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Maryland is off Saturday, as you know, but the Terps and their fans have a rooting interest.
If Georgia Tech beats Florida State on Saturday, then the Terps are in sole possession of first place in the ACC's Atlantic Division. But there's a long way to go, relatively speaking.
Lighter than usual blog weekend with the Terps off. They practice Monday, and we'll be there with updates afterward.
In eighth grade, Kenny Tate hadn't eaten enough before leaving for a game. His mom fixed him a couple jelly sandwiches as a pre-game meal.
Next Thursday, before taking the field at Virginia Tech, the Maryland safety will have two jelly sandwiches.
It seems he played well in that middle-school game years ago, and he never wanted to break the routine.
Says Tate: "I usually will make them at the hotel. The jelly is like a little burst of sweet energy."
I knew Fridge paid attention to the officials' calls, but I didn't know until yesterday just how much.
"I grade the officials every week. I'm not sure if that helps me or hurts me," the coach said.
He sends in his thoughts (and video) to Doug Rhodes, the ACC’s coordinator of football officiating. "Last year, I was over 50 percent he agreed with me," Fridge said.
In general, the coach said, "I think our officiating is better this year."
Fridge did think he spotted a hold that wasn't called last Saturday when N.C. State quarterback Russell Wilson seemed to stand in the pocket for an eternity before running. The coach sent that one in.
Fridge also thought Darrius Heyward-Bey had secured the pass in the end zone that would have been a game-winning touchdown against the Wolfpack. "I think it's laying on his chest and the guy yanks it off." It was ruled incomplete.
After losing a couple night games on the road (to Virginia and Middle Tennessee State), Fridge is thinking about tinkering with the pre-game routine.
He wants to make sure his players don't have to spend too much time standing around -- and maybe worrying -- about the game.
"It is true, you do have to wait around awhile," the coach said. He's considering pushing everything back a little -- beginning with the arrival at the hotel -- so there's less downtime.
A typical schedule for a night game looks like this:
* Sleep in at the hotel until 10 a.m., then have a team breakfast.
* Pre-game walkthrough.
* Pre-game meal four hours before the game.
* Arrive at the stadium two hours before the game.
You heard it here first, folks. Maryland says it will allow beer and wine next season in the 64 new Byrd Stadium suites.
I've written a story on this, and feel free to weigh in.
The university had a decision to make even after it decided to permit beer and wine (but not hard liquor) in the suites.
It could have adopted a Virginia Tech-style policy where suite holders can enter the day before the game and stock their suites.
Or it could have opted to restrict alcohol sales to internal caterers -- that's what Maryland did.
Some fans may accuse Maryland of trying to keep all the alcohol business to itself. The university said it went this route -- keeping everything in house -- because it wanted to exert maximum control over the sales.
You be the judge.
Gary Williams insists that we shouldn't read anything into the lineups he put out there for the start of Wednesday's scrimmage -- Eric Hayes, Greivis Vasquez, Sean Mosley, Braxton Dupree and Landon Milbourne on one team; Adrian Bowie, Cliff Tucker, Dino Gregory, Jerome Burney and David Pearman on the other.
"We don't have a starting lineup set,'' Williams said of the first group. "There's no starting lineup in October. I'm trying to get this team better. What you are in October has nothing to do with where you want to be in January. So every day, you're trying different things, you're trying to motivate them different ways. This is a tough time of year for the players. You practice every day and you don't really get the reward of playing like you do once the games start.''
Though he changed things around later on -- switching Gregory for Milbourne during the second period, for instance -- I can definitely see that first group opening the season against Bucknell on Nov. 14. The only differences I can see is if Adrian Bowie plays his way into the first group, and Dupree plays his way back onto the bench.
Williams said he was happy with the way Dupree played on Wednesday. Though I was able to stay for less than half the scrimmage before going out to Navy football practice, the sophomore from Calvert Hall did look a little more active despite getting his shot blocked a couple of times by Burney.
"I thought Braxton did a good job today of staying aggressive,'' Williams said of Dupree, who finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds. "He's gotten himself in much better shape, so that allows him to play longer, harder. He showed a little bit of that today and on Saturday."
It's hard to see through the numbers that were compiled exactly where everybody is, but Milbourne, Hayes and Tucker appear to have taken a step up from last year and Vasquez looks as if he's struggling to get back to where he was last year after undergoing ankle surgery. He also might be having the same problem Hayes did playing off the ball last season.
According to the stats, the Terps shot 48 percent from the floor and 88 percent from the foul line. As a team last season, Maryland shot 46.2 percent from the floor and 70.3 percent from the line. .
Here are the stats from the scrimmage:
Milbourne... 8-18 fg, 2-5 3pt, 6-6 ft, 24 pts, 7 rebs
Dupree... 7-18 fg, 11-12 ft, 25 pts, 12 rebs, 8 o-reb
Hayes... 12-18 fg, 3-7 3pt, 28 pts, 7 asts, 3 t-overs
Mosley... 4-9 fg, 6-6 ft, 14 pts, 5 rebs, 4 stls
Vasquez... 6-14 fg, 4-4 ft... 16 pts, 3 rebs, 2 to, 10 asts, 4 stls
Bowie... 7-13 fg, 16 pts, 6 reb, 2 to, 9 asts
Tucker... 10-15 fg, 6-8 ft, 27 pts, 5 reb, 4 stl
Burney... 3-5 fg... 7 pts, 5 reb, 6 blk
Gregory 2-10 fg... 5-7 ft, 9 pts, 9 reb, 2 blk
Neal... 5-7 fg, 12 pts, 5 rebs.
Williams even admits that he doesn't put complete stock into these scrimmages.
"The thing that's hard and you really don't know until you go against outside competition exactly what you have, because then you can tell your players, you're going to play four or five minutes hard, then someone else is going to come in for you and give you some rest,'' he said. "Each guy has to play basically 40 minutes in this situation. They won't play that many minutes once the season starts."
I was reading about how Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip attended a Terps football game in 1957.
I want to know:
*Did she rent a chair back?
*Did she pet Testudo?
*Was she grumpy about the $15 cash parking?
*Did she sing Rock and Roll, Pt. II?
So what exactly did Fridge tell Obi Egekeze moments before sending him out for last week's game-winning kick against N.C. State?
I asked Obi.
"He's like, 'Obi, you realize within the course of your time here you maybe have kicked 200 of them?' Egekeze said.
"I was like, 'You know what, you’re right.' "
The kick was basically at extra-point length.
Few people in the stadium besides Egekeze knew he had special confidence about bad-weather kicks.
"My career long is 54 in the rain (in high school). That definitely gave me confidence about the ability to kick in the rain," Egekeze said.
Jordan Steffy was listed as questionable for the N.C. State game, so his injured thumb has obviously healed enough that he can grip the football.
But is he the backup quarterback?
Offensive coordinator James Franklin tells me no.
"He doesn't have the strength he normally would," Franklin said. "Could he make the basic throws? Yes."
Franklin says Steffy, a graduate student, brings the intangibles of "poise and veteran leadership."
But if Chris Turner couldn't play "it would probably be (Josh) Portis. And if things weren't going well it would probably be Jordan," Franklin said.
Should this be a concern for the Terps? Maryland has only been on the road three times so far this season. By the time the Virginia Tech game rolls around, it will have been a month since the last away game.
Here's how the Terps have fared on the road:
*A bad game at Middle Tennessee State
*A miserable half at Clemson followed by a gutty performance in the second half.
*The worst showing of the year at Virginia.
By my count, that's five bad halves of football, plus one solid one at Death Valley.
Here's a mitigating factor. The Terps have won five out of six games and appear to be a different team than the one that began the year. There's more obviously at stake today than there was in September.
Offensive coordinator James Franklin says Maryland's experience is a big factor. "It's tough to win on the road in any league and this will be a challenge for us," he said. "But we're a veteran team."
* The Terps have won five of their past six games, but Fridge wants his players to know they haven't accomplished much yet.
"I tried to tell our guys tonight that the only thing we've assured ourselves of is mediocrity. We've got four tough games against four tough teams," the coach said.
* It looks like running back Da'Rel Scott will be questionable for Virginia Tech with the shoulder injury.
* Linebacker Adrian Moten, out since the Eastern Michigan game with an injured wrist, practiced today.
"He wasn’t supposed to hit. He had a green jersey on," Friidge said.
Gary Williams will have his team on display again this afternoon at Comcast Center. The scrimmage, which will be closed to anyone not affiliated with the university or the media, should show how the Terps are progressing as they approach their first outside competition -- a closed scrimmage at Temple on Saturday.
I am hoping to catch part of the scrimmage before heading out to Navy for football practice, and will be curious to see how the big men are coming along. Williams said after last Saturday's scrimmage that the play of sophomores Braxton Dupree and Jerome Burney, and possibly freshman Steve Goins, will be a key part of Maryland's development.
Dupree remains an enigma, As impressed as I was in how he transformed his body during the offseason, losing some 25 pounds, there is still something missing with the former Calvert Hall standout. In terms of certain intangibles such as toughness and heart, Dupree appears to be the opposite of another former Calvert Hall star, Juan Dixon.
Burney plays harder than Dupree, but he still doesn't look like he has much of an offensive game to be a factor. Burney did have some pretty good moments toward the end of last season, against Miami on the road and Clemson at home, to build on. Goins looks like a project who at this stage is no better or worse than former Terp Shane Walker (now at Loyola) was last season.
Williams has a history of developing undersized or overweight big men, from Evers Burns to Obinna Ekezie to Lonny Baxter -- all of them ended up as above-average college players (and in Baxter's case a star) and all played in the NBA for a short time. The same might happen with the current crew, but based on what I saw last week, Williams had better light a fuse under them.
In answer to some of your queries:
If there's a three-way division tie and the combined head-to-head records doesn't settle it, then, yes, the next tie-breaker is division records.
That's good, for the Terps who haven't lost in the division yet (3-0). It's another reason why the Maryland-Florida State game is potentially so big on Nov. 22. That's Maryland next division game. Unlike Maryland, Florida State already has a division loss (to Wake Forest)..
We've been talking on the blog about Byrd Stadium. I compiled a list of all the ACC stadiums so you can see where Maryland rates in terms of stadium age and size.
As you can see, there is a real hierarchy here, with Florida State, Clemson and Miami at the top in terms of capacity. Wake Forest and Duke have the smallest stadiums, and everyone else is in the middle. Remember that Maryland wants to get Byrd up to 60,000 in the future.
Here is a list of ACC football stadiums with capacity and year opened:
Boston College...Alumni Stadium....44,500 (1957)
Clemson...Memorial Stadium...81,500 (1942)
Duke...Wallace Wade Stadium...33,941 (1929)
Florida State...Doak S. Campbell Stadium...82,300 (1950)
Georgia Tech...Bobby Dodd Stadium...55,000 (1913)
Maryland...Byrd Stadium...51,500 (1950)
Miami…Dolphin Stadium…74,916 (1987)
North Carolina…Kenan Stadium…60,000 (1927)
North Carolina State…Carter-Finley Stadium…57,583 (1966)
Virginia…Scott Stadium…61,500 (1931)
Virginia Tech…Lane Stadium…66,233 (1965)
Wake Forest…BB&T Field…31,500 (1968)
I've been asking school officials again why Terps games sometimes end up on ESPNU or ESPN360, where many fans can't see them.
The best answer is that it's really up to the networks. Based on its contract with the conference, ABC/ESPN gets to select the prime Atlantic Coast Conference games. The games that are deemed most interesting usually end up on ABC, followed by ESPN.
Raycom gets a shot at games, too.
But Comcast SportsNet didn't have rights last Saturday to air the Maryland-N.C. State game. The best it could offer was a delayed broadcast the next day.
The problem for the Terps last week is that they were playing a team that was winless in the ACC, so the game wasn't deemed to have widespread appeal (in a relative sense).
Comcast SportsNet did show the Maryland-Middle Tennessee game live in Week 2. But that was an unusual situation in which Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast and Comcast SportsNet collaborated on the broadcast.
As it turned out, that wasn't the best game for Terps fans to have watched.
Maryland is tied at 3-1 with Florida State for the ACC's Atlantic Division lead, with Boston College and Wake Forest one game back.
So what is the tie-breaking procedure?
The first tie-breaker is head-to-head competition. Maryland has already beaten Wake and plays Florida State and Boston College later in the season, so that's all relatively simple.
It's another example of why the Terps' destiny is largely in their own control.
Clemson has three losses and N.C. State has four, so we'll forget about them for the time being. Sorry Tigers and Wolfpack. But thanks for playing our game, and you're welcome to try again next year.
In a three-way tie, the ACC would use head-to-head competition among the teams to eliminate one team. Then it would use head-to-head competition among the remaining two, followed by divisional record.
I'll shut up now.
The last time there was a tie was 2005, when Florida State and Boston College finished with 5-3 conference records. The Seminoles won the division because they had beaten the Eagles during the season.
With Tyrod Taylor and Sean Glennon recovering from high ankle sprains, it's uncertain who will be Virginia Tech's quarterback against the Terps a week from Thursday.
With both questionable, the Terps could face Cory Holt, who is listed as a split end in addition to being the third quarterback.
For that matter, the Terps don't know who the North Carolina quarterback will be when the Tar Heels come to Byrd on Nov. 15.
Injured quarterback T.J. Yates (ankle) has begun throwing but it's uncertain if he'll be ready for Maryland.
Which Terps do you believe are headed to the next level?
I began thinking about this when senior cornerback Kevin Barnes was pronounced out for the season with a fractured shoulder blade. Ralph Friedgen says Barnes will miss the Senior Bowl (since it's in January) but be available for NFL combines.
Before beginning my Terps coverage this season, I knew Darrius Heyward-Bey had pro potential. Now that I've seen him play regularly, I have little doubt. It's not only that he's fast, but that he has Santana Moss-like ability to go up and get the deep ball in traffic. Quite a few of his catches have come on throws that are adequate but less than perfect.
The only mystery with Heyward-Bey is why he goes stretches without seeing the ball. Is it that he has problems getting open? I think it's more a combination of defenses rolling toward him and the Terps simply not being able to deliver him the ball (poor pass protection, errant throws).
Here's my pick for a future NFL talent: Kenny Tate. He's just a freshman and largely unproven. But he's got size, speed, hands and smarts. "He's got it all. He's a freak," Danny Oquendo (who also wants to take an NFL shot) told me recently. The question with Tate is whether he develops at safety or returns to wide receiver.
The Maryland men's basketball team was picked to finish seventh in the ACC during the league's Operation Basketball Media Day in Atlanta Sunday.
Considering some of the dire predictions, including dead last by the Sporting News, that seems to be pretty high.
It also brought to mind something Gary Williams said to me during an interview I had with him a couple of weeks ago in College Park. Williams has long harped on the fact that very few of the Baltimore-Washington media are members of the ACC Sportswriters Association and because of that, the Terps often get shortchanged when it comes to postseason awards.
In this case, it might have actually worked in Maryland's favor. I wasn't in Atlanta, but I doubt that I would have voted Maryland that high.
Here is the outcome of the voting: 1. North Carolina 2-Duke 3-Wake Forest 4-Miami 5-Clemson 6-Virginia Tech 7-Maryland 8-Georgia Tech 9-N.C. State 10-Florida State 11-Boston College 12-Virginia.
Where would you have picked Maryland?
With his 15 tackles on Saturday (six solo, nine assisted), linebacker Alex Wucjiak moves up to a tie for 14th in the nation in tackles.
He's now averaging 10 tackles a game.
Keep in mind that Wujciak was injured last season and redshirted the year before that. So this is really his first season.
Take a look if you can at Darrius Heyward-Bey's "catch" in the end zone that would have been Saturday's game-winning touchdown.
Looks to me like he has possession before the ball is jarred loose.
But here's the thing. Once the call, was made on the field it was hard to reverse because the defender's body appeared to shield a camera angle that would have provided conclusive evidence.
Maryland got in field-goal position on the next play.
Unusual week approaching, with the Virginia Tech game not scheduled until Nov. 6. Sort of like a bye week, but not.
I hear, by the way, that Virginia Tech is the game in which top Maryland donors get bussed down to cheer for the Terps.
Terps will game-plan for the Hokies on Tuesday and Wednesday – no media luncheon Tuesday since there’s no Saturday game.
Coaches will be on the recruiting trail on Friday, which is standard fare for off weekends.
Freshman Davin Meggett becomes more important to Maryland's season again, given that Da'Rel Scott's shoulder injury appears to have been aggravated.
Meggett is nothing if not confident. His remark after his 31-yard catch-and-run put the Terps in range for the winning field goal on Saturday: "I should have scored."
His stats on Saturday: 8 carries for 34 yards and a touchdown.
His best game: Against Cal, he rushed 13 times for 82 yards. That's the only game in which he got double-digit carries.
Fridge repeated again how he's impressed with running back Morgan Green's practice effort lately. Is Green back in favor? The proof will be how much he plays in the next few weeks.
Maryland comes in at No. 25 -- first time ranked since 2006.
Coach Ralph Friedgen said: "I think the rankings are a nice thing, but they really don’t mean anything until the end of the year."
A handful of ACC teams have been in and out of the rankings this season. "I think it's representative of the parity we have in our league," Fridge said.
*Da’Rel Scott, who had 23 carries for 163 yards, appeared to aggravate a shoulder injury suffered in Week 3 against California.
“He’s pretty sore. I’m concerned that he may be back to where he was,” Fridge said today. But no word yet on his status for Virginia Tech. He's got extra time to recover since the game isn't until a week from Thursday.
*Fridge said of linebacker Dave Philistin, who left the game in the first quarter: "“It could be a rotator cuff, it could be a bruise.” The coach said he’ll know more about Philistin’s status after magnetic resonance imaging. Philistin entered the game as Maryland’s second-leading tackler, behind Alex Wujciak.
*Friedgen is hopeful of getting Adrian Moten , who has a wrist injury, back for Virginia Tech.
Here are tidbits. Much of this will appear in my story to be posted later, but I wanted to blog them for you first:
It was the memory of Maryland’s time-consuming, final drive that stuck with coach Ralph Friedgen today.
With the game tied at 24 against N.C. State, the Terps took the ball on their 8 with 4:50 left in the game.
Maryland didn’t surrender the ball until there were 6 seconds left. By then, the Terps had taken a 27-24 lead on a 20-yard Obi Egekeze field goal after driving 89 yards in 15 plays.
“I thought the last drive we really made some big-time plays,” Friedgen said in his weekly media conference call today. “Maybe it’s as good a fight as I’ve seen in our kids all year long.”
The drive wasn’t elegant, but it was effective. It began with six straight rushes – an important statement for the Terps to make about their running game. Friedgen had worried in recent weeks that the running game was inconsistent -- partly the result of ineffective blocking.
The coach said the offensive line “played the best it has so far” in the game.
Virginia Tech lost not one, but two, quarterbacks in its 30-20 loss to Florida State.
Starter Tyrod Taylor -- who Frank Beamer initially planned to redshirt this season but didn't -- left with an ankle injury. And Sean Glennon had to be helped off the field with a leg or ankle injury. He didn't return either.
Too early to tell whether one or both will be out when the Terps travel to Blacksburg on Nov. 6.
Did you notice that...
*Maryland won ths toss and opted to receive to begin the second half. The last game, Fridge said his captains won the toss and made the wrong decision, opting to take the ball. He was determined that they not repeat that mistake.
*Wolfpack quarterback Russell Wilson fooled the Terps with ball fakes, freezing Maryland’s defense was buying him time. He is particularly good at pump-faking one direction and throwinig another. On one play he scrambled across the field, stopped cold and found Jamelle Eugene for a 29-yard completion.
*Da’Rel Scott immediately looked stronger than at anytime since his shoulder was injured in Week 3 against California.
*Maryland's coverage on speedy kick returner T.J. Graham was solid. He had four returns for 73 yards and his longest return was 25 yards. This is the guy who had a 100-yard return against Boston College.
*Travis Baltz pinned the Wolfpack on its 1 with a 54-yard kick in the second quarter. He continues to fare well on net yardage.
*The attendance of 45,018 was not what Fridge had wanted, but the weather was horrid. Lots of no-shows, as might be expected.
An updated game story with quotes is upcoming.
For now, here are some thoughts:
Maryland had to run the ball today because of the rain and wind. So what better game for Da'Rel Scott to re-emerge? He looked like he did in the Delaware and Middle Tennessee State games before injuring his shoulder against Cal.
A concern for the Terps is that Scott left the game holding that shoulder awkwardly. He's been wearing the yellow "no-contact" jersey in practice for weeks, and that may become the norm because he's obviously hurting again.
Once again, Davin Meggett looked great as the replacement. Morgan Green didn't get any carries -- and neither did Josh Portis -- even after Fridge had made a point of saying Green might be called on.
Fridge had soaked the footballs in practice, but he acknowledged that you can't really prepare for a deluge.
"It (the weather) kind of neutralized our passing game as well as theirs," Chris Turner said. "It was a struggle to be honest."
Fridge is hopeful that Dave Philistin only has a bruised shoulder. He left in the first quarter and didn't return.
Most important for Maryland is it won to set up a big game on Nov. 6 at Virginia Tech on ESPN.
Like the Clemson game, this win wasn't elegant but it was a win. More tomorrow.
Linebacker Dave Philistin, second on the team in tackles, has injured his shoulder and is out for the rest of the game.
That's a bad blow for the Terps, who have already lost cornerback Kevin Barnes for the season.
More on Philistin when it becomes available. The game is tied at 24.
Nothing but scoring drives and rain, folks.
No punts yet, which might be a good thing since it's pouring rain and catching long snaps may be an adventure.
N.C. State quarterback Russell Wilson is 7 of 8 for 87 yards and a touchdown. But Maryland's Da'Rel Scott has 56 yards on seven carries and looks like his old self.
Obi Egekeze's career-long 47-yard field goal makes it: Wolfpack 14, Terps 10.
I'm told the reason many fans can't get ESPN360 is because Comcast and ESPN have no agreement to cover it.
ESPN360 does have an agreement with Verizon for its cable customers.
Wolfpack quarterback Russell Wilson was freezing Maryland's defense with ball fakes as N.C. State held the ball for 14 plays (and 7:48) on the game's opening drive to take a 7-0 lead.
The Terps are wearing their red pants with red jerseys and white numbers. The Wolfpack are wearing Maryland-esque red pants with white jerseys.
The game will be aired on tape delay, by the way, at 7:30 p.m. Sunday on Comcast SportsNet.
The rain is coming and going.
Good afternoon, sports fans. It's a beautiful day here at Byrd Stadium. Not really, but at least it's not raining.
Today's game is not televised. It's available -- presumably to some of you, but not to me -- online at ESPN360.com.
I mentioned ESPN360 to a friend this morning and he replied: "You mean ESPN now has 359 other channels!"
Well, not exactly. My understanding is that ESPN360 is available if your Internet service provider signed up. Mine apparently didn't, but that's OK because I'm at the game.
As Gary Williams came off the court at Comcast Center after his team's scrimmage earlier today, the Maryland basketball coach tried to drop kick a ball into the basket from the free-throw line. It was by design, not out of disgust.
Williams was in a pretty relaxed mood, encouraged by what he called his team's "enthusiasm" and not particularly disturbed by some of the weaknesses the Terps showed -- especially in their lack of any inside game besides Landon Milbourne.
Milbourne will likely play power forward since neither Braxton Dupree or Jerome Burney have shown much so far.
"A lot depends on how far our big men will come,'' Williams said.
Based on today's scrimmage, both have a long way to go. It was particularly distressing that Dupree couldn't get much of an offensive game going against senior Dave Neal, a matchup one courtside pundit called "[Dupree's] easiest matchup of the season.''
The biggest positives I saw today came from Milbourne, who looks like he's added a little more of a perimeter game to his athleticism; also from Eric Hayes and Sean Mosley, who already look comfortable playing together. Another bright spot was Dino Gregory, who looks like he's playing with the passion he lacked as a freshman last season.
The negative I saw, aside from Dupree's lack of production, was that Greivis Vasquez doesn't appear to be fully recovered from his ankle surgery over the summer. His lack of burst going to the basket -- not that he was super quick to begin with -- resulted in him forcing some things and getting called on a couple of offensive fouls going to the basket.
There's still about 3 1/2 weeks until the season opener, and I'm hoping that Williams allows the media to see a couple of preseason practices, as he promised at Media Day. If that happens, I will try to update some of these observations without giving away too many state secrets.
Maybe it wasn't such a good idea after all.
The Maryland men's basketball team are holding a scrimmage at Comcast Center, and my first first impressions generally support what most are saying about this year's Terps. It could be a long year.
I know it's very early and Gary Williams has only been working with his team for a week, but it appears as if nobody has made tremendous improvement from last year aside from reserve forward Dino Gregory. (I might have to take that back later since Braxton Dupree just finished two plays at the basket.)
It also looks as if Greivis Vasquez isn't close to 100 percent after summer ankle surgery.
As I said, it's only a week of practice, but Williams only has another three weeks or so to get his team ready. Williams spent a lot of time coming onto the court to give instruction and at times seemed frustrated when his players kept repeating the same mistakes.
What also seemed disturbing was the lack of fans who took advantage of a public workout. The weather might have something to do with it since the tailgating for the N.C State football game could be curtailed, but the negative predictions seem to have diluted any preseason excitement.
I'll post again later in the day after the scrimmage ends if this doesn't run too long. I have to cover the Navy-SMU game in Annapolis.
Four years ago, I wrote a story for The Sun about how an unnamed track and field coach had cooperated with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency in an investigation of an undetectable steroid being used by top athletes.
The coach turned out to be Trevor Graham, who once coached now-disgraced track stars Tim Montgomery and Marion Jones.
Earlier this month, Graham was sentenced to one year of home confinement for making false statements in connection with the BALCO steroids investigation.
I began thinking about all that recently after I noticed that Graham's son, T.J., is a member of the N.C. State team that plays the Terps tomorrow.
Everyone should have the opportunity to write their own story, and T.J. is writing his. He has already set a Wolfpack record for kickoff return yardage.
The younger Graham ran track in high school, and was sometimes dogged by what the Raleigh News & Observer called in 2007 the "cloud of suspicion that surrounds his father."
The paper quoted T.J., then still in high school, saying: "Even when I'm running fast now, people have the nerve to say something about some steroids."
One of Bobby Cremins' favorite players -- and one of mine -- is being inducted into the University of Maryland athletic department Hall of Fame tonight.
Keith Booth, whose No. 22 jersey hangs from the rafters at Comcast Center, was one of the most important recruits in Gary Williams' 20 seasons when he came to College Park from Baltimore's Dunbar High School in 1993.
Booth got overshadowed his first two seasons by Joe Smith, but Booth was an important part of those back-to-back Sweet 16 teams. When Smith left early for the NBA after their sophomore year, Booth became the unquestioned leader of two more NCAA tournament teams.
It was Cremins, in his broken Bronx dialect, who said, "Keet Boot, he's one of my favorite playas.''
Undersized at power forward, Booth made a career of going to the foul line (a school-record 576 free throws), willed himself into an All-American and became a first-round draft choice of the NBA champion Chicago Bulls. The only thing he lacked - a perimeter game -- cut short his NBA career, but his beloved status back in College Park made him a natural when Williams was looking for an assistant coach a few years ago.
Booth is now transitioning into that career, and he played a major role in getting St. Frances standout Sean Mosley to become a Terp.
When he was introduced to the crowd for the alumni game at Maryland Madness last week, the familiar "Booooootthhhhhh" rang out in the arena. I have a lot of memories of Booth from his Maryland days, including his battles with his first-cousin, Donta Bright, when the Terps plays UMass four times over three years.
How about you? What are your memories of Booth?
Maryland will apply to make this a redshirt season for linebacker-defensive back Dominique Herald, who saw limited time on special teams.
Herald, a favorite of Terps coach Ralph Friedgen on special teams, tore his anterior cruciate ligament against Eastern Michigan, finishing his season.
It will be some time before the team learns whether the redshirt request will be approved.
A lot of readers have been asking about running back Morgan Green, who at one time seemed poised to share the load with Da’Rel Scott.
Funny you should ask. Terps coach Ralph Friedgen says Green "had his old burst back. I thought he had his best week of practice since camp."
And is he in the mix for the N.C. State game?
"I think he's increased his chances of getting in right now," the coach says.
Green has been plagued by leg injuries.
His season numbers: 14 carries for 40 yards and two touchdowns in four games played.
It was crisp and clear during Maryland's practice yesterday.
Anticipating rain on Saturday, Fridge soaked some of the footballs and made sure snappers and punters got accustomed to handling them.
He also told offensive coordinator James Franklin to emphasize running plays when the Terps do their final walkthroughs in preparation for N.C. State.
Short of soaking the field (like in Bull Durham), I guess that's about the best he could do.
Here is the injury report provided by Maryland's media relations department. Note that quarterback Jordan Steffy, out since Week 1, is now listed as questionable.
Out for season:
Kevin Barnes (shoulder)
Tyler Bowen (leg)
Kevin Dorsey (foot)
Dominique Herald (knee)
Paul Lariviere (knee)
Ben Pooler (knee)
Richard Taylor (knee)
Joe Vellano (shoulder)
Out:
Louis Berman (leg)
Matt Furstenburg (leg)
Stephen Hargett (leg)
Adrian Moten (arm)
Stephen St. John (arm)
Questionable:
Jordan Steffy (hand)
Terps head coach Ralph Friedgen confirmed what everyone suspected -- senior cornerback Kevin Barnes is out for the season.
He suffered what has been diagnosed as a shoulder-blade fracture and will require surgery. The coach said Barnes, who suffered the injury against Wake Forest, is looking at a rehab period of five or six months.
“You would think the shoulder pads should have protected it. It’s just one of those things, I guess,” Fridge said.
The coach said he had withheld declaring Barnes out for the year until the player -- whose hit on California running back Jahvid Best last month has been one of the highlights of the season -- got final word.
Friedgen said Barnes, who has been invited to stay with the team in its hotel before Saturday’s game, will miss the Senior Bowl but should be available for combines. The coach said NFL scouts can learn all they need to know about Barnes by watching film.
Those who didn't get a chance to attend last Friday's Maryland Madness, and even those who did, can get a better look at this year's men's team Saturday at Comcast Center. The Terps will hold their first preseason scrimmage beginning at 12:15 p.m.
I think the most intriguing matchup will be between the team's two true point guards, Eric Hayes and Adrian Bowie.
After drawing comparisons to Steve Blake as a freshman, Hayes was moved off the ball as a sophomore and struggled with his consistency most of the season. It didn't help that he sustained a high ankle sprain in early January and never fully recovered.
Hayes' injury opened the door for Bowie to get minutes. Though inconsistent himself, Bowie looks as if he has improved his shooting range. For him to take over at the point this year, Bowie will have to be more reliable with the ball.
Having not seen the team practice yet, I would give the edge to Hayes since Gary Williams always seems to be loyal to his upperclassmen. But Bowie's athleticism and his short bursts of dominance might put him over the top.
Who would you like to see start at point guard this season?
OK, everyone. We're going to set the bar high and see if someone can hit the score right on the head.
Not that this team is easy to forecast.
I'm going to pick the Terps but have a slightly edgy feeling about it. N.C. State quarterback Russell Wilson is mobile enough to makes things happen when the pocket breaks down, and he's got a dangerous receiver in Owen Spencer. Another receiver, T.J. Graham, took a kick back 100 yards against Boston College. Plus, there's the possibility of rain and wind as an equalizer.
But I'm going to pick the Terps to win in a closer-than-expected game in which they overcome that "letdown thing" that can plague them. I'll get back to you with a score.
Coaches are doing what they can to prepare replacements for defensive back Kevin Barnes, whose injured shoulder will keep him out of action Saturday and perhaps much longer.
"Somebody has to be Kevin," defensive coordinator Chris Cosh says of the senior cornerback.
But Fridge won't say yet if Barnes is done for the season. "We’ll just have to see how he is," the coach said after yesterday's practice.
Plenty of Terps are talking politics these days. Quarterback Chris Turner, a government and politics major, says he recently mailed his absentee ballot back to California.
One Terp with a unique perspective is defensive back Michael Carter, from Windsor, Ontario in Canada.
"He's trying to convince me on the health care system," Fridge said of Carter. Canada, of course, has publicly-funded health care.
Carter may understand health care, but the coach says the sophomore "has got a long way to go to be a really good defensive back."
Coach Friedgen speaks often of the contributions he gets from walk-ons. Quite a few of them have distinguished themselves.
I find myself rooting for walk-ons, who often face long odds to play in Division I programs that have invested heavily in scholarship players' success.
I still remember last year's Maryland holder, Matt Goldberg, telling me: "It seems like you have to fight every semester for that spot. Whereas somebody on scholarship just has to maintain, you start out every camp on the bottom of the depth chart."
Maryland's original walk-ons -- some have since been awarded scholarships -- include Moise Fokou, Dean Muhtadi, Bemi Otulaja, Paul Pinegar, Drew Robinson and Andrew Gonnella.
"I don't know where we'd be without them," Fridge says.
Michael: Why is it that Ralph Friedgen can motivate the team to play really well in the big games, but have the same team come out so flat in the games they should win?
Jeff Barker: The scary truth is -- please hide the children while I respond because the answer is so alarming -- Friedgen doesn’t really know. Neither do the other coaches.
I’ve never seen a coach look as flummoxed as Friedgen did after the 31-0 loss to Virginia. He had been forceful in the locker room before the game, but his players didn’t respond.
Whatever the reason, Friedgen is hopeful that his seniors have addressed it by calling a series of team meetings to instill a greater sense of urgency, particularly in the younger players. The coach had really wanted his players to be more forceful.
Matthew: Wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey finally had a breakout day against Wake Forest. Did the staff make a conscious effort to get him more involved in the offense?
Jeff Barker: Coaches insist they always try to get Heyward-Bey heavily involved. What changed in the Wake game, they said, were two things:
* Quarterback Chris Turner was on his game from the opening drive. The more confident Turner is, the easier it becomes for Maryland to execute its plans for Heyward-Bey because the quarterback can deliver the ball at the right time.
* Wake Forest was in a soft zone and Maryland attacked by throwing underneath. Remember those receiver screens and short passes? That was the Terps taking what the defense was giving them.
Gordon: Why put in Josh Portis for only one play -- an obvious running play -- two or three times a game?
Jeff Barker: Coaches say it’s not an obvious running play, although it sure looks that way sometimes from the press box. They say Portis usually has several options on those plays. But he doesn’t seem to be exercising them, does he?
My take on this is that Maryland really wants to play Portis more (and they want him to throw occasionally), but the coaches still aren’t quite comfortable with how he’s reading and calling the game.
Allan: When I graduated from Maryland in 1966, we had the usual mediocre football team, but one of the larger stadiums in the Atlantic Coast Conference. We now have our usual mediocre football team with one of the smallest stadiums in the ACC. Byrd was nice in the '40s and '50s, but now it seems to turn off the mediocre recruits that are left on the table for us. What are your thoughts?
Jeff Barker: You’re right that a larger, upgraded stadium is important for recruiting. I got the sense that Fridge was a little anxious about this when I asked him about the ongoing Byrd renovations and he replied that "we're one of the last [in the ACC] to get going here.”
Maryland is eager to expand Tyser Tower with its 64 suites and to add 8,000 seats to the west end zone. But it’s also looking forward to expanding and modernizing the locker room to impress young recruits. The reality, however, is that the stadium will still look small compared to some.
Charles: I'm overseas in the military and a die-hard Terps fan. My question is do you think the Terps can beat Virginia Tech and Boston College?
Maryland is good enough to beat Virginia Tech and Boston College, even on the road. The Terps have beaten five straight nationally ranked teams (Rutgers, Boston College, California, Clemson and Wake Forest) over the last two seasons.
Boston College is ranked No. 23 in the latest AP poll and Virginia Tech is in the “others receiving votes” category.
But the Terps better focus on N.C. State first. The Wolfpack has some dangerous players, and we all know Maryland can get in trouble against “lesser” foes.
Terps coach Ralph Friedgen said today that ACC coaches had discussed the possibility during spring meetings of adding a ninth conference game to the schedule and dropping one of the four non-conference games.
But the coach said the proposal was unpopular. ACC coaches like the flexibility of scheduling winnable non-conference opponents so they get enough wins to be bowl-eligible.
"Coaches were not for that because it would knock a lot of us out of bowl games," Friedgen said.
Fridge also spoke in his media call today about how his seniors are largely responsible for the team's turnaround that led to the win over Wake Forest.
"Our seniors were very important in our change of attitude. They were the ones that called the meeting after the Virginia game," he said.
Fridge wouldn't discuss Kevin Barnes' injury other than to say that the defensive back is out this week. Coaches are acting as if he'll be out indefinitely, but Friedgen won't say one way or the other.
N.C. State lost to Boston College in the final minute, then blew a 17-13 fourth-quarter lead to Florida State and lost to the Seminoles.
Wolfpack coach Tom O’Brien said today his goal to hang around against Maryland on Saturday, and then steal one.
“We’re going to have to be solid in all phases of the game to have a chance to be in it in the fourth quarter, which is where we want to be,” O’Brien said. “If we continue to play smart, we’re going to get one of these games at the end.”
The Terps will be watching out for freshman T.J. Graham, who returned a kickoff 100 yards against Boston College. After seven games, the wide receiver has already set a Wolfpack record for kick-return yardage.
Coaches say offensive lineman Dane Randolph was banged up Saturday (ankle), and that's why he wasn't in the mix. I know some fans had wondered about him.
The coaches didn't specify the seriousness of the injury. I don't think it's bad enough to land him on this week's injury report, but we'll see on Thursday.
P.S. -- Thanks for all the input on the stadium. I will talk to athletic department officials more about some of the issues raised.
Da'Rel Scott says his three fumbles Saturday were an aberration.
"I think it was just a fluke," the running back said. "The team kept me up, that’s how I got through the second half."
All the fumbles were in the first half.
Asked about his injured shoulder, Scott replied: "I'm getting really close to 100 percent now."
He said the bye week helped him get his legs back. The shoulder was injured during the Cal game on Sept. 13.
Quarterback Chris Turner spends countless minutes during games talking to offensive coordinator James Franklin on the headset. Franklin watches games from the box where he can see plays unfold.
Here's the thing: Franklin is known for being extremely animated -- for punching a drawing board to the floor during halftime of the Cal game.
But on the headset, Franklin is as sedate as an airplane pilot. He doesn't want his quarterback getting too high or low during the game.
"Sometimes I go to the phone and I expect him to rip me and then I feel a lot better [when he doesn't]," Turner said.
"During the game, he is so different. You wouldn't believe it was him on the phone. He's very, very calm. He yelled at me once all year."
The yelling came during the second half of the Clemson game after Turner made what he said was a "stupid mistake."
Turner said Franklin apologized after the game for the outburst and said it wouldn't happen again.
With Nolan Carroll healthy, it looked like Maryland's injury-depleted secondary might be approaching full strength.
But then Kevin Barnes went down Saturday with an injured shoulder, and now Maryland coaches are back to looking at ways to fill holes.
One stopgap measure is for strong safety Jamari McCullough to fill in at corner.
"I've got to get used to being comfortable on the island again instead of having everything in front of me," McCullough said.
Coaches -- who act like Barnes is not coming back anytime soon, if at all -- are also looking at using some untested players such as redshirt freshman Trenton Hughes and true freshman Cameron Chism on Saturday.
"It's like when one guy comes back, the other guy goes down. We’re going to miss Kevin for sure," said secondary coach Kevin Lempa.
Lempa said of Barnes: "He's been calling out plays before they happen. He knows opponents. Remember that reverse pass earlier in the year? He's calling that out before it happens."
Lempa said Chism "is in the mix, more in the dime package."
Defensive coordinator Chris Cosh said of Chism: "Sure, he's one of the guys we're looking to step forward. Trenton Hughes is another one."
Cosh says Chism is talented and a little raw. "What he does is he makes the big plays, but he doesn't always make the simple one. He's learning."
Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen discusses the Terps' game against North Carolina State on Saturday.
Here's the word from Fridge at today's media luncheon:
* There's going to be some shuffling in the secondary. Kevin Barnes is definitely out for the N.C. State game with a shoulder injury. The coach was reluctant to speculate yet on a long-term prognosis. The Terps got cornerback Nolan Carroll back last Saturday.
The injury means more practice work for strong safety Jamari McCullough at cornerback, Fridge said.
* Fridge talked about the Wolfpack ("Over the years this has been a very tough game") and said this is another big game -- aren't they all now?
"If we want to keep pace in the ACC, we have to win this game," the coach said.
Here's your chance to vent. As you know, Maryland is in the midst of a multiyear renovation at Byrd Stadium that is to include:
-- Tyser Tower, with its 64 suites.
-- Adding about 8,000 seats to the west end zone in a later phase, bringing stadium capacity to about 60,000.
-- Lowering the field, putting in FieldTurf, upgrading the locker room.
Chris mentioned the limited space alloted per seat. What else needs to be changed/revamped/added to improve the fan experience at Byrd?
This is a time when a lot of ACC stadiums have been upgraded, and Maryland knows it must keep pace. Lots of competition for the sports dollar in these parts, as you know.
Note to FredTerp: You got me. I was unintentionally charitable to Da'Rel Scott, who did fumble three times (not two) on Saturday.
N.C. State hasn't won in the ACC this season, but the Wolfpack are becoming more dangerous. Credit quarterback Russell Wilson.
Wilson, who won the starting job over incumbent Daniel Evans, was knocked out of the season opener against South Carolina with a concussion, but he has returned to post some good numbers.
Most impressive is this: he has thrown only one interception in 115 passes. Not bad for a redshirt freshman.
His numbers the past two games:
* 19 of 33 for 218 yards and a touchdown against Boston College.
* 13 of 25 for 181 yards and two touchdowns against Florida State.
Wilson is still young. But he's mobile (96 net rushing yards). And he's developed some chemistry with wide receiver Owen Spencer (20 catches for 405 yards and two touchdowns).
Da'Rel Scott fumbled twice against Wake Forest, losing one. But the running back also had 73 yards on 18 carries. That's the most he's gained since the California game and it followed outings of 39 and 36 yards in the two prior games.
Let me know what you think of Scott, who is so important to this offense. My sense is he hasn't been quite the same since his shoulder was slammed to the turf against Cal, causing him to miss the Eastern Michigan game.
He's been wearing a yellow jersey during practices so teammates know he's "no contact." The Wake Forest game definitely represented progress, though.
It's hard to tell sometimes from the press box, but he looks about 80 percent to me. This is a guy, remember, who had 197 and 123 yards, respectively, in his first two games before the injury. I'll feel like he's completely back when he breaks one like he did for 63 yards against Middle Tennessee State in Week 2. His longest run Saturday was seven yards.
One thing about Scott is that he's becoming more of a team leader. He acts and feels more like a Terp.
"Da’Rel was going nuts in the locker room," Fridge said after the Wake game. "He was up there screaming. I've never seen him like that."
Scott, by the way, has a photo attached to his locker of him next to Cole Grey Sterry, 7, of West Friendship. Cole, a cancer patient at John Hopkins Hospital, was invited to practice with the Terps last month and Scott seemed to bond with the boy.
Of course, Maryland athletic officials always want Terps fans to be excited about the team. But this season, the university REALLY wants fans to be enthusiastic because the upcoming stadium upgrades are sitting there like a shiny new car in a showroom waiting for buyers.
As the season began, the university had sold 28 of the 64 suites that will be part of the newly renovated Tyser Tower. Fans will want to buy more than popcorn if they like the product on the field.
Maryland is like a baseball player with one more season before becoming a free agent who needs to impress everyone to improve his marketability. I'm sure the economy isn't helping Maryland right now.
Perhaps the Terps will be as fortunate as Wake Forest, which began offering roughly 1,000 new premium seats and suites in its tower two seasons ago -- just as the Demon Deacons were having their best season in years.
I remember asking Wake athletic director Ron Wellman about that fortuitous bit of timing.
"I wish I could say I was the great prognosticator and knew our football team would have nine wins just as this [stadium upgrade] was happening," Wellman said. "But I don't think anybody knew."
Fridge knows all about selling suites, but he also knows how his players need all the home-field advantage they can get in the season's second half.
Hey, Maryland's invitation to the Top 25 must have gotten lost in the mail. Just kidding.
For all of you who said those losses to Virginia and Middle Tennessee would keep the Terps out of AP's national rankings ... you were right.
But the Terps did get 10 votes, tying them with Kentucky for sixth in the "others receiving votes" category.
We all know that loss to Virginia cost Maryland its shot for a national ranking this week.
Interesting that Fridge made a point after the Wake game of expressing his disappointment about the home crowd -- about 5,000 shy of capacity.
He said Terps will need more support the rest of the way. Three of the final five games are at Byrd.
His statements were unprovoked -- not in answer to a reporter's question -- so it must have really been on his mind.
I asked him about it again Sunday and he said: "To me, there were a lot of empty seats in the upper deck. You're playing a highly-ranked team and you’re 4-2. Right now we’re tied for the lead in our division. I'm hoping our fans will come out and support us and make it a home-field advantage."
Ralph Friedgen said today he's hopeful the letdowns evident in previous games (Virginia, Middle Tennessee) are over.
He said that the longer the season goes, the easier it is for his older players to visualize their ultimate goal of an ACC title and to appreciate that their careers won't last forever.
Asked why his team had played so much better Saturday than in the 31-0 Virginia loss, Friedgen replied: “Maybe the time to reflect on it and the fact that the season was going by them -- the halfway mark. They were very disappointed how they played against Virginia."
Other notes:
• Cornerback Kevin Barnes will undergo magnetic resonance imaging on his injured shoulder tomorrow.
• Adrian Moten, out with an injured wrist, could return for the Virginia Tech game on Nov. 6. He has been valuable as an outside linebacker and as a pass rusher.
• Friedgen said he never lost faith in running back Da’Rel Scott despite two fumbles (one lost). The coach said he told Scott: “I’m not going to stop giving you the ball.”
Maryland said after the Wake game that it was the only school in the nation to beat three ranked teams this season.
You think that qualifies the Terps to crack the top 25 themselves?
Hard to imagine a school with three such quality wins not making the rankings. But it's also hard to imagine a season like this one in which that same school (i.e., Maryland) has stumbled so badly on the road twice.
Give Chris Turner credit for honesty after the Wake Forest win.
"Even I don’t know how were going to show up on Satrurday," the quarterback said of Maryland. "It does seem we rise to the occasion."
Some more Turner thoughts:
--He was dazzled by Danny Oquendo's moves ("It was all Danny") on the receiver's 50-yard touchdown.
--He knew the running game would be secondary. "What we saw was that they were pretty good against the run. We to find out another way to move the ball."
--He hoped and expected a big game by Darrius Heyward-Bey. "We knew coming into the game we had to get him the ball. He's our biggest playmaker on offense," Turner said.
Darrius Heyward-Bey says he didn’t mind not getting the ball much until yesterday.
“In every game, I go in thinking the first ball is coming to me,” he said after his 11 catches against Wake.
“It’s only frustrating when you lose. When you lose, everything is frustrating. Your girlfriend’s frustrating.”
Interesting to note the junior’s response when asked whether he might leave Maryland early for the NFL.
“No, I don’t think about it at all. All I can control is going out until the season is over. I’m happy to be a Terp,” he said.
Give the Terps credit for surprising Wake Forest. Wake didn’t expect Chris Turner to throw 41 passes, the most he’s tossed in a game since high school.
Said offensive coordinator James Franklin of Turner: “He’s probably had four or five games in a row where he’s played pretty well.”
The Terps improved their running game -- Fridge said he only spotted a few missed run-blocking assignments from the sideline.
But it was the short passing game underneath the soft zone that did the trick.
Alphonso Smith, Wake’s top cornerback, began following around Darrius Heyward-Bey after the first quarter, rotating to the receiver’s side of the field. But Heyward-Bey had already done much of his damage by then.
On defense, the Terps applied pressure (from the front and the linebackers) and forced Wake quarterback Riley Skinner into 14 of 30 for 127 yards. It was only the second time in his career he completed under 50 percent of his passes.
Terps head coach Ralph Friedgen says he's a perfectionist, but that the 26-0 win over Wake "is by far the best we've played all year."
"We finally put a full game together," the coach said.
The only negative for the Terps was the injury to cornerback Kevin Barnes, who will undergo an MRI.
Analysis and game story upcoming.
Meanwhile, did you notice...
* The Terps didn’t sit on the ball from their own territory with 1:03 left in the half and a 10-0 lead. They played it aggressively and got a field goal with four seconds on the clock to extend their lead to 13-0.
* Receiver-turned-safety Kenny Tate finally got a ball in his hands when he jumped a route in the second quarter. But the freshman couldn’t hang on.
* Chris Turner, not known for mobility, stepped up in the pocket to avoid pressure and hit Cory Jackson for 29 yards in the third quarter to Wake's 24-yard line. The completion led to a Maryland field goal. Turner threw more passes than in any game since high school and was effective.
* How pleased the Terps must have been to have cornerback Nolan Carroll healthy again, particularly after Barnes went out with an injured shoulder in the first half.
* The field-goal attempt, which was once a liability for the Terps (0-5 to start the season) is a weapon again.
* Wake's offense seemed a little off, but much of it was due to pressure from the Terps. Their problems were epitomized by quarterback Riley Skinner overthrowing a wide-open Marshall Williams beyond the Terps defense in the waning moments of the third quarter.
* Just when it seemed the Josh Portis experiment was over, the quarterback ran his first play of the game in the third period and scrambled for five yards. He returned and played a series in the fourth.
* Wake tried to spread out the Terps with occasional five-receiver sets and had limited success.
Word from the press box is that Terps cornerback Kevin Barnes is out for the second half with a shoulder injury.
Darrius Heyward-Bey has seven catches -- a career high already -- for 81 yards.
Da'Rel Scott has fumbled twice and has been replaced on several series by Davin Meggett, who has three carries for 28 yards. The injured shoulder may be bothering Scott.
Wake starting cornerback Brandon Ghee is injured and won't be back, at least not in the first half.
Ask Baltimore Sun reporter Jeff Barker a question about the Maryland-Wake Forest game or other Terps football-related topics. Questions can be submitted as blog comments below. Answers will be published later this week on baltimoresun.com. Please include your name, city and state with your question.
In the first several minutes, the Terps tried to get the ball to Darrius-Heyward Bey four times and he caught three, including the touchdown on a tailback option pass from Da'Rel Scott.
He's been the forgotten man in the Maryland offense the past two games.
Ace field goal kicker Sam Swank isn't warming up for Wake Forest. The Demons Deacons insist it's still a game-time decision. But Swank, who has has a quad injury, sure isn't moving around a lot.
Another note on Maryland's black jerseys: They last wore them against West Virginia on Sept. 13, 2007.
The Terrapins are wearing their black jerseys today, and why not? Maryland likes to break out the black in big games, and this certainly qualifies.
We all remember how the black jerseys gave the Terps a lift against Virginia a few years ago. Whatever works, folks. You look for motivation where you can get it.
The Maryland basketball team will have its own version of "Terrapins Rising" during the preseason, but the folks putting it together have decided to let the name of the show evolve "organically," as Maryland athletic department spokesman Doug Dull put it on Media Day Thursday in College Park.
Is that organic or orgasmic?
"Depends on how exciting the preseason is,'' Dull said today.
The show will follow Gary Williams and his team, beginning with tonight's Maryland Madness event at Comcast Center and conclude with the first preseason game Nov. 8 against Northwood College.
Do you have any ideas for a title? (keep it clean).
As for tonight's festivities, doors open at 6:30 and tickets are free. There will be a Gary Williams look-a-like contest at 7:20, an alumni game at 7:50, introductions for the teams and then scrimmages for both the men and women's team between 9 and 10.
Here's the deal. I really wanted to pick Maryland.
It's not because I'm a homer. I'm not. Objectivity is like a no-hitter. Once it's gone, it's not coming back.
No, I wanted to pick the Terps because I'm a contrarian at heart. Wake is the favorite (though not by much) and I think Maryland can win. We all know Maryland tends to get up for top opponents. The Terps have extra incentive coming off that embarrassing Virginia loss and playing at home.
But I'm having trouble getting past Wake's defense. It's really good. Terps fans want to be assured by Fridge's comments that running back Da'Rel Scott has that "burst" back even though his injured shoulder still isn't 100 percent. Fridge hopes the run blocking will improve enough to allow Scott some daylight.
But I guess I need to see it with my own eyes. Without a good running game, the Terps will face third-and-longs and will be eaten up. So I'll pick Wake in a close one with the full knowledge that picking the Terps this year is a pretty futile exercise.
This is what senior wide receiver Danny Oquendo remembers about Wake Forest. It’s defensive back Alphonso Smith returning an interception 100 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter of Wake’s 31-24 overtime victory last season.
“I was on the other side of the field,” Oquendo said. “I got in front of him on the five, but he cut it back on me.”
Oquendo hopes something will happen Saturday so that particular image will recede.
He said the Terps are ready for the season’s second half. “We’re in control of our own destiny,” he said.
Here's a scary stat from last week's Wake Forest-Clemson game. The Demon Deacons held the Tigers to 2-for-14 on third down conversions.
That stat didn't trouble Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen too much. He said the Terps have been pretty successful converting third downs this season.
"We're close to 50 percent on third and medium," Fridge said. "And 38 percent on third and long."
But Maryland knows the Terps need to avoid third and longs that Wake relishes. "Then we're in trouble," offensive coordinator James Franklin said.
Here are reports, courtesy of Maryland media relations, on injuries and on the closed portion of yesterday's practice.
On the injury front, Terps hope to have several defensive players on Saturday-- Mack Frost, Nolan Carroll, Travis Ivey -- who have either been out with injuries or battling through them.
Maryland Injury Report – (Wake Forest game)
Out for Season:
Kevin Dorsey (foot)
Dominique Herald (knee)
Paul Lariviere (knee)
Ben Pooler (knee)
Richard Taylor (knee)
Joe Vellano (shoulder)
Out:
Louis Berman (leg)
Tyler Bowen (leg)
Matt Furstenburg (leg)
Stephen Hargett (leg)
Adrian Moten (arm)
Stephen St. John (arm)
Doubtful
Jordan Steffy (hand)
-----------------------
And here is the report from the athletic department on yesterday's preparations for Wake Forest:
The two-minute drill portion of practice saw the Terps offense successfully execute two hurry-up drives. Quarterback Chris Turner connected with tight end Lansford Watson for a 20-yard completion to set up a field goal on the first drive. The second saw fellow tight end Tommy Galt make four receptions, including an acrobatic one-handed grab on a pass from signal-caller Josh Portis to move the chains in a drive which ended in a missed 45-yard field goal.
Following Thursday’s practice, Friedgen announced the captains for Saturday’s game. Offensive lineman Scott Burley, defensive lineman Jeremy Navarre and linebacker Moise Fokou will represent the Terps offensive, defense and special teams’ units, respectively.
"Optimistic" is probably overstating it, but Fridge seems upbeat heading into Saturday's game.
He said the team has had two good weeks of practice and that he sees an "energy" that hasn't always been present.
"I've kind of made an effort to get with them and make practice fun for them," he said. That means some joking around, along with all the work. "I'll do what I have to do."
Of course, the coach isn't making any predictions about how the Terps will fare against Wake. But he did say a Maryland win "puts us in a tie for first place."
Fridge was joking yesterday about his unusual choice of flag bearer for Saturday’s game.
We told you yesterday that he picked walk-on Arnold Davies, who is academically ineligible, to carry the Maryland flag onto the field.
Fridge wants to salute the player for his work in practice, where Davies loves to hit and to just “play football,” the coach said.
Fridge joked that Davies’ intensity might be a detriment while carrying the flag.
“He might run right through the student section. He could be dangerous,” the coach said.
When describing Davies, the coach mistakenly called his flag bearers "pall bearers." He quickly corrected his error.
The big news out of Maryland's media day today was that Gary Williams plans on switching Eric Hayes back to point guard.
As a freshman, many compared Hayes to Steve Blake. As a sophomore, Hayes struggled with trying to play off the ball, as well as an ankle injury early in January that slowed him down the rest of the season.
On paper, it seems like the right move to make, with Hayes sharing the point with sophomore Adrian Bowie. But the problem will continue to be convincing Greivis Vasquez to give up the ball, considering that he led the team in scoring and the ACC in assists last season while playing point guard.
Listening to Vasquez during the team's media day, he seems to understand the necessity of such a move, but I'm not sure he's totally buying into it -- yet.
"It's going to help the team," Vasquez said. "We're going to still alternate. We'll see how the rotation is going to be. I will give the team more scoring playing the two or the three than being the point. I was able to score 17 points a game playing the point. It's going to help my game in a way. He's going to be the main point guard, but if I get the ball I can go with the ball. If the big guy gets the rebound and outlets it to me, he'll be the two-guard.''
It sounds like Williams has some convincing to do during the month or so of the preseason.
Stay tuned.
Head coach Ralph Friedgen seemed upbeat about the Terps' running game after practice today.
Maybe it’s because the coach believes the bye week has helped Da’Rel Scott, whose shoulder has been sore ever since he was slammed to the turf against California a month ago. Scott wears a yellow jersey in practice, so the defense knows to avoid contact.
“Da’Rel has run very well [in practice],” the coach said. “He just hasn’t been hit in two weeks. He has that burst again.”
Doctors have said it would take three or four weeks of no contact for Scott to be at 100 percent.
The redshirt sophomore netted 39 yards against Clemson and 36 against Virginia.
Fridge also said today: "There's an energy within the team that I like."
And...
The evolving offensive line depth chart now has Paul Pinegar behind Bruce Campbell at left tackle and Dane Randolph backing up Scott Burley on the right side.
Each game, Fridge has assigned different Terps to carry the Maryland state flag and the American flag onto the field.
Saturday's pick to carry the Maryland flag is Arnold Davies, a senior walk-on from Silver Spring who is academically ineligible.
Davies, a transfer from Delaware State, hasn't played in a game in his Terps career. But Friedgen said he wanted to salute Davies for his work in practice.
It's hard to think about college basketball when it's 80 degrees outside -- just ask folks in Miami -- but Gary Williams is about to start his 20th season at Maryland.
The Terps will hold Media Day this afternoon at Comcast Center, and they will have Maryland Madness tomorrow night. (Thankfully, they are starting around 7:30 and will be done by 10.)
I definitely have mixed feelings about what to expect.
The realist in me says it's going to be a long winter in College Park, sort of an extension of the start and finish to last season. The Terps are going to have a tough time replacing James Gist's production (on most nights) and Bambale Osby's toughness (on most nights) and they have only one proven scorer in Greivis Vasquez.
The historian in me says that Williams is always at his best when things appear to be at their worst. Remember when Walt Williams broke his leg and the Terps figured out how to score -- and win -- with the likes of Vince Broadnax? Remember when they lost five of six ACC games in 2000-01 before landing in the school's first Final Four?
I know that I can't wait to see how freshman Sean Mosley looks -- and plays -- in a Maryland uniform. I am curious to see if the rumors I'm hearing about Braxton Dupree being in shape are true. I wonder if Vasquez is going to be the point guard again, if Eric Hayes regains his confidence, if Adrian Bowie builds on some strong performances as a freshman, if Landon Milbourne and Cliff Tucker have turned their athleticism into solid all-around games.
What are you wondering about, and what, if anything, are you looking forward to seeing happen with the Terps this season?
College football coaches are known for making fanciful promises to recruits.
Fridge said this week that he won't do that.
"The one thing I tell them is I will give them an opportunity to play," the coach said. "I don’t ever guarantee a guy is going to play. Most of these kids that are highly recruited really believe they can come right in here and play."
Of course, a few Terps do play right away -- such as Jared Gaither and Stephon Heyer. But those guys are in the NFL now.
If the Terps can improve their blocking, you would think their offense should be improving as the season progresses. The longer the season goes, the longer the players have to grow accustomed to James Franklin’s read-and-react offense – and to each other.
It’s an offense in which the receivers can have as many as three different route options on a play, depending on what the defense is doing.
Here’s an example from receiver Torrey Smith:
“Eastern Michigan was my first big catch – 44 yards. It was supposed to be a deep post. But I was getting pressed so I changed it to a ‘go’ route,” Smith said.
Those sorts of adjustments should be more routine now than during the early season. But the offensive line has struggled, and the Terps haven’t been running the ball well. That makes it easier for defenses to lay back to guard against Chris Turner's passes.
Maryland's next opponent, Wake Forest, is a top defensive team.
It's interesting to note the parallels between Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen and Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe.
Both are in their eighth season, and both have taken their teams to the Orange Bowl. Both played in the ACC (Friedgen for Maryland, Grobe for Virginia). Both are in markets in which their programs can be overshadowed -- Maryland by the Redskins and Ravens and Wake by the larger North Carolina schools.
But here's a critical distinction:
Fridge won the ACC in his first season (2001) and his team played in the Orange Bowl. He led to the Terps to the Peach Bowl and the Gator Bowl in the next few years, then endured consecutive 5-6 seasons.
Grobe's career arc at Wake is almost the opposite. After enduring a succession of mediocre or losing seasons, Grobe's team had a breakthrough year in 2006, winning the ACC. Then Wake was 9-4 last season.
Fridge's early success created expectations -- and then some grumbling from fans when it wasn't duplicated. Grobe, by contrast, is still on his extended honeymoon. The fans down there can't get enough of him.
The more you win, the more pressure there is to win.
What do the Terps yell when they end their team huddles?
Lately, you might hear them scream “Get better!” as they break for practice.
After practice, they might yell: “Family!”
Before Saturday’s game, they’re likely to yell, “Beat Wake!”
On hold, at least for now, is the cry of “ACC Champs!” The Terps decided at their players-only meetings last week that they needed to take ‘em one game at a time.
Terps head coach Ralph Friedgen has talked for several weeks about possible offensive line changes. The coach says he’s concerned about run blocking.
He said today that he’s likely to start tackle Bruce Campbell on the left "and move (Scott) Burley over to right and stay that way."
Fridge was drenched in sweat after today’s practice.
“I’m right in their grill,” he said. “That’s why I’m in a lather.”
Fridge was asked by out-of-town reporters this morning about facing so many Wake Forest redshirts. Included in the group is sixth-year redshirt Matt Robinson, a defensive end.
"I feel like they’ve been at Wake as long as I've been at Maryland," the coach said.
Fridge was also asked what his answer was for Wake's defense, one of the nation's best. "I think you’ll have to wait for Saturday to see that…if we have one," the coach said.
Fridge, by the way, said he expects injured Wake kicker Sam Swank to play. Wake coach Jim Grobe said he's been preparing Swank's backup, Shane Popham, for action.
It appears Wake Forest will be without its ace field goal kicker Sam Swank, arguably the best in the nation.
"It looks like we may not have him for Maryland," Wake coach Jim Grobe said this morning in the weekly ACC media teleconference. "Without Sam’s experience anytime you go out it makes you a little nervous."
Swank has a quad injury. His backup, Shane Popham, missed two chippies in the win over Clemson (one off a bad hold).
Grobe said the kicker had seemed anxious even before the Clemson game.
“I was concerned going into the game because he seemed nervous in practice,” Grobe said. “I would hope he would go up to Maryland and settle down a little. He seems a little calmer just this week in practice.”
Swank averages 2 1/2 field goals a game. Entering the season, he had made nine of 12 attempts from 50 yards and beyond.
No doubt Maryland athletic administrators are sick of reporters like me writing about how the men's basketball team's Graduation Success Rate is lowest in the ACC.
So what is Maryland doing about it?
Gary Williams has long made the argument that it's low because his players so often leave the program to play professionally.
But Maryland doesn't just want to continue making that argument. It wants the rates to improve.
To do that, the athletic department says it's been working harder to keep players on track. That includes even those players eyeing pro careers.
The department says the goal is for every player -- even those who may be headed to play ball overseas -- to be within 12 credits of graduation by the time they arrive at their final semester of eligibility.
The next NCAA "report card" comes this spring with the release of schools' academic progress rates -- real-time measures of the success teams are having at keeping their players headed toward graduation.
There is often a sense of alarm in the college coaching fraternity when a head coach loses their job.
So this was Maryland offensive coordinator James Franklin's reaction to Tommy Bowden being out at Clemson:
"I think what’s alarming is to talk about a guy who’s won at least eight games a year, to talk about a program that probably couldn’t have been more excited going into the year," said Franklin, who would seem likely to one day become a head coach himself.
"It just shows you how fragile winning is, how fragile building a really successful program is.
Everybody wants that immediate gratification. That’s the kind of society we’re living in now."
Maryland defensive coordinator Chris Cosh still sounds a little stunned that the Terps surrendered 31 points and lost to Virginia. The memory of it has made for a long bye week.
"I’m stunned that we lost. I thought we had a good week of practice but it didn’t translate on Saturday night," Cosh said. "We’re better than that."
The good news is that the Terps are home this Saturday against Wake Forest. Asked to name the best stretches of the season for the defense, Cosh identified periods of the Cal and Delaware games. Both were home games in which the Terps were able to feed off the crowd.
"I think the first three-and-a half quarters against Cal was probably the most impressive. I thought we played well throughout against Delaware except that one drive where we missed the sack," Cosh said. He also named the second half at Clemson.
And what will unfold this week?
"We’d better react. We’re home and we’re going to defend our turf and bounce back and play with a passion," he said.
This is what you notice when you scout Wake Forest-- redshirts.
Maryland coaches are a little envious that Wake coach Jim Grobe has been able to stockpile so much talent by redshirting young players.
“He redshirts everybody,” Maryland offensive coordinator James Franklin said. “You’ve got veteran players who have been around that are tough, big and strong. They’ve been in the system for awhile so they understand it.”
So how does Wake do it?
For one thing, Wake wasn’t a football powerhouse until a few years ago. Grobe had the luxury of time.
“He went to a place like Wake Forest where at the time he went there the expectations weren’t maybe what they are now,” Franklin said. “He could afford to wait and build a program because they weren’t going to cut him in three years. ”
Terps defensive coordinator Chris Cosh says he hopes and expects Maryland to redshirt more in future seasons when it has the depth. Injuries have forced young players into action this season.
“Probably in the future we’d like to do that,” Cosh said of more redshirting.
Cosh says he knows the value of giving his players an extra year to mature. Just look at linebacker Alex Wujciak. “He’s a year older and he’s still got two more years left after this year,” Cosh said of Maryland's leading tackler.
Cosh says he hopes his young players such as defensive backs Kenny Tate and Cameron Chism are taking advantage of playing as true freshmen. That’s becoming increasingly rare in college football. “I think the experience they’re getting right now is going to be beneficial down the road,” Cosh said.
Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen discusses the bye week and previews the Terps' game against Wake Forest on Saturday.
The graduation rate of Maryland's football program has held steady in figures released today.
The rate reported today by the NCAA is 68 percent. That covers the four entering freshmen classes from 1998-99 through 2001-02.
Last year's figures showed Maryland's rate at 69 percent. It was 64 percent the year before that.
The rate should not be confused with the academic progress rate, or APR, a current semester-by-semester snapshot of academic eligibility, graduation and retention. Schools can lose scholarships based on low APR scores.
You all remember the zero percent graduation rate for the Maryland men's basketball team for players entering school from 1997 to 2000.
The NCAA just released the newest graduation success rates and the Terps basketball team is now at 10 percent. This covers the four entering freshmen classes from 1998-99 through 2001-02.
We're getting reaction from College Park and will post soon. We'll also compare Maryland's rates with those of the other ACC schools.
Two years ago, the NCAA calculated the men's basketball team's graduation success rate at 18 percent, ranking it at the bottom of the conference. The rate was listed at 30 percent in 2005, also last in the conference.
Coach Gary Williams has long said that the figures reflect the fact that many of his players leave to pursue pro careers.
The rate for the Maryland football team is upcoming in a few minutes and we'll look at other schools as well.
We've been trying to give you good info on Wake Forest and will provide more as the week goes on.
Here, courtesy of Maryland media relations, are some thumbnail stats showing -- as we've outlined before -- how potent this team is defensively.
• The ACC Atlantic Division leaders rank among the best in the conference in pass offense (232.0 - first), pass defense (151.0 - second), scoring defense (15.0 - third), total defense (274.2 - fourth) and turnover margin (+1.40 per game - second).
• The Demon Deacons also rank first nationally in passing efficiency defense (90.52), 17th in total defense (274.20 per game) and 16th in scoring defense (15.0 ppg).
• QB Riley Skinner is the ACC’s leader in passing efficiency (130.0 rating), having completed 124 of 182 passes (68.1 percent) for 1,160 yards with seven touchdowns and four interceptions.
• Skinner has four reliable targets in WRs D.J. Boldin, Chip Brinkman and Marshall Williams, as well as TE Ben Wooster. That quartet has combined for 819 receiving yards and five touchdowns.
• DB Alphonso Smith, the ACC’s leader in passes defended (2.0 per game), headlines the Wake Forest defense, but he has plenty of help in the secondary. Fellow DB Kevin Patterson has kept pace with Smith with three interceptions thus far in 2008. Patterson and DB Brandon Ghee both have notched two forced fumbles. In fact, four Wake players ranked among the top 10 in the ACC in forced fumbles per game.
Fridge says he lies awake at night pondering new ways to motivate his players. That includes thinking about jerseys.
Equipment manager Ron Ohringer was telling me recently about the time he and the coach surprised even the players by switching to black jerseys for the Virginia homecoming game in 2005.
“The team didn’t even know the black jerseys were here. It was basically only myself and coach Friedgen that knew,” Ohringer said.
“We had the red jersey with the white pants,” he said. “But when they were outside for warmups we pulled out the black jerseys and put them out by their lockers. And as they were coming in from warmups, it was kind of like we had just won the Super Bowl. They were just going nuts,” Ohringer said.
Who knows if the jerseys had anything to do with it, but the Terps rolled up 33 first downs and 570 total yards and beat Virginia 45-33.
Maryland’s main colors, of course, are red and white. But there’s been talk of incorporating more gold into the design.
Uniform changes are delicate propositions.
"Coach Friedgen doesn’t stop talking about how many letters he got when he first got hired to get away from black helmets. The alumni think of us as red and white and they don’t want black as a primary uniform color," Ohringer said.
"I think we pretty much stick with red and white as our primary uniforms. Black is a trim color. It’s every now and then," he said.
Raycom Sports will have Maryland-Wake Forest. Locally, it can be seen on WJZ-TV (Channel 13) in Baltimore and WDCA-TV (My 20) in Washington. It's a noon start.
This is in addition to live streaming on ESPNU.
Tommy Bowden is out as Clemson coach, and the loss to the Terps certainly was a factor.
You'll recall that Bowden had said Maryland was going to be a "test" for his team and a counter to those who contended the Tigers weren't playing physical football.
Clemson had been manhandled by Alabama in its opener and had won three in a row heading into the Maryland game. The loss at Wake Forest last week didn't help his cause, but I think what really got Bowden in trouble was losing that 17-6 lead to the Terps in front of 81,000 fans at Death Valley.
The frustration and anger at Bowden was evident after that game -- a contest Bowden had hoped to use as a steppingstone to right his season. Clemson backs James Davis and C.J. Spiller had rushed for 193 yards in the first half, but the Tigers couldn't convert fourth and inches with the game on the line in the fourth quarter.
The coaches who lose their jobs are usually the ones whose teams face the burden of high expectations, and Clemson -- once ranked ninth nationally -- certainly qualifies.
You may recall Ralph Friedgen relating a conversation he had with Bowden:
"Tommy said to me after the game, 'Are they booing you or me?' I said, 'Who cares? They're probably booing both of us. It doesn't matter. Move on.' "
Now Bowden has moved on, but not in the way Fridge was suggesting.
The ACC announced today that Maryland’s game against North Carolina State on Oct. 25 will start at 3:30 p.m.
The homecoming game wasn't picked up by ESPN for television but will be streamed live on ESPN 360.
N.C. State is 2-4 and 0-2 in the ACC. The Wolfpack host Florida State Thursday night.
North Carolina, which plays Maryland Nov. 15, already has been playing without quarterback T.J. Yates. Replacement Cameron Sexton threw for 201 yards in the Tar Heels' 29-24 win Saturday over Notre Dame.
Now it looks as if Brandon Tate, the North Carolina receiver and returner, may be more seriously hurt than initially thought. It was reported that he had sprained his knee in the first quarter. But AP said last night that the extent of the injury had not been determined and that Tate was undergoing an MRI.
Tate has five touchdowns this season and 376 receiving yards.
Jess Atkinson's television crew got inside the visitors' locker room immediately after the Terps beat Clemson in Death Valley. He got some shots for Fridge's television show that are interesting to watch, particularly in hindsight.
What you sense immediately is how much this win meant to the team. Players are jumping up and down in the locker room and pouring Gatorade around as if it were champagne and they had just won the World Series.
"I've been coaching 40 years and I think that ranks right up there with the guttiest wins I think I've had in 40 years," a hoarse and emotional Fridge tells the players.
Then, the coach says prophetically: "When you win big games, more big games come."
A little sobering watching this now because it looked at the time so much like a season-changing game. We all know the Terps were unable to maintain that giddy sense of accomplishment because a 31-0 loss to Virginia was coming the next week.
Note: I hadn't realized when I covered the Clemson game just how woozy Danny Oquendo was when he got smacked in the back of the head on a hit. Oquendo struggled to make it to the sidelines and thought he might have a concussion. But he came back with three big catches on Maryland's go-ahead touchdown drive. The kid's a gamer.
Analysis: His greatest asset seems to be his sense of calm in big games. He's not easily fazed. Consider his 21-for-27 for 337 yards against Boston College last season. Or his 14-for-20 in relief of an injured Jordan Steffy against Rutgers.
Under James Franklin's offense this season, Turner is best when he's "managing" the game -- as Franklin says -- rather than being a star. Knowing that Turner is a rhythm passer, Franklin likes to start him slowly with dinks and dunks and let him build confidence.
A good example of this efficient style was the Cal game, when Turner was 15 of 19 for 156 yards and two touchdowns. His best series of the season may have been against Clemson, when he led a go-ahead touchdown drive, then ran out the final 5:36. He completed 5 of 6 during the two series, three of them to Danny Oquendo.
Turner does have games where he never seems to get started. Against Middle Tennessee, he didn't complete a pass until deep into the second quarter and finished with three interceptions.
For the season, he's 80 of 137 for 981 yards. He's thrown six touchdown passes and six picks. Last season, he threw seven touchdown passes and threw seven picks.
Personal: Turner redshirted his freshman season and has a year of eligibility remaining. A government and politics major, he's from Simi Valley, Calif., and often wears a Los Angeles Dodgers ball cap. He's exploring internships on Capitol Hill and says one of the reasons he came to Maryland was its proximity to Washington.
He says he might run for office one day. "Of course, I could change my mind tomorrow," he says.
Back with more stuff next week counting down to Wake Forest.
Everybody scouting Wake Forest last night? If you were, you saw a familiar Demon Deacons formula.
Wake Forest had earlier beat Florida State, 12-3. Last night it was Wake 12, Clemson 7. Not a coincidence that those scores are so similar. Wake's defense is tough to crack.
More than most ACC teams, Wake just looks like a team that knows what it's doing. Its defense had a handful of memorable hits last night and held Clemson to 2-for-14 on third down conversions. The Deacons always seem to get the turnover when it needs one, often from Alphonso Smith, who had a big interception last night.
This is a smart, well-coached team with a defense that has swagger. All that was missing last night was its ace field goal kicker, Sam Swank, who was out with a quad injury. His replacement missed a couple chippies (one on a bad hold).
This will be quite a test for the Terps a week from Saturday.
Da'Rel Scott netted 39 yards against Clemson and 36 against Virginia. He and the other Maryland running backs will need more against Wake Forest and here's why:
If you gain just a few yards on first and second down, you play into Wake's hands by setting up repeated third-and-longs. The Demon Deacons live for third-and-long on defense. They lead the nation in turnover margin.
This is what happened to Clemson: The Tigers netted 21 yards rushing at Wake and averaged 0.9 yards per attempt. The result was plenty of third-and-longs and 2-for-14 on third-down conversions. It was a third-down pass that Wake's Alphonso Smith intercepted in the second half.
Maryland has another option for staying out of third-and-long -- short passes. The Terps used short and medium passes effectively in the second half against Clemson. But Maryland will probably need to blend in runs unless they feel like living dangerously.
There was no Tuesday media lunch this week because of the bye, which means I missed my favorite event -- listening to Fridge trying to pronounce opposing players' names.
The coach always provides a mini scouting report of the opposition. He sometimes struggles with the players' names.
Once -- during a conference call -- he slipped up on the name of walk-on Maryland kicker Mike Barbour. He called him "Barbaro."
But at least he tries. That's better than some coaches. Former NFL coach Buddy Ryan often referred to his players by their numbers. He referred to running back Junior Tautalatasi as "Junior Smith" because it was easier to pronounce.
