Back with more stuff next week counting down to Wake Forest.

Posted by Jeff Barker at 10:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

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.

Posted by Jeff Barker at 10:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

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.

Posted by Jeff Barker at 10:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
                    

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.

Posted by Jeff Barker at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Senior Danny Oquendo remembers how different things seemed when he arrived at Maryland.

He says Terps such as linebacker D'Qwell Jackson and tight end Vernon Davis were locker-room enforcers who weren’t afraid to get vocal when the team seemed down.

“One time at halftime, D'Qwell practically punched a hole in a drawing board,” Oquendo said with a smile. “He scared me to death.”

Those players have given way to quieter, lead-by-example guys on the Terrapins. Which is often fine – every team needs players with different styles – except for those times when someone needs to demonstrably take charge.

Oquendo says the halftime locker room at Virginia last week was full of long faces. “There really wasn’t a fire in anyone’s eyes. The whole team was down,” he says.

That’s a big reason why Oquendo and other seniors called two team meetings this week. He said he wants to make sure there isn’t a leadership vacuum as the Terps enter the season’s second half.

Posted by Jeff Barker at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
                    

After watching the game footage, Maryland coaches said the Virginia they saw bore little resemblance to the Virginia of previous games this season. Which is what Terps coaches were afraid of heading into the 31-0 loss.

Once Virginia took an early lead, the Cavs and their fans seemed to unleash all of the pent up frustration of earlier defeats.

In particular, Maryland coaches saw Virginia linebacker Clint Sintim (seven tackles) all over the field. Sintim is an "elite" player, said Terps offensive coordinator James Franklin.

Posted by Jeff Barker at 1:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
                    

The Terps will be monitoring the injury report next week and checking on Sam Swank, the Wake Forest kicker who is uncertain for tonight's Clemson game with a strained quad.

Swank averages 2 1/2 field goals a game to lead the nation. Entering the season, he had made nine of 12 attempts from 50 yards and beyond.

Posted by Jeff Barker at 8:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)