Maryland Blown Out By Virginia, Ending Bowl Hopes
By petevolk
When writing about Maryland’s football team, it often feels like you can just re-print articles from previous weeks, just substituting the name of the opponent that inevitably ran them into the ground.
An inability to move the ball through the air? Check.
An insistence to continue to try to do so, even though the run game is more effective? Check.
A complete lack of anything resembling a rushing defense? Check.
Purely putrid special teams play? Check.
Horrible, horrible, inexplicably horrible playcalling? Check check and check.
Now, you can add a new wrinkle – turnovers, and five of them. Maryland hosted rivals Virginia Saturday afternoon in College Park, and lost 31-13 in a game that eliminated the Terrapins from bowl contention.
Danny O’Brien got the start at quarterback for Maryland, and didn’t receive much help from his drop-filled receiving corps. C.J. Brown spelled him on a few drives, but the two combined for 20/43 for 269 yards and one touchdown against three interceptions. Davin Meggett only had nine rushes on the day (for 52 yards), an inexcusable total when you consider Maryland’s lack of a passing attack. Conversely, Justus Pickett had six rushes, for 13 yards.
The worst part of the continual quarterback switching was the timing of all of it. Each quarterback was pulled immediately after making a mistake, leaving no room for positive reinforcement and leaving Maryland without a true answer at quarterback. There is a way to work a two quarterback system, and this is assuredly not it.
For Virginia, Perry Jones ran 22 times for 139 yards and two scores, while Michael Rocco completed 23/36 passes for 306 yards and two touchdowns.
The game was close at the half, as a late Rocco pass to a wide-open Kevin Parks for a 35-yard touchdown gave the Cavaliers a 14-13 lead heading into the break. From that point on, it was all Virginia, as Maryland seemingly stopped trying to compete and just let the rival Hoos run all over them.
The Terps were outgained by nearly 200 yards on the day, and were outplayed in literally every facet of the game.
You can now legitimately ask whether Maryland will win another game this season, and we’re inclined to lean towards no there. With Notre Dame, Wake Forest, and NC State left on the schedule, it’s hard not to see the second 2-10 season in three years for the Terps. And make no mistake, this season is much worse than that ’09 campaign – at least that team played every game close.
It’s a tough time to be a Maryland fan, with little to no hope on the horizon. I’d like to give some words of encouragement here, but I’ve got none. Yes, this is a young team, but it’s hard to imagine much changing with the coaching staff that’s currently in place. Randy Edsall’s contract prevents any hope of a buyout there, so the only thing Terps fans have left to hold on to is that he gains some sense and fires all three of his coordinators – Gary Crowton, Todd Bradford, and Lyndon Johnson. None of the units are functioning at the moment, and some change needs to happen, and now.
We’ll have more on this game later.