The immediate reward of the Maryland football team’s win Saturday at Penn State was a sixth victory, one that made the Terps bowl-eligible for a second straight season at the expense of a regional nemesis that was previously 35-1-1 all time against Maryland.
Almost as important were the calls and messages coach Randy Edsall received Saturday from high school coaches around Maryland and Washington.
“I’ve gotten a lot of messages from coaches around this area congratulating us and really proud of what we did and what we’re doing,” Edsall said, “and I think that’s very significant.”
“When you take a look at what we’ve been able to accomplish with some of those bordering teams that we’ve played, and to beat them on the field, I think, sends a big message,” Edsall said. “And it shows the coaches and it shows the players what type of program we are, the direction that our program is heading and that that they can get accomplished what they want to accomplish by staying here at home.”
The reality is that there is more work to do.
Maryland lacks the rich and storied history of programs such as Penn State and Virginia Tech. And while the victory over the Nittany Lions is significant, this Penn State team is one of the worst and most vulnerable in recent memory.
Still, as Edsall has alluded to many times before, it is hard to beat a team in recruiting if you cannot beat them on the field.
That in itself makes Saturday’s result important, although it does take more than one win over Penn State to change the perception of both schools in the area.
“I think it’s great from the standpoint that the Maryland high school all-star team went up there and beat Pennsylvania in the Big 33 game. That’s been a rival for many, many years, and we were able to do the same,” Edsall said. “It’s the pride that we all have, and hopefully more and more of the kids in the area that we like will want to stay home and be a part of what we’re doing.”
NOTE: Game balls for the win over Penn State went to right guard Andrew Zeller (offense), defensive end Andre Monroe (defense), and kicker Brad Craddock and holder Michael Tart (special teams). … In addition to calls and messages from area high school coaches, friends and family, former Maryland coaches and players reached out to Edsall to congratulate him after the win, including former quarterbacks Boomer Esiason, Frank Reich and Dick Shiner.