps absolutely will not win another game if they continue to turn the ball over at this rate. scott, who has the ability to take over a game, needs to hang onto the ball or needs to sit. It’s as simple as that.

Coaches on the hot seat:

the general sentiment among terps fans has been that maybe it’s time for coach Friedgen to step down. the team announced last year that offensive coordinator James Franklin would be replacing him, presumably in 2011. Fans, however, are itching for Friedgen to be let go sooner, which is a shame. this may not be his best year, but coach has done a lot for this program over the last decade. He deserves to finish out his contract. of course, the other problem with firing him? Who wants to James Franklin, the architect of our anemic offense, coaching right now?


Bottom line:

as I’ve mentioned before, I refuse to pick the terps until they win another game. truth is, I would’ve picked against them anyways.

clemson: 30 maryland: 21

Maryland vs. cleMson recaP

october 5, 2009

**I want to apologize to everyone for getting some of these recaps up late. The last couple of weeks have seen a rash of Jewish holidays (including this upcoming weekend), so I haven’t been able to get posts up until late. Thanks for the patience!

unbeaten in the acc. a perfect record. Yeah, I like the ring of that. With one giant win, the terps suddenly brought smiles back to fans all across the campus. oh how fickle we can be.

Fans were finally happy once again. the september doldrums that seemed to bring a gray pallor with it are gone, replaced with the hope of october and a (hopefully) season-turnaround victory. on a huge day for the acc, with a win for Virginia tech and a HuGe win for miami, it can be argued that neither of those had the same effect on their fan bases as this one.

You see what happens when your team barely beats James madison and falls to middle tennessee? You become as giddy as a schoolgirl when you finally beat a quality opponent.

of course, even the Kool-aid drinkers have to be concerned with a lot of what they saw on saturday. the offense looked suspect, da’Rel scott was lost for the season, Bruce campbell was lost indefinitely, and Ralph Friedgen may have been attempting to lose his job with some of that play calling.

But a win’s a win.

Without further ado, some key points and questions following the game:

The defense finally looked good:

that, ladies and gentleman, is what we call rising to the occasion. Quietly, the maryland defense has slowly been improving as the year has gone by. satuday, they had three consecutive fourth quarter stands to save this game. after the team botched a fourth-and-inches (yes, that will be discussed next), the defense held their own, forcing clemson to settle for a field goal that was negated then missed. one play later, the defense was in the same spot due to a turnover. and once again, they held their own, holding clemson to a yard and forcing another missed field goal. one more time, however, the defense found themselves in the same position. this time, they made sure to determine their own fate. Linebacker demetrius Hartsfield forced a fumble and sealed the win for the terps. an absolutely impressive performance for a unit that had been under serious fire.

A huge-and stupid gamble on fourth down:

say what you want, the decision to go for it on fourth and inches from their own 20 was beyond stupid for the terps. nursing a three point lead, you have to punt it in this situation. I know the defense was tired, I know James Franklin was lobbying for the team to go for it, but you absolutely have to punt. When you’re only up by a field goal, when your offense has looked moderate at best all game, how do you risk putting your opponent in perfect field position? Had the defense not been dominant, we would all be calling for Friedgen’s head today. (I will be


taking a closer look at his bizarre press conference later this week).

Hello to our good friend turnovers:

add two more to the grand total. all together this time: this team cannot expect to win games if they turn the ball over. after your defense puts together a huge stop, how do you fumble the ball on the next play davin meggett? completely inexcusable.

Will this team be able to overcome injuries? First it was nolan carroll, now da’Rel scott is done for the season. How will the team be able to cope? Will they rally and find a way to win, or will the injuries be too much? It’ll be intriguing to see in the weeks ahead.

how worried should the fridGe Be?

october 6, 2009

“I don’t worry about what you say or what you write. I have been at this 41 years. I have won most of my career. If [school officials or fans] don’t want me here, I will go somewhere else. I think I am pretty well respected in the profession.”- Ralph Friedgen after the Clemson game

that was coach Friedgen’s unexpected-and quite frankly bizarre-answer to a reporter after the clemson game. Fridgen has definitely been feeling the pressure after starting the year 1-3, with the lone win an overtime one against James madison.

that’s why one would probably assume that questions of Friedgen’s job security would die down after saturday’s huge win against clemson. not so fast. the big question is what the coach was thinking going for it on fourth and inches from the terp 29. only up by three, Friedgen put the terps in the perfect position to lose.

the question is-and this only intensifies after Friedgen essentially told everyone he’s feeling the heat-is whether this truly will be his last year.

When the school announced last year that offensive coordinator James Franklin would be taking over, most people assumed this meant in 2011, after Friedgen’s contract ran out. now, it’s impossible to say. If the terps can build on their momentum and win a few games, I’d have to think Ralph save his job.

If not…well, then it’s anybody’s guess as to what happens…

Maryland footBall: a first Place teaM

october 6, 2009

oh what a difference a week makes.

Heading into their game against Wake Forest this saturday, the terps find themselves in first place in the atlantic division, something nobody thought possible just last week.

Isn’t this the same team that barely beat James madison? the same team that lost to middle tennessee? It is, and yet somehow, one big win later, the terps are now in first place.

Will it last? probably not. But the difference now is huge. If I suggested that the terps might battle for the atlantic crown last week I’d be laughed at. now? people are at least accepting the idea.

With conference heavyweights clemson and Florida state already saddled with two acc losses, whose to say the terps won’t at least put up a fight?


all I know is that the season just got a lot more interesting.

Maryland-virGinia Preview

october 16, 2009

I know I did this last week, but I want to again apologize to everyone for my semi-absence lately. Finally, though, the holidays are over and I can get back to regular daily posting and twitter updates. Hope you didn’t miss me too much.

It’s finally here-homecoming weekend. the campus is going crazy (there was a parade on north campus today. since when did we do that?) and what would really make this weekend sweet would be a big win over Virginia. things were upbeat after the win against clemson but everything has fallen back to earth after the Wake game. can maryland pick up a win here and improve to 2-1 in the conference? can they build on a big second half last week and try and gain some momentum?

as the diamondback noted today, when the disaster known as the beginning of this season was unfolding, fans were at least able to look toward this game as a potential safe haven. sure, we were bad, but Virginia was somehow worse. now? We’re coming off a disappointing loss and Virginia looks like a program on the rise (well, as much as Virginia can be on the rise). I can say I’m much more worried about this game now then I was a few weeks ago.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at some things to keep an eye on this week:

What will the weather be like?

Rain is predicted all weekend in college park and you have to expect the field to be slick and sloppy. How will that affect the running game? even more importantly, will chris turner have any issues adjusting? of concern is the terps ability to hold on to the ball. they have enough trouble doing that in good weather-will they be able to avoid turnovers when the ball is wet?

Will Mikell Simpson play?

the cavaliers running back torched Indiana last week, piling up 4 touchdowns in a huge win. two years ago he piled up 271 all-purpose yards against the terps. needless to say, he’s a big part of the Virginia offense. He hurt his neck last week, however, and is officially listed as doubtful. Whether or not he plays could be huge in determining who wins this game.

Will Bruce Campbell?

the terps top offensive lineman also may be out of this game. He plays a huge part in protecting turner-this line is simply not the same without him. Hopefully he’s able to suit up.

Which defense will we see?

I’m almost dizzy trying to keep up with the changing personalities of the defense. they started out teRRIBLY this year, then rose to respectable before resembling something of a force against clemson. the against Wake, they get blown out in the first half before recovering in the second. so which defense will we see this week? the one that gets it done and steps up with big plays? or the one we saw at the beginning of the year?

Will we be bowling this year?

We need to go 4-2 the rest of the year just to be eligible. does the march toward that start tomorrow?


Bottom line:

maryland 23 Virginia 20

Maryland vs. virGinia recaP

october 18, 2009

“The affair that took place Saturday at Byrd Stadium could be described only in variations of ugly. The weather, the field, the atmosphere and certainly the play on the field — it was all unsightly. Or dreadful. Or hideous”-The Washington Post

this is how we’ve come to describe maryland football-as unsightly, ugly, dreadful, and hideous. It was homecoming weekend. It was an acc game, a chance for the terps to step up and save the season, to take charge in the atlantic division. none of that was enough to motivate the terps, who practically handed this game over to Virgnia.

the post had it right-it was ugly all around. It was cold, rainy, and too many fans left early. I can’t blame them though. Who would want to watch this game (other than masochists like me)?

Without further ado, some things we learned from saturday’s game:

The good defense showed up:

as I mentioned in my preview column, a big question was which side of maryland’s Jekkyl and Hyde defense would we see: the mistake prone disaster we saw at the beginning of the season and beginning of the Wake game? or the shutdown defense we saw against clemson and in the second half of the Wake game? turns out the shutdown defense showed up, as don Brown continues down his path to redemption. the team piled up five sacks and played a great game overall. the rise of this defense continues to be one of the silver linings of this season.

Nick Ferrara is human:

arguably the terps mVp this year, the true freshman finally showed he’s human, missing two field goals. Ferrara missed on a 37 yarder and then from 44 yards out. He still finished 3-5 though.

Hello to an old friend:

the absolute most frustrating thing about this team is its love of turnovers. How a big time college football program that has the ability to hire top-notch coaches can still turnover the ball at this point is beyond me. davin meggett fumbled on the first drive of the game and Gary douglas lost another one. chris turner finished with two interceptions. that’s completely unacceptable football-and a big reason why all those fans leave early.

lookinG toward next year?

october 19, 2009

If you happened to check the lines recently, you’ll see that maryland is actually an underdog against duke. Go ahead, read that line again. even the most cynical of fans couldn’t possibly have seen that one coming at the start of the year. duke, the former punching bag of the acc, is now favored against the terps. We really have hit rock bottom.

considering that, it would appear that it’s now time to start looking ahead to next year. all the talk today is how coach Friedgen admitted that it’s now time to start playing backups Jamarr Robinson and danny o’Brien in order to get them ready for next year.


It will be interesting to see how Friedgen decides to use his three quarterbacks the remainder of the year. Will turner still see most of the action? How much time will o’Brien, a freshman, see?

only one way to find out..

week 8 Power Poll

october 22, 2009

1. miami

2. Georgia tech

3. Virginia tech

4. Virginia

5. Boston college

6. clemson

7. north carolina

8. Wake Forest

9. duke

10. maryland


12. Florida state

Maryland vs. duke Preview

october 23, 2009

tomorrow officially marks the low point of the season. as I mentioned earlier this week, maryland football has sunk so low that we are now underdogs against duke, the annual laughingstock of the acc. In all fairness, duke had a year to build on last year and is having a solid year this year. maryland, on the other hand, is slowly sinking to laughingstock status.

Will the terps be able to pull off an upset, or will this be another sad saturday in college park?

Let’s look at some keys to the game:

Maryland’s defense vs. Duke’s pass-happy offense:

duke is absolutely a pass-happy team. they have no qualms with airing it out and expect more of the same in this game. maryland’s defense has put together a few good quarters. can they sustain it against a good duke offense? can the secondary step it up? Will the team be able to stop the onslaught of screen passes?

Who will run the ball for the Terps?

We know Gary douglas, who’s injured, won’t. davin meggett will be the featured back but who else will share carries. d.J. adams? caleb porzel? Regardless of who is running with the ball, the key will obviously be to hold on to it. the offense absolutely has to avoid turnovers if they want to pull an upset here.


How mad are the Maryland players?

It’s been a terrible season for the terps. they’ve had to deal with one loss after another and are pretty much the joke of the conference at this point. this game will be a true test of team attitude. Has morale been sapped from the team and are we going to see a lackluster effort? or is the team fired up and ready to show the rest of the conference that they’re not dead yet? We’ll find out saturday.

Will Turner take all the snaps?

coach Friedgen admitted after last weeks game that it might be time to start turning to the backups. offensive coordinator and coach-in-waiting (but for how long?) James Franklin announced earlier this week that turner is still his man. despite the vote of confidence from Franklin, you’ve got to assume that the team knows it needs to start turning to its backups soon. Will this game be the one?

Bottom Line:

duke: 28 maryland: 24

Maryland vs. duke recaP

october 26, 2009

one of my good friends popped the question to his girlfriend early last week. to celebrate, a party was thrown in their honor saturday night. as I walked in, I noticed everyone was pretty happy, dancing around and celebrating with the engaged couple. a group of guys, however, were sulking in the corner. as I walked by them, one of the guys caught my eye and just shook his head.

“How does this keep happening to us? Why can’t we win? and the worst is it’s the turnovers. that’s what kills me.”

that’s where campus morale is at right now. people at engagement parties still can’t help but walk around depressed.

after another loss, this one to duke, has lowered campus morale to its lowest point of the year. It’s not the loss itself-that was expected. It’s that losing has become the culture here.

Let’s take a look at some of the things we learned from this game:

Surprise! Turnovers again:

the hardest part of writing this blog has been coming up with a creative way to write that turnovers have been a problem for this team. every single week it’s been brought up and I think I’m completely out of ideas. If the terps continue to turn the ball over next game I legitimately won’t know what to write. this week was even worse because of two key turnovers late in the game, a chris turner interception and a muffed punt (shocker!).

Bye Bye Bowling:

the team would now have to win out to be bowl eligible. Raise your hands if you think that’s possible. Right, that’s what I thought. sure, a mid-level bowl isn’t all that exciting but it’s become expected here at maryland. not this year.

Caleb Porzel did not look all that good:

the highly touted freshman carried 15 times for 28 yards. I’m pretty sure even non-fans know


that those are some pretty ugly numbers.

But Davin Meggett did on that screen pass:

unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. He looked great on the 67-yard touchdown catch that briefly gave the team momentum. overall, I’ve got to say I like what I’ve been seeing from meggett. this running game isn’t all that effective but meggett has done a solid job of filling in for da’Rel scott.

The defense wasn’t as bad as it seemed:

Yes, thaddeus Lewis threw for 371 yards and two touchdowns, but Lewis might be the best quarterback in the conference. the team also forced him into throwing only his third interception of the year. they also forced three turnovers total. I’m not saying this is a great defense-it’s not. But don’t let the final score make you think this was a game the defense lost us.

conGrats to chris turner

october 27, 2009

Just wanted to offer congratulation to turner, who on satuday passed Boomer esiason for second on maryland’s all-time passing yards list. You’ve got to feel for turner, who said after saturday that he’s looking forward to getting away from football for a bit during the bye week. While he isn’t always flashy and he definitely has his fair share of criticism, he’s also done more for this team then any of us thought possible. I still remember how depressed I was when he took over three years ago. since then, though, he’s provided many great moments for the terps throughout the years. so congrats chris. You deserve it.

Maryland vs. n.c. state Preview

november 6, 2009

“As bad as our season has gone for us, it’s funny that we still have a chance. If we win out, and a few things go our way, we’ll be playing in the [ACC] championship. There is still something to play for. We’re not just going out trying to spoil people’s years.”-Chris Turner

that statement seems pretty ridiculous, but at least the team still has hope. It also is a pretty big referendum on the acc that a 2-6 team (whose only win against a d-1 team was against clemson at home) is still mathematically figuring out how they can play in the acc championship.

acc championship-or bowl game for that matter-or not, the road back to respectability starts tomorrow against n.c. state. the terps have become the laughingstock of the conference and will certainly be underdogs for the remainder of the year.

tomorrow marks their best chance for a victory but it won’t be easy. the terps have struggled (to use a nice word) on the road and we shouldn’t expect anything different here. the team claims they’re playing for more than pride but we’ll find out soon enough if that’s true.

Without further ado, a look at some keys to tomorrow’s game.

Will we see our old friend tomorrow?

I’ve literally written about this every week but it still somehow keeps coming up. Will the terps be able to avoid turnovers tomorrow? It’s obviously a big “What if” but if this team simply turned the ball over half as much as it does now, they’d probably be leading the atlantic conference. to even have a chance against the Wolfpack they’ll need to hold on to the ball.


Road to a bowl game:

the terps have to win out from here on to be eligible for a bowl game. Will it happen? most likely not, but it’s fun to dream. the chance starts now against n.c. state, who are vulnerable and probably represent the terps’ best chance at a victory this year. this week will show how much the terps really want that respectability back.

What is the team playing for?

according to turner, they’re not just playing the spoiler part. again, this week will show what the team is made of. Want to stop being the butt of so many jokes? It starts now against the Wolfpack.

Will the bye week help?

the players have had a lot of time off, getting short practices and then having a bye week. the bye was needed, as players were able to clear their mind and just spend some time relaxing. Will they be able to play calmly tomorrow and not worry about the implications of another loss? It’ll be interesting to see.

Bottom Line:

I think the terps will surprise here. It’ll be ugly, but I expect them to pull out a W.

maryland: 28

north carolina state: 24

Maryland vs. n.c. state recaP

november 9, 2009

as an avid reader of the Washington post, one of my favorite things to do sunday morning is to read the recap that eric prisbell writes. every sunday morning, I know it’ll be right there at the front of the sports section waiting for me. this sunday? I couldn’t find it. turns out, the terps recap was buried on d12. d12!! If that’s not a referendum on the state of maryland football, I don’t know what is.

I was talking to Jonathan, the n.c. state blogger, and happened to mention my anger at n.c. state pulling out a victory. He told me that the Wolfpack had basically tried to let us win, so how could I really be angry? and he was right. the terps had nobody to blame but themselves-again.

Without further ado, some things we learned from the game:

How long will Chris Turner be out?

With just under five minutes to play in the first half, turner had to leave the game with an mcL injury to his left knee. He’s listed as questionable against Virginia tech and it’s unclear how long he’ll be out-if he’s out at all. the bigger question for fans is does it matter? this season is over and the truth is that we should probably start thinking about next season. But turner never really got the credit he deserved. If that was the last game he plays for maryland, I wish him all the luck going forward. turner had some great moments for us.

It was nice to score a defensive touchdown:

the defense overall had some nice moments, forcing Russell Wilson into throwing three interceptions. none was bigger than alex Wujciak’s. on a fourth-and-six play, Wujciak picked the ball off and rumbled in for a touchdown, the first defensive touchdown for the terps in 41


games. at least we got one monkey off our backs saturday.

Torrey Smith came through again:

the terps only true playmaker had another big moment saturday, returning a kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown. this season has been pretty brutal overall but the one bright spot has been smith’s development. I wondered in this blog what kind of season torrey would have and he’s shown he has the goods to be a real playmaker for this team in the future.

What will the next three games be like?

the terps are officially no longer bowl-eligible but a lot of things remain to be seen the rest of the year. Will the squad play for pride and make things interesting, or is morale so low that we are looking at three consecutive blowouts? and when does the development of the youngsters begin? Whether turner is injured or not, Jamarr Robinson, who looked just oK against the Wolfpack, should see some significant time in the final three games. Redshirt freshman danny o’Brien may see some time as well.

will the heisMan troPhy Be coMinG to the acc soon?

november 10, 2009

It’s been awhile since the Heisman called the acc home, but that could change this year. after putting up 312 all-purpose yards against Flordia state last week, c.J. spiller’s name is once again near the forefront of the Heisman conversation.

one of the most exciting players in football, c.J. was a preseason favorite, which was evident at acc media day, where clemson brought life-size posters of their star running back. He tried to deflect attention then but had a hard time. It’ll only be tougher now.

spiller has done it all for clemson this year. He’s rushed for 739 yards and 5 touchdowns, caught 21 receptions for 334 yards and 3 touchdowns, returned a punt for a touchdown and three kickoffs for touchdowns. Helk, he’s even thrown a pass this year.

after his touchdown run last week, he showed a brief and mini Heisman pose. Will he be doing a much longer one later? It’ll be interesting to watch.

Maryland vs. virGinia tech Preview

november 13, 2009

I like to think I’m a very positive person. I try and find the good in every situation and stay upbeat. But things are not so good in terpland these days. tommorow’s game against Virginia tech is scheduled to be a blackout-and officials are practically begging fans to come.

the student body can’t help but poke fun at the e-mail we all received this week from the team, doing everything short of flat out requesting that fans make it to the game, since seats are far from sold out. nobody is happy, either, that a blackout is taking place for an afternoon game-and no free shirts are being handed out.

With the way the weather is going, I shudder to think how many people will be with me in the stands tommorow. Here’s hoping a big win will at least re-energize this campus.

Without further ado, here are the keys to tommorow’s game:


Who will be playing quarterback?

all signs point to sophomore Jamarr Robinson starting this game for the terps, as turner is listed as doubtful for the game. If turner can’t go and Robinson is ineffective, Friedgen has already promised to turn things over to redshirt freshman danny o’Brien. What can we expect from Robinson? He’s not as good as turner-yet-but the change of pace may be good for this team. they weren’t getting it done before so how could a change hurt?

“Homefield advantage”:

as I mentioned above, it’s not looking good in terms of a raucous terps crowd. tech fans, however, are expected to pour in, as they traditionally have for all of the maryland-Vt games played at Byrd. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a majority of Virginia tech fans tommorow, something I think we as fans should personally be ashamed of.

What will the Terps be able to do against the Tech defense?

maryland can’t seem to get anything done on offense and now they look to go up against a very good Virginia tech defense. With a new quarterback in, how bad will things get? If maryland can figure something out on the offensive side of the ball then they can probably keep things close. If not, look for things to get ugly.

Torrey Smith vs. Dyrell Roberts:

easily the most exciting aspect of the game will be the battle between these two. Roberts averages more yards per punt return than anyone in the nation, while smith is quietly one of the most exciting players in the acc. their battle could help determine the outcome of this game.

Bottom Line:

It’ll be closer than people are expecting, but Vt leaves here with a victory.

Virginia tech: 35

maryland: 21

Maryland vs. virGinia tech recaP

november 17, 2009

this one hurt. a lot. It wasn’t so much the big loss as it was the utter and complete expectation of it. nobody I talked to on campus was expecting a win and nobody was expecting to keep it close. and that’s what kills me. this season has been a train wreck and campus morale couldn’t be worse.

It’s depressing to try and rally around a team when nobody else wants to. and that, I think, is always the underrated aspect of a losing season. Yes, of course nobody likes the losses piling up. But what nobody really speaks out is the damage it does to a team’s-and a fan base’s-psyche.

Without further ado, some things we learned from saturday’s game:

This wasn’t a real home game:

Like I said, people are down and don’t want to go to a game. In my three years here, I’ve never seen less enthusiasm about attending a game. can you imagine people opting out of a blackout game against Virginia tech the last couple of years? It’d be unheard of. But this year people were trying to give away their tickets. that led to there being a large contigent of Virginia tech fans. even the Hokies themselves acknowledged that having a crowd cheer them was a big


boost. as I mentioned on twitter, one of my friends mentioned that he heard a roar from the crowd on saturday and for a moment thought maryland scored. then he remembered how many tech fans there were and realized that something negative had probably happened. It’s hard enough for the terps to win even with home advantage. take that away and it can become a disaster.

Jamarr Robinson showed some flashes:

He wasn’t great, or even good, passing the ball-12 of 32 for 104 yards-but the guy can sure run. Robinson led the team in rushing with 24 attempts for 129 yards. Having a mobile quarterback is something new for this team and it was refreshing to see. Robinson will have to get better though if this team wants to go places. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out next year when Robinson is battling for the job.

There wasn’t much defense for the Terps in this game:

the defense was simply beat in every area and couldn’t stop the Hokies offense. there were big plays, missed tackles, and not enough pressure. the defense had been a key area for the terps recently but they laid a huge egg here.

Nor was there much of an offensive line or a running game:

six sacks for the Hokies. three net yards rushing for the terps. that’s all that needs to be said about that.

Let the “Fire Ralph” clamoring begin:

It might not be fair but without a doubt there will now be a strong sentiment that it’s time for Ralph to leave. Whichever side of the fence you’re on in this argument, think about this: do you really want James Franklin taking over this team?

crossinG off the list

november 17, 2009

I figured it was time to take a break from the depressing previews and recaps and short stories on the football team and write a quick little fun piece.

after “the Bucket List” first came out, the movie starring morgan Freeman and Jack nicholson about two men who are given months to live and decide to start crossing things off of their “to do before I die” list, it seemed that everyone was making their own.

I gave in to the masses and made a bucket list my freshman year of school. one of the things on the list, something I’m ashamed to admit I’ve never done, is climb to the top of Byrd stadium.

I’ve been to the stadium countless times, but always in the fan section. I’ve snuck in to the stadium, like every other college student, but never actually climbed to the top.

tonight, that finally changes. With the meteor shower that started last night and continues tonight, I am planning on going with a few friends to the top of Byrd to catch a light show.

Finally time to cross another sports-related thing off the list.

of course, the best part of it all is I won’t even have to sit through another excruciating loss…


Maryland vs. florida state Preview

november 20, 2009

For the second consecutive week, the terps will be playing a former powerhouse having a disappointing season. For the second consecutive week, that former powerhouse is still light years ahead of the terps at this point.

a week after facing Virginia tech, maryland squares off against Florida state, which is trying to avoid a losing season and striving for a bowl game. maryland, on the other hand, is just trying to avoid a 10-loss season.

Without further ado, some keys to tomorrow’s game:

The game will be all about Bobby Bowden:

It seems that you can’t go five minutes without hearing about the legenday coach’s job security. a lot of people have said this should be his last year. He’s a true legend of the game, the second-winningest coach in division I football, but detractors are saying he’s too old to coach. the football in this game won’t be too interesting to watch so Bowden will become the main focus.

And maybe a tiny bit about Ralph Friedgen:

Bowden isn’t the only one who’s job is on the line this year. many fans expect Friedgen to get fired or step down when the season ends as well. I don’t think either will happen (come back monday for an in-depth blog post on the issue), but you can be sure his haters will be screaming after this game.

Florida State has a lot to play for:

Florida state hasn’t had a losing season since 1976. they’ve played in 27 consecutive bowl games. their legendary defensive coordinator, mickey andrews, is retiring after the season and this will be his final home game. suffice it to say, the seminoles have a lot at stake in this one. the terps? not so much.

How will Jamarr Robinson do in his second start?

next year’s potential starter showed he could run last week, but he needs to learn to pass-and soon. to put it simply, the terps will have no chance if Robinson doesn’t air it out. He can only do so much on the ground. Fans may clamor to see freshman danny o’Brien in this one but let’s hope not. the best thing the terps can do now is preserve his redshirt.

Bottom Line:

expect it to be ugly.

Florida state: 38

maryland: 14

Maryland vs. florida state recaP

november 23, 2009

I thought it was going to be ugly, a blowout that would send Ralph Friedgen’s critics into an uproar, the type of loss that would typify this season. two out of three isn’t bad.

the game was close-a lot closer than anyone expected-but the result was the same. another loss in a dismal season, and one that may have been the nail in the coffin for Friedgen.


the future of the program is up in the air now as the team tries to avoid a dreaded 10th loss.

Without further ado, some things we learned from the game:

Friedgen’s status for next year is extremely jeapordized:

according to eric prisbell at the Washington post, a source has said that the future of Friedgen is officially in doubt and that the school will have no problem with the $4 million buyout they would owe the coach. I’ll be posting my thoughts on this tommorow but it’s interesting that the school has said the buyout won’t be a factor. I’ve got to imagine it will be. and if he is fired, I hope the school is willing to pay James Franklin to go away as well. He was being heavily pursued for other jobs when the school named him as their coach-in-waiting but his star has fallen pretty fast.

A special teams play may have lost this game:

a lot of blame will go to the offense, who couldn’t get a first down when it needed it most, and to the defense, who couldn’t come up with a big stop. the real goat of the game, however, may have been the special teams unit. nursing a slight lead, the punting unit came on with under three minutes to play and was instructed to punt it out of bounds, away from return man Greg Reid. Instead, the ball sailed right into Reid’s hands and he returned it 48 yards and into maryland territory. If that doesn’t happen, we may have pulled off the upset.

Jamarr Robinson and Da’Rel Scott looked good:

I said on Friday that Robinson would need to improve his passing numbers and he did. He finished 20-27 with 214 yards and touchdown. He also ran for 58 yards. Robinson looked a lot better this week than last and it will be extremely interesting to see how he plays against B.c. next week. scott, playing for the first time since october 3rd, was also impressive, finishing with 83 yards.

should he stay or should he Go?

november 24, 2009

as the losses started mounting, the inevitable question began to rear its ugly head. It started as a whisper among a few fans but has quickly turned into a full out debate.

Will Ralph Friedgen be fired? and should he be?

I don’t think he will be-the financial implications would be too great-but the question of whether he should be is an altogether different one.

the question is more complicated than it seems. Friedgen has had plenty of successful moments, but he’s hardly turned the terps into any kind of powerhouse. and this season has been an absolute disaster.

I mean, they lost to middle tennessee state, an Fcs opponent, and to Rutgers, a team that somehow managed a win despite completing only four passes.

they currently stand at 2-8 and, barring any kind of near-miracle, will finish 2-10, a stunning drop for a team that was at least expected to be competitive this year.

Fan base morale is at an all-time low. people don’t expect the terps to keep it close, let alone win. and things may have been at their bleakest last week against Virginia tech, when the athletic department sent an e-mail practically begging fans to fill the seats.


With all that, it would seem obvious that Friedgen has to go. this season has been a train wreck.

But it’s not that simple.

In fact, maybe the real question is how much does leeway does a coach deserve for prior success?

people may look poorly upon Friedgen now, but the truth is that he built this program. When he took over, the terps were an afterthought in the acc. He took the team to an acc title and an orange Bowl appearance that first season, and then followed up with 11-win and 10-win seasons. He was hailed as an offensive genius, the savior of the maryland football program.

He hasn’t been as successful since, but his track record merits looking at. He has the eighth-highest winning percentage in acc history and has taken his teams to six bowl games. Fans like to talk about his failures last year, but the team was one win away from an appearance in the acc title game.

there’s no arguing that he’s turned this program around in his nine years here. But his detractors don’t care about that. they point to the freefall this year as reason he needs to go.

the question that Friedgen detratctors-and there are plenty of them-should be asking themselves is whether they really want James Franklin to take over this team. Yes, that James Franklin, the guy who oversees an offense that had a net total of three rushing yards against Virginia tech. Go ahead and read that again. I’ll wait.

sometimes it’s smart to remember that old adage: be careful what you wish for.

Because of maryland’s decision to go down the head-coach-in-waiting route, Franklin will be owed a cool million if he doesn’t succeed Friedgen as head coach.

Whoops.

and the financial implications don’t end with Franklin. If fired, the school will owe more than $4 million to Friedgen, whose contract runs through 2011.

so no, the school won’t get rid of Ralph. and really, they shouldn’t. He’s given his heart and soul to this program and he deserves a chance to dig this team out of this hole.

He took the program to unforeseen heights when he first came. Give him the chance to do it again before he leaves.

Maryland vs. Boston colleGe Preview

november 27, 2009

It’s finally here, the last game of the season. It’s been a rough year, from the string of losses, to talks of Ralph Friedgen being fired, to chris turner’s injury. I never had huge expectations for the terps this year but I never expected it to be this bad. It’s almost a relief for the season to finally be over.

of course, even though the season ends tomorrow, the distractions don’t. Which leads us to our first key to the game..

How focused will the Terps be?

plenty of players have spoken out this week on how hard it’s been to handle the distractions swirling around the team, most notably which coaches will be back next year. a new wrinkle to the Ralph Friedgen story comes every day and his team has no clue if he’ll be back next year. If he isn’t, will James Franklin take over or will he be bought out also? the team will have to tune


everything out and just play football this week-and even that might not be enough.

Can the defense capitalize on turnovers?

the eagles have had a lot of trouble with turnovers and this has been a pretty opportunistic defense at times. Like every game, the play of the terps defense could determine this one. Force turnovers and put the ball in the hands of the offense and they should be able to pull off a win.

Will Jamarr Robinson, if he plays, continue to improve?

Robinson is nursing a leg injury and is listed as probable. Let’s pray he plays, since turner is questionable and if neither of them can go then Ralph has to use danny o’Brien and trade a season for one game. assuming Robinson plays, the question is whether he can continue to improve? He was much better throwing the ball last week and we all know how dangerous he can be on the run. Let’s hope he can suit up tomorrow and can put up big numbers.

How will Da’Rel Scott look?

scott came back for the first time since oct. 7 last week and was effective. Will he be able to run as well this week? Robinson will need him to step up to establish the pass. scott has been an underrated member of this offense the last two years and it’d be great for him to finish the year with a great game.

Bottom Line:

the terps will be playing for pride and for Friedgen. they’ll come up just short though.

Boston college: 24

maryland: 21

Maryland vs. B.c. recaP

november 29, 2009

“I told them that I expect to be back. But if I am not then I wanted to tell them how much I love them and have appreciated their effort this whole year. Sometimes when things happen you don’t get that opportunity.” –Ralph Friedgen

Well, it’s over. the season that just couldn’t go right ended with another sour note, a 19-17 loss to Boston college that gave the terps their first ever 10-loss season. too many turnovers, penalties, and miscues happened too many times, and the results were a disastrous season. the year ends with Ralph Friedgen and plenty of his staff wondering whether they’ll return.

that being said, there are still glimmers of hope. Later this week, I’ll be writing a more comprehensive look back at the season, at what went wrong and what things we can look forward to in the future.

For now, though, for the last time, a look at some things from the final game of the season:

This whole game, of course, revolved around Ralph:

I’ve been talking about it for weeks, obviously. the big storyline coming into this game is whether Friedgen will be brought back next year. If not, this final game was a tough one and this final season was even worse. as I mentioned last week, he deserves better. Let’s ope he’s given the chance. It’s not like James Franklin offers a real hopeful alternative.

Penalties and miscues don’t help a team win:


the terps finished with eight penalties for 65 yards, which is about eight too many for a team starving for a win. there were also simple miscues, plenty of missed tackles, and all-around sloppy play. unfortunately, play like that is typical at this point.

More fourth-down controversy:

It seems that every week now, some nFL or college game has a questionable decision to go for it on fourth down. With less than five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the terps were facing fourth and one from their own 29. Instead of punting, they elected to go for it, and Jamarr Robinson was stopped short.

Fans weren’t happy and Friedgen said later that he wished he had punted, but I applaud the decision. It’s been a year of misery-what do you have to lose by taking a shot?

It was nice to see Turner–and Robinson:

He didn’t do much-which wasn’t his fault considering he was barely 70%-but it was still nice to see chris turner out there once more. sad to see his final year end so poorly. We’ll miss you chris.

on the flipside, Robinson had his moments, despite also playing hurt. With less than two minutes to go, he threw a beautiful touchdown pass to torrey smith to cap a great drive and bring the terps within two points of Boston college. the eagles, however, recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock.

2009 Maryland Campus Correspondent Portfolio

Documents

Transcript of 2009 Maryland Campus Correspondent Portfolio