I think I speak for all Maryland fans when I say we didn't see this coming. I didn't talk to anyone who thought the Terps had a shot at winning the game. Most people thought the 14 point spread wasn't big enough.
To understand why this game came as such a surprise, let's review what happened the past two weeks:
- Maryland beat 1-AA Delaware by 7.
- Maryland lost to Middle Tennessee State
- Cal won 66-3 at Washington State
- The ACC isn't very good
- The PAC10 is one of the best conferences in the country
The Terps looked like a totally different team than the one who lost at MTSU last week. They played with confidence and attacked the Bears from the opening whistle.
- Chris Turner showed that, while inconsistent, he can turn in an incredible performance when he needs to. He won the QB battle today, especially with his play on 3rd down.
- Speaking of third downs, the defense was amazing in stopping Cal on every 3rd down play until the second half. When the defense can get off the field like that, it makes the game a lot easier to win.
- Da'Rel Scott looks like a star. He's a strong runner and I will never understand why he didn't get more carries last week. Hopfefully his shoulder is OK.
- After not getting a sack last week against MTSU, the defense was able to get great pressure on Kevin Riley, including 5 sacks. Most of the pressure came with only a 4 man rush, which is a good sign for the rest of the season.
- The ACC has been bad this year, and now Maryland has the ACC's worst out-of-conference loss (MTSU) and its best out-of-conference win (Cal).
- A lot of the complaints about the coaching staff will obviously get a lot quieter following a huge win like this, but the Terps seem to go into a soft defense far to early in a lot of games. They let Cal get back into the game late because they didn't get any pressure and the defensive backs weren't able to break up enough passes. Chris Cosh needs to stick with what works instead of going conservative and letting a beaten opponent sniff a victory.
- Obi Egekeze had a chance to really put the game away late with a short field goal that missed badly to the left. He's now 0-for-5 this season. Now, I know Nick Novak started out really bad before he became one of the great clutch kickers in Maryland history, but I think Egekeze is done. He has no confidence now and Fridge needs to start giving that freshman kicker some opportunities on extra points, at least.
- The big question now for the Terps is which team will show up the rest of the season. Based on the past few seasons, we'll probably see a mixture of both. Maryland will lose some games they should win, but they'll also surprise some pretty good teams. Hopefully it will be enough to net a bowl game.
- In the ACC this year, a victory like that is enough to make fans start thinking about a berth in the ACC Championship game. If the Terps play like they did today, that's not out of the question.
15 Responses:
No mention of LB Dave Philistin's great performance? He was everywhere today. How many tackles did he end up with?
And Maryland on defense was rushing three in certain situations today (such as the end of the first half), which (a) I think is stupid, and (b) let California move the ball when the defensive was getting good pressure with four rushers. I think Bo proved at Michigan years ago that "bend but don't break" is a formula for keeping the other team in the game.
SB defense. Err.
The damn soft defense drives me nuts. Fridge/Cosh have been doing that kind of crap for years, and it bothers me to no end.
The Pac-10 is doing everything it can to lose its title as one of the best conferences. Cal lost to MD, UCLA got raped by BYU, Oregon's in OT at Purdue, and Wash St. got pounded by Baylor. I think I for one did not realize how bad the Cougars are. If USC loses tonight, it will be a catastrophic weekend for the West Coast.
I'm so happy for you.
Jeremy, when do you want your five dollars? I just hope I don't fumble it and lose it when I try to give it to you.
I think it was a matter of the Bears being tired, and the Terps having a really bad habit of getting up for big games only.
Yeah, we jumped on a listless Cal team early and then broke them for good when Barnes soul-raped Best on a screen pass attempt. I agree that we only seem to get up for big games, and I blame Friedgen a little for that. He seems to downplay the little games instead of Lou Holtzing every pissant matchup into armageddon.
I was probably most impressed with Skinner's replacements on D. They did a great job in run support and never let Best get behind them. Fokou had a great game. Cory Jackson, the FB, is really great. He's probably our most NFL-ready player.
Maybe Maryland should only schedule ranked teams for the next few years
Paul, we play in the ACC. Of the conference games we play each year, only two of those teams are ever going to be ranked.
What do you think this is, the SEC?
Heh. Speaking of the SEC did you guys see Miss. State vs. Auburn? That was one of the saddest games ever. My best friend watched it live at State, she sat through the whole thing...I think I would have strangled someone.
Nic, you mean that hockey game that was going on last night?
haha...yeah that one.
As a Pac-10/West Coast honk, hats off to Maryland.
Thank god for the Big 10 or the weekend would've been even more disastrous for the Pac-10.
The MWC... the MAC of 4-5 years ago?
Great win but let's not get too carried away with the Acc title being possible. Even if we play like we did today and get Turner to play like this every week (which isn't likely), we still have clemson and Wake Forest, plus an FSU team that is better than people think. Georgia Tech is better under Paul Johnson.
Yes, our league blows. But we lost to MTSU for crying out loud. So while it's a great win, I don't think we will be playing on the first Saturday in December. I hope I am wrong.
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