E-mail
Print
COLLEGE PARK -
- The Maryland Terrapins saw a potential victory washed away Saturday amid cold rain, mist and their usual abundance of perplexing turnovers.
Virginia, which managed just nine first downs, claimed a 20-9 victory and was the beneficiary of two Maryland fumbles and two interceptions, including one returned for a pivotal, third-quarter touchdown.
The loss dropped the Terps (2-5) to 1-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference and diminished their fading hopes of qualifying for a bowl game this season. The miscues and the steady rain made for an unpleasant homecoming game for the fans in Byrd Stadium's half-filled stands.
"It's the same story over and over again," Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen said. "Until that [the turnovers] gets fixed, it's going to be hard to win football games."
Friedgen has battled turnovers all season, even resorting to asking now-injured tailback Da'Rel Scott to carry a football around campus as a lesson in hanging on to the ball. Saturday's fumblers were running backs Davin Meggett and Gary Douglas. Quarterback Chris Turner was intercepted twice.
With the Terps ahead 9-6, Turner's second-down pass was tipped into the hands of defensive end Nate Collins, who returned it 32 yards for a touchdown to put the Cavaliers up 13-9 with 1:43 left in the third quarter.
Turner said wide receiver Ronnie Tyler was open against man-to-man coverage but that the ball was "tipped up right into the guy's arms."
Rashawn Jackson's 2-yard touchdown run increased Virginia's lead to 20-9 in the game's final minutes.
Turner said the sloppy conditions "had to be a factor" in Maryland's fumbles. He conceded that Douglas's second-quarter fumble - the score was tied 3-3 - came when the running back "just took a hit right in the shoulder."
Friedgen said Douglas, who had six carries for 49 yards, suffered an injury to his AC joint - at the top of his shoulder - and could be out a few weeks.
Maryland entered the game with 16 turnovers in six games.
"We thought there were some opportunities in the turnover area tonight, and they were certainly as big a factor as anything," Virginia coach Al Groh said. "They stopped some drives, and they gave us some field position."
Turner had said before the season that the Terps could win 10 games. "It's very tough," the quarterback said. "It's not the way I wanted my senior season to go. There's nothing I can do about it. I go out and play my heart out."
The Terps would need to win four of their next five games to reach the six victories necessary to be bowl eligible.
Trailing 13-9, the Terps threatened to take the lead in the fourth quarter. A 17-yard pass from Turner to Torrey Smith took the ball to the Virginia 18.
But Maryland lost 9 yards on a bad snap, and wide receiver Kerry Boykins dropped a pass that could have resulted in a first down. Freshman Nick Ferrara, who had made three of four earlier field-goal attempts, missed a 44-yard try with 5:52 left in the game.
Maryland's miscues negated its best defensive effort of the season.
The Cavaliers (3-3, 2-0 ACC) finished with 201 yards. It was the lowest total offense by a Maryland opponent since Florida International got 163 yards in 2007.
Maryland's gambling defense, which had been burned a week ago by Wake Forest, frequently pressured Virginia quarterback Jameel Sewell.
Sewell was injured during a third-quarter drive on a running play and was helped off the field. Junior Marc Verica replaced him and was 1-for-3 for 1 yard.
The Terps had a season-high five sacks.
But Friedgen said the Terps were victimized by bad luck.
He cited a third-quarter play in which speedy Maryland running back Caleb Porzel seemed to break into the clear at midfield with the Terps trailing 13-9. But the freshman stumbled and fell.
"It's one of these things where nothing is going right," Friedgen said.
First quarterUVa-FG Randolph 32, 1:47. Second quarterMd-FG Ferrara 48, 13:14. Md-FG Ferrara 30, 1:39. Third quarterMd-FG Ferrara 29, 6:08. UVa-FG Randolph 31, 2:02. UVa-Collins 32 interception return (Jarrett kick), 1:43. Fourth quarterUVa-Jackson 2 run (Jarrett kick), 1:43. A-44,864.
Rushing-Virginia, Jackson 19-90, Mack 4-9, Team 2-(minus 3), Sewell 13-(minus 33). Maryland, Meggett 11-52, Douglas 6-49, Porzel 6-22, Turner 6-15, Williams 1-1, Smith 1-0, Team 2-(minus 13). Passing-Virginia, Sewell 13-23-0-137, Verica 1-3-0-1. Maryland, Turner 16-38-2-158. Receiving-Virginia, Hall 5-53, Jackson 4-29, Burd 2-35, Mack 1-10, Torchia 1-6, Green 1-5. Maryland, Smith 3-34, Cannon 3-24, Williams 3-19, Tyler 2-24, Jackson 2-23, Boykins 2-21, T.Galt 1-13.
Virginia, which managed just nine first downs, claimed a 20-9 victory and was the beneficiary of two Maryland fumbles and two interceptions, including one returned for a pivotal, third-quarter touchdown.
The loss dropped the Terps (2-5) to 1-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference and diminished their fading hopes of qualifying for a bowl game this season. The miscues and the steady rain made for an unpleasant homecoming game for the fans in Byrd Stadium's half-filled stands.
"It's the same story over and over again," Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen said. "Until that [the turnovers] gets fixed, it's going to be hard to win football games."
Friedgen has battled turnovers all season, even resorting to asking now-injured tailback Da'Rel Scott to carry a football around campus as a lesson in hanging on to the ball. Saturday's fumblers were running backs Davin Meggett and Gary Douglas. Quarterback Chris Turner was intercepted twice.
With the Terps ahead 9-6, Turner's second-down pass was tipped into the hands of defensive end Nate Collins, who returned it 32 yards for a touchdown to put the Cavaliers up 13-9 with 1:43 left in the third quarter.
Turner said wide receiver Ronnie Tyler was open against man-to-man coverage but that the ball was "tipped up right into the guy's arms."
Rashawn Jackson's 2-yard touchdown run increased Virginia's lead to 20-9 in the game's final minutes.
Turner said the sloppy conditions "had to be a factor" in Maryland's fumbles. He conceded that Douglas's second-quarter fumble - the score was tied 3-3 - came when the running back "just took a hit right in the shoulder."
Friedgen said Douglas, who had six carries for 49 yards, suffered an injury to his AC joint - at the top of his shoulder - and could be out a few weeks.
Maryland entered the game with 16 turnovers in six games.
"We thought there were some opportunities in the turnover area tonight, and they were certainly as big a factor as anything," Virginia coach Al Groh said. "They stopped some drives, and they gave us some field position."
Turner had said before the season that the Terps could win 10 games. "It's very tough," the quarterback said. "It's not the way I wanted my senior season to go. There's nothing I can do about it. I go out and play my heart out."
The Terps would need to win four of their next five games to reach the six victories necessary to be bowl eligible.
Trailing 13-9, the Terps threatened to take the lead in the fourth quarter. A 17-yard pass from Turner to Torrey Smith took the ball to the Virginia 18.
But Maryland lost 9 yards on a bad snap, and wide receiver Kerry Boykins dropped a pass that could have resulted in a first down. Freshman Nick Ferrara, who had made three of four earlier field-goal attempts, missed a 44-yard try with 5:52 left in the game.
Maryland's miscues negated its best defensive effort of the season.
The Cavaliers (3-3, 2-0 ACC) finished with 201 yards. It was the lowest total offense by a Maryland opponent since Florida International got 163 yards in 2007.
Maryland's gambling defense, which had been burned a week ago by Wake Forest, frequently pressured Virginia quarterback Jameel Sewell.
Sewell was injured during a third-quarter drive on a running play and was helped off the field. Junior Marc Verica replaced him and was 1-for-3 for 1 yard.
The Terps had a season-high five sacks.
But Friedgen said the Terps were victimized by bad luck.
He cited a third-quarter play in which speedy Maryland running back Caleb Porzel seemed to break into the clear at midfield with the Terps trailing 13-9. But the freshman stumbled and fell.
"It's one of these things where nothing is going right," Friedgen said.
| Virginia 3 0 10 7-20 |
| Maryland 0 6 3 0- 9 |
| UVa | Md | |
| First downs | 9 | 17 |
| Rushes-Yards | 38-63 | 33-126 |
| Passing | 138 | 158 |
| Cmp.-Att.-Int. | 14-26-0 | 16-38-2 |
| Return Yards | 52 | 0 |
| Punts-Avg. | 9-32.8 | 3-37.3 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 1-1 | 4-2 |
| Penalties-Yds. | 7-54 | 2-15 |
| Time of poss. | 30:47 | 29:13 |
Digg
Twitter
Facebook
StumbleUpon
Ralph went to bowl games with players from previous regimes and with the amount of players available to him in this area, constantly loosing them to other schools, regardless of what school it is, is unacceptable. He is an o.k. coach who has seen his better days and can't live off of his pro experience any longer. Half of Penn State's roster is from the mid-atlantic area and they should be getting more of them to stay. This is more than an off year, this is a trend. The real jokers are the ones drinking the red cool-aid and can't see the forest through the trees. I'm a MD grad and love the team, that's why I want things to change-starting with Ralphie.
buddy120 (10/18/2009, 11:39 AM )