Maryland Football Has Left the Building

It's really bad when you write a "Maryland Football has Arrived" post and then have to immediately rescind it upon emerging from your two month disappearance. But hey, that's what happens when you go ahead and get beaten...by Temple...by 31...at home...in week 3...with Randy Edsall at the helm.

Now, let's be real, things haven't been ALL terrible. The games against Georgia Tech and (especially) Clemson and West Virginia could easily have been wins. Even with the blowouts against Florida State and Temple, this team could easily be 4-3 coming out of the tough part of the schedule and well in line to at least make another bowl. And, realistically, that should have been the expectation this season. Some people will say that winning at least 9 games again with Danny O'Brien back under center should have been no problem, but even with DOB (and Kenny Tate) back, the team lost plenty, including it's three most relevant receivers - Adrian Cannon and the Raven's duo of Torrey Smith and Laquan Williams - plus several key defensive players, most notably Alex Wujciak who had about six billion tackles in his four years here as the starter at the MIKE LB spot.

Of course, I'm going to stop right there before this seems like any kind of an excuse for how piss poor the Randy Edsall era has started. It began with Sarge hiring two coordinators that were on thin ice at their old schools, with one of those schools being Southern Mississippi. It continued with moving future first round pick Kenny Tate from his natural safety position to linebacker where it became clear that the smallish Tate was physically overmatched. Its first year will be punctuated in the winter with a recruiting class that currently ranks tenth in the league, behind even Wake Forest.

This really isn't anymore than a rant. The team started out with so much excitement, and now, no one cares. There are two home games left against North Carolina State and Wake, and those two games could be as poorly attended as any in the latter years of the Fridge. The team will need a minor miracle just to pull out another Military Bowl bid, which, even at 6-6, would not be a certainty.

I wanted to become a season ticket holder back in August, but now the incentive just isn't there. That's not to say I'm off the bandwagon or anything like that, but it's clearly not a good sign for the long term health of the program that would-be diehards aren't connecting with the program the way they should. What is most galling is that the Athletic Department replaced the Fridge because of a lack of excitement around the program and then immediately replaced him with someone seemingly incapable of generating any himself. I'm not still bitter that we didn't hire Mike Leach, but that didn't mean we had to find his polar opposite. Even James Franklin has VANDERBILT possibly on its way to a bowl game, and with him at the helm you can bet that Danny O'Brien wouldn't have had as poor a year as he's had so far.

Moral of the story - 11 days until hoops.

This...is ACC Football!

So here at the Says Things Blog, there will be a renewed emphasis on two things this fall. The first of which is actually blogging more frequently (than never) whilst the second is focusing on football. Or at least not making it completely secondary to basketball. Now that we are in the Under Armour Age (briefly the Edsall Era, formerly Fridge Fever until the Fever broke in about 2007), it's important to recognize the football team's greatness lest anyone think that we're jumping on the bandwagon when the teams wins its first BCS Title in 2014. So today I begin the weekly* ACC Power Rankings wherein you can track your favorite team in this sack of crap league known officially as the Food Lion Raycom Woodmen of the World ACC sponsored jointly by Bojangles and Havoline! (FLRWotW ACC sjbBaH~!)

*almost assuredly NOT weekly

1. FSU - They're the preseason favorite, and while they've played two directional schools so far, they've won convincingly (96-10 total), which actually counts for a lot in this league. EJ Manuel is the only QB in the league standing in DOB's path to the awards, and unfortately he's been awesome so far (581 yards). A win next week would probably make FSU a heavy favorite for the BCS Title game.

2. VT - Tech crushed App State the first week but struggled big time in a 17-10 win at ECU this saturday. It's a road win against a bowl team, but one that had maybe the worst defense in I-A last season. If the Pirates could have caught the ball they would have won handily. From what I saw they dropped two interceptions (one that would have gone for six) as well as an easy touchdown on a pass inside the redzone. Not that impressive for a possible the presumptive Coastal champ.

3. Maryland - Granted that Miami was without its starting QB and several other key players, Maryland largely dominated in everything but the score, getting two defensive TDs and making it into the red zone seven times in eight offensive possesions. The Terps, had they been a little bit more efficient in the RZ, could easily have scored 45-50 points.

4.Miami - The 'Canes are in disarray, but still managed to be a few minutes away from a win against the Terps on the road in a great atmosphere. This week will show a lot about them as they return home for a huge game against a very beatable Ohio State team (ask Toledo), one of four (WVU-MD, Auburn-Clemson, FSU-Oklahoma) huge nonconference games for the ACC against ranked teams. They do get their starting QB Jacorry Harris back, although realistically Morris could well be starting for them again by October.

5. North Carolina - This is mainly a default spot (though they could arguably have been ahead of Miami I suppose) for displaying mere competence in the first two weeks. They handled James Madison and slid by a bad Rutgers team at home. The main reason for optimism is a still exceedingly talented defense (even after losing Austin and Sturdivant) plus QB Bryn Renner who has been outstanding (42-49) so far this year.

6. Georgia Tech - Tech has smashed a I-AA team and a team from the Sun Belt in the first two weeks, a year after returning just 12 starters from a sub-.500 team. They may very well be a good team, possibly capable of contending in the Coastal this season, but I'll reserve some judgment until they show they can beat Kansas and North Carolina at home the next two weeks.

7. Virginia - The Cavs missed their third straight bowl last year, but they're 2-0 this season including a win at Indiana this week. Granted, Indiana might well be the worst team in the Big Ten, but Virginia failed to win a road game all last season, so that's big. That's particularly bad when you consider that they played Duke on the road last year - and allowed 55 points in a loss. The Cavs get UNC (road), Southern Miss and Idaho heading into their bye so 5-0 isn't off the table. But then, neither is 2-3, in reality.

8. Wake Forest - This is when you get into the bag of crap that is the ACC...even moreso. The good news is that the Deacs thoroughly outplayed Syracuse on the road and NC State at home for most of the game the first two weeks. The bad news is that the Orange came back to win that game and State almost did as well. Sophomore Tanner Price (586 yards) has been greatly improved so far as compared to last year when he led an aerial attack that generated more yards than only Georgia Tech's triple option attack amongst ACC teams.

9. Clemson - I'm inclined to think Clemson finishes a bit higher, if only because they do have more talent than several of the teams above them, and haven't failed to qualify for a bowl since the '90s. The year started off badly when they struggled with Troy, which wasn't so bad when you consider that they're the perennial Sun Belt champions. But struggling with Wofford, and only coming away with a narrow eight point win, is pretty bad. Seriously, Wofford? With Auburn, FSU and @VT the next three weeks, things could get really ugly for this team.

10. North Carolina State - Are you ready for another NC State coaching search? Chairman Yao may be leading another one, sure to be a roaring success, given the way that Tom O'Brien's team has looked, struggling with Liberty and playing a largely uncompetitive game against Atlantic bottom-feeder Wake Forest. Even worse for their delusion fanbase, this team could have contended had Heisman candidate Russell Wilson not transferred to Wisconsin (who themselves are now a National Title contender). NC State actually has to get to 7-5 to go bowling. That ain't happening.

11. Boston College - OK, they're missing their top rusher, but they've now lost at home to Northwestern and gotten waxed by UCF (30-3) in their first two weeks. So, uh, yeah, congrats to all the Mensa members that picked them ahead of the Terps this season. Given that they were last offensively in the ACC last year, maybe this seasons early struggles should be expected without perhaps their best weapon. Next week they have Duke at home, and if they can't win that, well, that ain't good.

12. Duke - The answer here is Duke, Duke, a million times Duke. The fact that they only lost 44-14 at home the Andrew Luck and Stanford has to count as a success. They managed to lose to I-AA Richmond in week 1, which isn't so bad when you consider how good they are for a I-AA team. What is so bad is that this is the third time in six seasons that Duke has lost to Richmond. Maybe stop scheduling Richmond guys? Not that anyone in Durham or New Jersey really cares what Duke football does.

Same Old Story, Same Old Song and Dance

NOTE: This is a draft of a post I started writing 2-3 years ago. It was meant to be a sweet awesome compilation, but I got lazy and never finished. I feel like sharing this with you because I know I'll never finish it :( Here goes...

As a student at the University of Maryland, I've had the opportunity to get tickets to hundreds of Division 1A sporting events where I've been able to watch some of the best amateur athletes in the world. No offense to the Wrestling, Golf, Women's Tennis, or any of the 24 other sports of the "27 Sports, 1 Team" of Maryland athletics, but other than a few soccer games. one lacrosse game, and one baseball game, I've only ever gotten tickets to Men's Basketball and Football games. It's definitely not a stretch to say that these 2 teams are the most popular on campus, as well as in the minds and hearts of fans and alumni across the country.

I've witnessed 5 and a half combined seasons of Terps football and basketball since enrolling in Fall 2006. I've seen home games in person at Byrd and Comcast, and I've watched road games on ESPN, ABC, and the Raycom/Lincoln Financial and Raycom/Jefferson Pilot Splits. After tonight's Boston College meltdown, I've realized this can't be a simple case of deja vu. Too many times I've asked anyone who'd listen, "Haven't we seen this before?" Too many times I've turned to Steve right before a crucial play and predicted it perfectly (See my psychic abilities here).

So I've come to the conclusion that Terps athletes are simply paid actors acting out the same script over and over again, with the gridiron or the hardwood as their stage. This basketball season has followed the script to the T, and given me everything I've come to expect in an up-and-down Maryland sports season:

ACT I: The game we had no business winning on paper, but somehow pulled out

(This act is pretty much self explanatory. Going up against a seemingly better, more talented team, the Terps find a way to win. "That's why they play the games." This win always brings a sense of false hope to a young or seemingly hopeless season. Note: Apparently beating superior competition is as simple as knowing who you're going up against, and not letting them off the hook. Thank you, Dennis Green.)

2008-09 Basketball: 11/27/08 vs (6) Michigan State at the Old Spice Classic

Gary led his (3-0) Terps into this Thanksgiving Weekend tournament after a shaky performance at home against an inferior Vermont team that was saved only by a buzzer-beater three from the general at the end of regulation. Expected to compete for a while, but ultimately fall to the top-ten team due to a lack of an inside game, the Terps recieved a gift when the Spartans' best post player, Goran Suton, was sidelined with an injury. Dave Neal stepped up and took advantage in a HUGE breakout game, using what Gary called "YMCA moves" to torch the Michigan State D for 17 PTS on only 10 FGA, including a perfect 3-3 3FG, and 5 REB in only 17 minutes. Greivis also had a solid all-around night with 17PTS 4REB 6AST, while Hayes added 13PTS 6REB 5AST and Big Sexy chipped in 13PTS 2REB 2AST. It was a great team performance and at that point, seemed to answer some questions regarding the Terps' ability to play in big games.

Final Score: Terps 80, (6) Michigan State 62

2007-08 Basketball: 1/19/08 at (1) North Carolina

Last year, the Terps headed down to Chapel Hill for their matchup with the undefeated and top-ranked Tar Heels with a sloppy 11-7 record, which included unexpected home losses to Ohio and American (see ACT II), and a neutral court loss to VCU in the BB&T Classic. With such inconsistent play, the Terps left many fans wondering if they could even keep the game close. The first half went back and forth, with each team leading at times, but Maryland went into the locker room up by 6 thanks to James Gist who had a monster half with 13PTs 9REB, and Greivis who dished out 7AST. James and Boom ultimately were the key to containing All-American forward Tyler Hansbrough. Although he finished with 17PTS 14REB, the duo of Osby (12PTS 5REB) and Gist (22PTS 13REB) kept him below his season scoring average. General Greivis also ran the offense efficiently, as the Terps posted 82PTS on only 64FGA, and he finished with 12PTS 6REB 11AST. Thanks to a late game bucket that was ALMOST a travel by everyone's favorite Terp, Maryland left the Dean Dome with a W.

Final Score: Terps 82, (1) UNC 80

2007 Football: 11/10/07 vs (8) Boston College

There are very few games after which I save my computer-printed student ticket stub, but this is one of them. It was by far the most memorable game I've ever seen at Byrd Stadium. It was late in the season, it was cold, and apparently the game wasn't important enough for Andrew and Rob. Nevertheless, Steve, Zach, and I braved the low temperatures to sit through a seemingly inevitable loss at the hands of a more talented and successful team led by a Top-5 NFL Draft Pick. What we got was one of the best games in recent UMD Football history.

Final Score: Terps 42, (8) BC 35

2006-07 Basketball: 2/25/07 vs (5) North Carolina

My freshman year, despite attending almost every home game, I was unable to get a ticket to the Duke game, so the most memorable game I saw at Comcast was against the fifth-ranked Tar Heels. After a 4-point home loss to UVA 3 weeks earlier, the Terps managed to string together 4 consecutive wins vs Duke, at NC State, at Clemson, and vs Florida State. All three starting seniors, Ibekwe, DJ, and Mike Jones (WHO?), continued their hot play, and ultimately won the game for the good guys. UNC came roaring out of the gate, winning the tipoff and getting an easy layup for their star, the aforementioned Hansbrough, to go up by two just 24 seconds into the game. The lead was stretched to 13 on two seperate occasions, but by halftime it had been cut to 3 behind 10PTS from DJ Strawberry and 8PTS from Gist. Maryland was able to keep the game close for the first 10 minutes of the second half, staying within single digits until the 10:21 mark, when Ty Lawson hit a 3 to put UNC up 69-59. The defecit was 12 with 7:13 remaining. From that point, Mike Jones (WHO?) and DJ just took over.

Final Score: Terps 89, (5) UNC 87

ACT II: The game that we, NO MATTER WHAT, should not have lost, but somehow didn't win

(I hope you enjoyed ACT I, because from here on out, this script is a tragedy. There are some games under which no circumstances is a loss expected, or acceptable. These are the cupcake games, the gimmes, the final scores that are so lopsided they make you say, "Wow, did I read that box score right?" Unfortunately, they DID force you to ask yourself that question, but not because of the margin of victory, but because the Terps didn't end up on the winning side. These games also help destroy that sense of hope instilled in ACT I.)

2008-09 Basketball: 1/7/09 vs Morgan State

After terrible home losses during winter break the year before to Ohio and American (see below), it appeared the Terps had navigated the potentially dangerous waters of the non-conference schedule with only (10) Gonzaga and (16) Georgetown as blemishes on their 11-2 record (for more on the Georgetown game, see ACT IV below). Of all the non-conference teams we were scheduled to play this year, Morgan State seemed to be the biggest cupcake of them all. We had survived Vermont, and logged solid wins against Charlotte, American, and even a solid Michigan team at home already. What did we have to fear against Morgan State and Todd Bozeman? The answer was a 6'4" junior guard from Baltimore who played HS ball with Bonecrusher. Reggie Holmes exploded for 25PTS 8REB on 10-22FG including 5-11 3FG. Sadly, this game could also be considered an ACT III performance. With a 11:39 remaining, the Terps enjoyed a healthy 14 point lead. Holmes simply took over the game. From that point, he scored 16PTS on 6-8FG 4-6 3FG while adding 5REB and 1STL. No play was bigger than the offensive rebound/tip-in with 1:30 remaining to put the Bears up 63-61... except for the dagger 3 he hit to put Morgan State up 66-63 with 0:49 left after Dave Neal had hit 2FT to tie the game at 63. It's amazing how a player shooting that well was able to get that many open looks. Oh wait, he probably was being guarded by Eric Hayes.

Final Score: Terps 65, Morgan State 66

2008 Football: at Middle Tennessee State

Final Score:

2007-08 Basketball: vs ohio, vs american

Final Score:

ACT III: The Epic Fail

(In this act, no matter whether we were underdogs, favorites, or evenly matched, we found a way to accrue a faily large lead late in the game, but managed to blow it. These games are the epitome of choke. They also could easily appear on FAIL BLOG. If ACT II didn't destroy your hope for the season, this will certainly do the trick.)

2008-09 Basketball: 1/14/09 at Miami
The first ACC road game of the season turned out to be a memorable one for most Terp fans. Sure, the game was close and there was a slight chance Greivis's 27 foot heave from the top of the key at the buzzer could have fallen, giving the Terps a great W. But we never should have let McClinton shoot the 'Canes back into the game. With 12:32 remaining in the game, Dino (he went to my high school) hit a layup off a pass from Greivis, and we went up 52-35. So how in the world do we end up with the L? From that point on, the Terps scored on only 8 points on 16 possessions, including shooting 3-15 FG, 0-5 3FG, grabbing only 4 OREB, and committing 4 TO. As much as I love me some Adrian Bowie and his 23PTS 5REB 3AST 2STL, he turned the ball over on 3 consecutive possessions with under 2 minutes to play, and those 3 TO led to 5 Miami points. Good teams don't blow 17-point second-half leads. Sadly, though, this isn't anywhere NEAR the worst ACT III performances.
Final Score: Terps 60, Miami 62

2007-08 Basketball: 3/2/08 vs (22) Clemson

There already exists an entire post of my thoughts and feelings which was written hours after the game, which can be seen here, but I will attempt to take a more statistical analysis regarding the game in this post. Despite some early season losses, the Terps managed to turn the season around by upsetting (1) UNC on the road and continued their hot play throught much of the conference season. Realistically needing to win out to get an NCAA Tournament bid, the Terps welcomed the 22nd ranked Tigers and their 20-7 record to the Comcast Center for an expectedly close ACC conference game. What they got was a jarring, confidence-shaking loss that further exaggerated the Terps inability to close out games. Simply put, this was the most frustrating, demoralizing game I've ever seen in person. To this day, all other losses are measured relative to the Oglesby game. With 11:21 remaining, Greivis scored a putback off a missed layup by Cliff Tucker, putting the Terps up 20, 59-39, forcing Oliver Purnell to call a timeout. Purnell's speech during that timeout must have been damn good, as the Tigers outscored the Terps 34-11 to finish the game. Let me repeat that. 34-11. That is inexcusable. Offense should never simply shut down that badly, and defense should never allow an opponent to score almost as many points in the last 1/4 of the game as they have total through the first 3/4 of the game. The lead was still 13, 68-55, with 4:48 left. Yet in the final 4:48, the Terps managed just 2 points on 8 possessions, shooting 1-6 FG including 0-3 3PTFG and 0-1 FT with 3TO. When your opponent is putting together a solid run to claw back into the game and you can't stop them on D, you have to find a way to keep pace. Sadly, the Terps were just out of steam. After a dunk by James Mays tied the game at 70 with 0:45 remaining, a missed jumper by Greivis and a defensive rebound by Sam Perry allowed Clemson to take a timeout and set up a play. "Oglesby for three?" I remember asking Steve. Sure enough, OGLESBY! Dagger three, and we lose 73-70. Each of us walked back to our dorm separately, not saying a word. After looking at the box score, even though it seemed Oglesby was the reason we lost, it was James Mays who came up biggest down the stretch, recording 9PTS 2REB 1STL on 4-4 FG and 1-1 FT in the last 4:09. A few statistical bright spots for the Terps included Bowie shooting a perfect 6-6 FG for 12PTS, James Gist leading Maryland scorers with 15PTS 8REB 2AST 3BLK, and a solid all-around game from Greivis with 13PTS 8REB 7AST. Along with those 7AST came 7 of the Terps' 21TO. After this deflating loss, the Terps went on to lose at Virginia and in the first round of the ACC Tournament against BC. Less than three weeks after being NCAA Tournament hopefuls, we were off on our third trip to the NIT in four years thanks to Terrence Oglesby and his dagger three.

Final Score: Terps 70, (22) Clemson 73

2007 Football: 9/22/07 at Wake Forest
Although the basketball team has mastered the art of the late game collapse, Ralph and the football team have choked here and there too. None was more deflating than the loss at Wake Forest early in the 2007 season.
Final Score: Terps 24, Wake Forest 31 (OT)

ACT IV: The Game that Could Have Been

(In this act, Maryland entered a game with significant pre-game buzz surrounding either a huge upset, or a possible postseason berth, but came away with neither. Not only did we lose, we lost BIG. These losses are embarassing, although not quite as crushing as the ACT III flops, in which we managed to accumulate a lead only to lose. These make you scratch your head and wonder if the team was ever mentally ready to play in the first place.)

2008-09 Basketball: 1/24/09 at (2) Duke

It's really hard for me to put into words how bad we looked this past Saturday.

Final Score: Terps 44, (2) Duke 85

2008-09 Basketball: 11/30/08 vs (16) Georgetown at the Old Spice Classic

Coming off of that huge win against (6) Michigan State in Orlando, the Terps ran into a hot Gonzaga team the next night and were demolished 59-81. After a day of rest, and a day for the media to go crazy with the prospect of the two powerhouse programs in the DC-metro area going head to head for only the third time since 1980, and the first meeting since the 2001 NCAA Tournament, where the Terps defeated the Hoyas 76-66 en route to their first ever Final Four. The press was blowing up the game in terms of historical and regional significance, and local bragging (and definitely some recuiting) rights were on the line as well. Expectations were high, but the Terps' FG% was not.
Final Score: Terps 48, (16) Georgetown 75

2008 Football: 11/22/08 vs Florida State

Despite insufficient funding in the Athletic Department, which prevented free t-shirts from being passed out, Byrd was officially blacked out for the last home game of the year, senior night. It was freezing, but Terps fans came out to cheer on their team with a shot at the ACC title on the line. Had Wake lost earlier that night, the Terps could have punched their ticket to the Dr. Pepper ACC Championship game with a win over the Noles. Wake won on a drive late in the fourth quarter, so the Terps needed to win at home vs FSU and on the road the following week at BC to keep their hopes alive. In the words of my esteemed colleague Turd, [Fuck you Bob] Maryland shat the bed. After a scoreless first quarter, FSU posted 21 in the second quarter thanks to a 22YD fumble recovery taken to the house. After a third quarter which featured 1FG by each team, the Noles completely slammed the door on the Terps' ACC title hopes with a 13-point fourth. We were outrushed 172-103. Turner was sacked 6 times and picked twice. Terps fans left Byrd cold, disappointed, and looking to next season.

Final Score: (22) Terps 3, Florida State 37

2007 Football: 9/13/07 vs West Virginia

After being destroyed on the road against WVU the year before (see below), the Terps hosted the Mountaineers for a Thursday night blackout game. The ESPN crew was there, the Army sent paratroopers, and the fans were loud and looking for their Terps to move to 3-0. Quite frankly, the team just forgot to show up.

Final Score: Terps 14, WVU 31

2006 Football: 9/14/06 at West Virginia

I remember this game mainly because I only watched about 5 minutes of it. As a freshman taking HONR100, I was forced to attend a dance performance this particular Thursday night at CSPAC. I can't remember a damn thing about the dance, but I can tell you when I got out, ran across the street to Denton and up 5 flights of stairs to turn on the TV in my room, the score was already 31-7 and it wasn't even worth watching. I only include it on this list because the 'rivalry' with the Mountaineers was supposed to be a good one. This game was not. Steve Slaton ran for 195YDS on 21CAR including 2TD. Pat White ran for 85YDS on 12CAR and 1TD, and added another TD through the air. Terps QB Sam Hollenbach racked up 211YDS 2TD 2INT, but most of the yards came after the game had already been decided.

Final Score: Terps 24, WVU 45

________________________________________

By the end of these performances, it's easy to see that we are never as good of a team as we could be. We choke, we can't string wins together, and ultimately, we fall short of our goal. The Championship run was only seven years ago, but it, as well as the exciting turn of the millennium seem like forever ago. Gone are the days when we can be considered "elite" by any standards, especially Nike's, who's other Nike Elite schools include programs that are actually GOOD, like Kansas, Syracuse, Arizona, Ohio State, Florida, and Duke. That's perfectly okay, though, because we no longer wear Nike Elite uniforms. Now we're OWNED by Under Armour. WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE...unless we feel like giving the game away to the likes of Reggie Holmes or Oglesby.

The Title of this is NOT "Unplugging the Fridge"

It's been a big week in Maryland football. By the looks of it, the biggest in at least a decade. Yesterday OC James Franklin, the teams contractual Head Coach in Waiting, left the program to become the Head Coach at Vanderbilt. While it had looked very unlikely that he would actually succeed Ralph Friedgen ever since Kevin Anderson became the school's new AD, he was still the man who the coaching staff could point to for continuity given that the Fridge's coaching days were coming to a close irrespective of his success.

Apparently that was just the tip of the iceberg as I came home today to the news that not only was Franklin officially gone after a week of back and forth, but it looked like the team would have a new head coach as well in the coming weeks. Apparently Franklin's departure, along with the pending departure of several assistant coaches who would go with Franklin, as well as Fridge's lack of contract past next season, has set off a chain of events where the ten year coach is going to be bought out by the school in the coming weeks.

Needless to say, this is shocking, intriguing stuff, especially on the heels of Anderson giving the Big Man an explicit vote of confidence assuring his return next season. It isn't official (although Chick Hernandez has reported it as fact and ESPN has picked up on it as well), but the fallout here will be amazing.

Clearly with Fridge enjoying a resurgence and winning the ACC Coach of the Year award, and a young team that will likely start next season inside the top 20 as possible Atlantic Division favorites, Anderson and, let's face it, Kevin Plank, need to have a plan. Early indications are that former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach may go from message board fantasy and blog banter to reality in the coming weeks. Leach and Maryland are a match that has made sense given Plank (and TT's) Under Armour ties (not of the neckwear kind), but we will know for sure. For now there are two emotional sides to this: the Fridge side and the Leach side.

Say what you want about Fridge, but the man ressurrected football at this school. The team finished above .500 just once in the 15 years before Fridge, and even that was a 6-5-1 season that ended in an Independence Bowl tie. Fridge one from day one, and while he would never match the success of his first three seasons that included 31 wins, a National Coach of the Year award, and an ACC title, the team won much more than it had in its recent past. His current record is 74-40, and he's an alumni coming off a season where the team nearly stole a share of the Atlantic Division. It simply doesn't feel right for him to be forced out, at least not now. Not this year.

On the other hand, there is more than a little bit of excitement in a possible move. It's certainly clear even to the those with the most severe cases of Fridge Fever that the program had plateaued (at best). Football will always likely be second best at Maryland, but there is no reason that the program should have as little buzz as it does right now. Hiring Leach, a guy who has succeeded in the Big XII and excited fans with his preposterous Air Raid Offense, signals not only a commitment to winning by the school, but perhaps more importanly by Kevin Plank. We got that UA money now, bitches. Oregon and their second rate sweatshop using clothier can GTFOOH.

But of course there's some apprehension. Kevin Anderson, by making a move, damn well had better do it right. Anything less than Mike Leach as the replacement, if it happens this month, is an utter failure. Other names being bandied about (Ty Willingham and Mike Locksley) are probably just idle speculation, but they are scary idle speculation. Even Leach is far from teflon as a candidate. He won 10 games just once at Texas Tech and went a combined 5-15 against Texas and Oklahoma during his tenure there. Tech was good, but they were clearly second tier in their conference. And, oh yeah, he got fired for unapologetically locking the concussive son of Craig James is a dark shed after a practice. Not that I particularly care about players getting locked in sheds as long as he wins 9 games a year here, but it probably warrants mentioning.

So stay tuned. This is bittersweet. Farewell Fridge...maybe.

The Fridge

The Terps now hold the Coach of the Year award in both major sports with the Fridge being announced as this year's football winner today. Things are darkest before the dawn, or so they say, and it couldn't get much worse than last year. The team went just 2-10, with a 24-21 win at home against eventual Atlantic Division champ Clemson being the only win in 11 tries against I-A opponents.

Things changed quite a bit this year. After squeaking by Navy in a thriller for the second time in the renewed series, the team did something different in absolutely demolishing Morgan State 62-3. Granted that Morgan is a bad, I-AA football team (they finished 4-7), but the Terps had rarely blown out even bad teams over the past few years. That game was also the dawn of the Danny O'Brien era. After playing one snap (and losing a fumble) in Week 1 against the Mids, O'Brien tossed 10 passes on the day in a backup role, with three of them going for scores.

After getting handled in Morgantown against rival West Virginia, things looked like they were headed south again. The next week saw a two TD win over eventual Sun Belt champ Florida International, a deceptively tough team that had given Texas A&M and Rutgers tough games (losing by a total of 12 points) in its first two contests.

Duke came to town for the first time in years the next week. After an epic tailgate, I can't really break down the game itself, but a late defensive stop sealed it, and at 4-1, many finally began to think the Terps might be bowl bound. A disheartening 31-7 loss to Clemson after a bye week showed the team wasn't quite as good as its early record, but they came back strong to win at Boston College which snapped a ten game losing streak on the road.

Danny O'Brien was officially on his way to a nice season. He threw for three scores again at BC which followed up a turnover marred 300 yard day against Clemson. The next game against Wake was the best yet, a 62-14 homecoming win which sealed the team's bowl eligibility and established themselves as a divisional contender going into the season's last month. O'Brien had four scores and the Terps tied the school record for most points in an ACC game, scoring 60+ in a game for just the fifth time since joining the league.

A late loss to a freshman-QB led Miami team was disappointing though promising considering how highly the Canes were thought of and the fact that it was a road game. After three quarters of a back and forth game in Charlottesville, the Terps scored three late touchdowns to win going away and position themselves for a chance to win the ACC Atlantic with a win in each of its final two weeks.

That was not to be with a loss to Florida State in a game where the team was driving with less than a minute to go before a pick deep in the drive sealed their fate. Even without a chance to win the division, the team bounced back strong behind 400 plus yards from DOB in the team's final home game.

The team is now 8-4 with its first winning conference record since 2006. After an offseason of what seemed like the entire fanbase wanting the Fridge (and James Franklin) tarred and feathered, he showed the fans he still had something left in the tank. I can't say that I would have been especially broken up to see Fridge voluntarily retire last year, but the way the fans turned on an alum just a year removed from back to back bowls was pretty disheartening. He may or may not have deserved to keep his job, but he at least deserved some respect.

His job is no longer in jeopardy, of course. Kevin Anderson announced several weeks ago that he would be back, and now with an 8 win season and a possible national ranking pending a bowl win, the only question is how long he's guaranteed to be here for after this season. The most exciting thing is the youth of the team with DOB, unsurprisingly, being named the league's ROY. He threw for 21 touchdowns despite starting just nine games on the season. Given that pace and given that he is, of course, a freshman, he's well on his way to owning every single school record. The only real question is where he ends up in the conference record book. Phillip Rivers is the freshman (25) and all-time (95) TD leader. The first mark probably won't be eclipsed by O'Brien while the latter could certainly fall.

Vets Torrey Smith, Kenny Tate, Alex Wujciak and Tony Logan made the All-ACC first team. Joe Vellano made the second team, and Paul Pinegar made the honorable mention list. Smith in particular had a monster game against NC State with over 200 yards receiving and may have played his last game at Byrd Stadium. As much hype as DHB got during his time here, his actual production pales in comparison to what Torrey has done the past couple of seasons.

Now it's time for the bowl. Unfortunately, the destination sucks. The team gets rewarded for its 8-4 season by going to the Military Bowl, the destination for the league's eighth pick. The opponent is even worse, 6-6 East Carolina from Conference USA, a decidedly not-at-all-sexy opponent. So for improving by six wins and finishing over .500, the team gets to go five miles down the road to play in freezing weather against a team that may be one of the worst three or four teams to make a bowl this season.

Of course Virginia Tech is going to the Orange Bowl, and naturally the Peach Bowl selected Florida State, a team that finished as the conference's runner-up and which probably has the most passionate fanbase in the country. After that, things got weird. The Champs Sports Bowl took NC State despite its late loss to Maryland to wrap the season up. The Terps were then passed over for the Sun Bowl for 7-5 Miami to set up a "dream" match between the Canes and Notre Dame, despite Miami struggling to end the season and firing its coach. Scandal ridden North Carolina got taken by the Music City Bowl to face Tennessee and 6-6 Clemson, another team that finished weakly, got selected to play in Charlotte and 6-6 Georgia Tech went to the Independence Bowl as the seventh selection, one that the Terps apparently had little interest in.

It really sucks that the team might finished ranked but got no respect in the bowl selections, but either way, it shouldn't diminish an awesome turnaround season. With almost all the key players returning next year (pending early departures by Smith and/or Tate), a big win and a top 25 ranking would go a long way to building momentum and fan interest (which was sorely lacking this season) for 2011.

Wat

If you're a Terps fan, you're hard-wired with a sense of pessimism that causes you to think the worst possible outcome will always be the one that you witness. Maybe it's a function of the Bias tragedy, the years as a football bottom dweller, and the close-but-no-cigar nature of the basketball for so many years before the National Championship. Or maybe it's just something ingrained in all sports fans (especially the loud ones from Philly - you know the ones I mean).

Either way, if you've watched this year's Terps football team, you know that nothing is set in stone. Start the season by losing to Middle Tennessee and squeaking by Delaware. Follow that up with wins over Cal and Clemson when things look bleakest. So even going into what is, on paper, a laugher against Virginia, you just don't take things lightly. The Terps could blow the Cavs out, or they could squeak by them. A loss isn't out of the question. But no one saw this travesty coming.

This loss was worse than the Terps' basketball losses to American and Ohio last December. The Terps not only lost to the worst team in the conference, they were thoroughly whipped, 31-0. It was amazing. After Virginia came into Byrd last season and beat the Terps by constantly running off-tackle, led by Mikell Simpson and Cedric Peerman, they did the same thing tonight. Peerman had 110 yards (only 96 in UVA's first four games) and Simpson had 77 yards (105 coming into tonight).

Let me take this opportunity to remind you that this was a Virginia team that had lost by a combined score of 128-20 to its three Division I-A opponents this season. Including a four-TD loss to a Duke team that hadn't won a conference game since 2004. Think about that one.

The Terps looked particularly terrible at the line of scrimmage. Both lines lack talent, and it was exposed against a supposedly inferior team for the second time this season. The defensive line has a complete lack of playmakers, and the offensive line was terrible in both rush and pass protection, despite being one of the most experienced units in the country. Da'rel Scott put up poor numbers again this week, but its tough for him to run when defenders are already in the backfield when he touches the ball.

The coaching staff is an embarrassment at this point. The Fridge is 15-19 in ACC games since the start of the 2004 season, a record that barely qualifies as mediocre. Defensive coordinator Chris Cosh does not seem to ever have watched a game of football before in his life, and seems only slightly more qualified to be a collegiate coordinator than my Mom is. With all due respect to retards, Cosh is a retard.

New Offensive Coordinator James Franklin is showing why Fridge likes him so much. His offense has somehow managed to give DHB just one touch (no catches) in two weeks of ACC play. Even if he isn't open in the passing game, how awesome has he been running the ball? He has about 300 yards on 11 carries over the past two seasons, and with the team down big, you don't even try to get something going by giving your star playmaker the ball? And let's not even talk about the lack of imagination in playcalling when Josh Portis goes under center. With just two throws (compared to 25 runs) this year so far, it isn't hard for opposing defenses to guess what happens when Portis plays QB.

So who cares anymore? The Terps will probably win the two more games that they need to make it to a bowl game. But is anyone excited about playing Navy in the first annual EagleBank Bowl at RFK stadium a few days before Christmas? I'm not, and unfortunately the Fridge's warranty has expired (me = clever).