Defensive lineman Isaiah Ross also suffered a knee injury and did not return.

Turner emerged from the stadium tunnel in the second half wearing black sweats and a black T-shirt. He was injured after being hit on an incomplete pass in the second quarter and limped off the field.

Backup Jamar Robinson entered on the next possession and dropped the first snap out of the shotgun formation. Maryland recovered the fumble but didn’t score.

Robinson didn’t throw a pass on his first series.

N.C. State 31, Maryland 21 third quarter
Terps turnovers: one

Turner headed into the Maryland locker room.

Backup quarterback Jamarr Robinson entered on Maryland's next possession and fumbled the first snap. The Terps recovered the fumble. But Robinson didn't attempt a pass on his first series, which ended with a blocked Maryland field goal.

For those fans who wanted to see Robinson, this is your chance. The question is whether Maryland coaches trust Robinson's passing enough to let him try to exploit N.C. State's porous defense.

N.C. State 24, Maryland 21, second quarter.
Terps turnovers: one

Bowens fumbled the ensuing punt, which was recovered by Tony Logan at the N.C. State 31.
Robinson fumbled his first snap from the shotgun but Maryland retained possession.
Turner limped into the tunnel with about three minutes remaining before halftime.

The Chick-fil-A Bowl has the second pick of ACC teams. The Champs Sports Bowl has the fourth pick.

Here's a question. Why exactly are they here?

The representatives gave several reasons for attending:

*The ACC teams are so clumped together in the standings that most teams are scouted, even those with a remote chance of reaching a bowl.

*The bowl representatives select the games they will attend several weeks in advance. They couldn’t have known then exactly how Maryland’s and N.C. State’s seasons would unfold.

He returned it 70 yards for Maryland’s first defensive touchdown since linebacker Erin Henderson got one in 2006.

Maryland 14, N.C. State 14, first quarter
Terps turnovers: one

Maryland quarterback Chris Turner’s first pass was intercepted in the flat by defensive end Willie Young. Only 13 seconds had elapsed in the game when N.C. State took over on Maryland’s 21.
Two plays later, Russell Wilson fired a touchdown pass over the middle to 17 yards to tight end George Bryan to put the Wolfpack ahead, 7-0.

TBut the Terps, going no-huddle, drove 69 yards in 10 plays on their next possession, tying the game on a third-and-inches leap into the end zone by Davin Meggett.

Maryland 7, N.C. State 7
Terps turnovers: 1

Coach Friedgen acknowledged today that it's a difficult balancing act. When you're 2-6 you tend to get desperate for a win.

"I'm in a real dilemma there," Fridge said. "I don’t think [freshman quarterback] Danny [O'Brien] really wants to play -- I think he'd rather redshirt. Obviously I want to do everything we need to do to win games, but then we go into next year without a really experienced quarterback."

Maryland has played 10 true freshmen -- the most in Friedgen's nine-year Maryland tenure.

The number may grow. Fridge said freshman running back D.J. Adams will travel to N.C. State. Adams is still behind Davin Meggett, Caleb Porzel and Gary Douglas (shoulder), who appears ready to return. Morgan Green (groin) is out.

Another true freshman who could play is promising offensive lineman Pete White. The line will be further thinned because offensive lineman Bennett Fulper (shoulder) is out for the season and will undergo surgery, Fridge said.

The N.C. State game will mark Maryland's return from its bye week. Quarterback Chris Turner said he took off and went to Fort Lauderdale, where he played some flag football. There could be an easy joke here about whether he got intercepted, but I'll refrain.

"I’m just trying to go out, have fun and really make these last few weeks count starting this Saturday," Turner said of the remaining four games.

Maryland really doesn't know how things will play out with Gregory. His situation going forward has not been determined, university sources said.

The university announced in a news release before last night's exhibition win over Indiana (Pa.) that the junior forward would not participate "due to a violation of team rules. Due to federal regulations which protect the privacy of student records, there cannot be further comment."

Note that the release did not deal with anything other than last night's game. After that, we (and the team) just don't know.

According to the Washington Post, Gregory had said this summer that his eligibility was in question because of a charge of "academic dishonesty." The Post said it could not be determined whether that was the reason the player was held out of last night's game.

Coach Gary Williams said he could not comment on Gregory for the reasons given by the university in the news release.

Gregory was a likely starter. An extended absence would mean more immediate playing time for the two freshman forwards, Jordan Williams and James Padgett.

*Freshman James Padgett had some impressive moments. Padgett lost the ball moving toward the basket in the first half. But he later put the Terps up, 33-26, on a feed from Sean Mosley and followed on the next possession with a follow-up slam. He finished with eight points and four rebounds.

*Freshman forward Jordan Williams also made his debut before the Maryland fans, who had previously seen him in intrasquad scrimmages. He scored seven points to go with six boards. He checked in with 15:20 left in the first half and committed an offensive foul on his first field-goal attempt. He scored his first point on a foul shot with 2:27 left in the half, then made a put-back to push Maryland’s lead to 44-31.

I really think these guys will help with inside depth. But they are freshmen. And this was a smallish, Division II opponent. So it's hard to draw too many conclusions.

He's a rugged player who wasn't a great outside shooter last season. But he's shooting very confidently tonight.

He has a team-leading 10 points (5-for-6 from the floor) and the Terps lead 44-33 against Indiana (Pa.) at the half.

Greivis Vasquez-G
Eric Hayes-G
Sean Mosley-G
James Padgett-F
Landon Milbourne-F

His future status is uncertain.

Maryland won't identify the rules it said were violated, citing federal privacy regulations.

This would be a blow to the Terps if it's long term. Coach Gary Williams had told me a few weeks ago that Gregory had probably earned a starting spot.

He averaged 2.6 points and 3.2 rebounds last season but became an important inside defender (34 blocks) and rebounder.

Freshman James Padgett is penciled in as the starter tonight at forward opposite Landon Milbourne.

*So what does Greivis Vasquez think of Maryland being No. 26 in the AP's preseason rankings?

"I was a little upset because we beat California and we beat Georgia Tech and they are ranked so much higher than we are. We just have to prove people wrong. It’ll take care of itself if we just win," Vasquez said.

*Eric Hayes averaged averaged 15.2 point per game in the postseason – the Atlantic Coast Conference and NCAA tournaments – after averaging 10.3 in the regular season. Hayes seemed like a different player in the postseason, penetrating more and looking to create shots for himself.

“I just kind of had a mindset of being more aggressive and more assertive,” Hayes said. “I’m looking to build on my game.”

*Does it matter if Hayes doesn't start? Remember that Sean Mosley became the starter last season.

Here's Vasquez:--"All he (Hayes) wants is just to win games. He’s totally going to play 30 minutes or 28 minutes. I’m not really worried about him starting or coming off the bench."

More to come in a story I've filed for tomorrow's paper...

I'll be posting updates and assessments on how the team looks -- particularly the newbies (freshmen power forwards Jordan Williams and James Padgett).

Coach Gary Williams has been regaining his strength from surgery to repair a disc problem that had existed for some time but had grown increasingly painful -- literally a pain in the neck.

He's been wearing a neck brace off and on during his recuperation -- including, I'm told, at today's Ravens-Broncos game where he's watching the football and supporting his good buddy, Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti.

I have no problem with it. It's kind of fitting, actually, because Maryland is a team that will have to work for everything this season -- for wins, for Top 25 rankings, for respect.

Working hard has to be the M.O. of a team that is talented, but not so much that it can ever afford a night off in league play. The Terps aren't big enough for that, even with the two new freshmen forwards. They're not like teams that can toss up a bad shot and wait for the big man to clean up the mess.

No doubt Maryland is improved from last season's team that advanced to the second round out the NCAA tournament. But -- and I've said this before -- the Terps can't ever forget who they are. They're a grind-it-out bunch. They'll win games with defense and penetration and foul shots -- not by outscoring teams in shootouts.

I wouldn't think that not cracking the preseason Top 25 would really bother a team with an identity built on work, not on reputation.

But I'm not expecting wholesale lineup changes the rest of the way.

Consider these statements from coach Friedgen today.

One one hand, he said: "We'd obviously like to look at some kids we think can help us win and we think have a future. If it's close or even, I think we've got to play the younger guy."

But Fridge didn't sound completely like a man who is ready to look past this year. He's too competitive for that and I think he's too loyal to some of his older players to sit them down.

"Just knowing my nature, I want to win. I'm going to do everything I can to win," the coach said.

By the way, Fridge and offensive coordinator James Franklin reiterated what they've been saying the past few weeks, which is that they'll look for opportunities for backup quarterback Jamar Robinson to play.