NCAA Football FanHouse

Posse On Bowl-way: Maryland

Ian Cohen — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 13:13:00 EST

Filed under: Maryland Football, ACC, Bowl Games, Oregon State Football

Happy To Be Here?

Considering that the ACC is considered the be the weakest of the BCS conferences, I would say that any bowl game played outside of Kabul is a sweet reward for going 6-6 (3-5). And to think- they weren't even the last choice from the conference!

Granted, they were only one of four teams that managed to beat two Top-Ten teams this season, although the win against #10 Rutgers feels like it was from an era where women weren't allowed to vote and mass air travel was done via zeppelin. Let's also remember that they claim Villanova and Florida International as two other scalps. Then again, they were at least competitive in most of their losses and this could just be an evening out of karma for last season where they were often outplayed statistically but also often victorious.

Come Here Often?

This is the Terrapins' first trip to the Emerald Bowl, although they have been to bowls the previous three seasons and won them by a combined 95-17.

Why Care?

I'll admit that the Emerald Bowl feels like a raw deal for just about any ACC team; they have to travel all the way across the country and play a team that could likely make a day trip out of it. Moreover, it's usually somewhat uneven- Oregon State is 3rd in the Pac-10 and probably playing better than that, after turning on the rocket sauce late in the season, as is their tradition. Moreover, they're 2nd in the country against the run and Maryland doesn't really have a passing game that's been reliable at any point this year...particularly illustrated by how they're near the bottom statistically in terms of sacks allowed. Guess it wasn't just Chris Long tearing these guys up. Still, Ralph Friedgen is certainly the kind of coach you'd want on the sidelines with about a month's worth of preparation and the Terps have been known to play to the level of their competition as long as it isn't West Virginia.

And The Winner Is...

I imagine that I'll be tempted to give the benefit of the doubt to the ACC considering, you know, it's my beat and all. But in reality, Oregon State has nearly every conceivable advantage on either side of the ball and the fact that the last two Emerald Bowls resulted in upsets is probably not enough for one of the weakest teams that made the postseason.

Oregon State 23 Maryland 13

Posse On Bowl-way: Maryland originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 27 Dec 2007 13:13:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Boys In Blue? Terps Beast Out On NC State

Ian Cohen — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 19:56:00 EST

Filed under: Maryland Football, NC State Football, ACC, BCS, Bowl Games

Granted, one could use the word "inconsistent" to accurately describe the play of both Maryland and NC State this season, but looking at Saturday's tilt between the two, NC State had three things going for them: momentum, homefield advantage and, most likely, a better working relationship between their QB and head coach. Seemingly healthy for the first time all season, the Terps made good on Ralph Friedgen's reputation with a frighteningly balanced offensive attack that shut things down rather early for the Wolfpack en route to a 37-0 decimation. Led by a Cerberus attack of Da'Rel Scott (Plymouth-Whitemarsh stand up!), Lance Ball and Keon Lattimore, MD racked up 249 yards on the ground compared to NC State's 10 and Chris Turner an almost mistake-free game, throwing for 206 yards on 19-24 passing.

For Maryland, this puts them back at 6-6, indicative of their up and down year. Fortunately for them, they've become the eighth bowl eligible team for the ACC, which has eight bowl tie-ins...meaning that they're the best bet to play in the Roady's Humanitarian bowl, provided there's no funny business with the selection process. They'll most likely get a crack at Boise State (though the Aloha Bowl might come calling for them) or Nevada.

Boys In Blue? Terps Beast Out On NC State originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sun, 25 Nov 2007 19:56:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Referee Creates New Penalty: Giving Someone the Business

Brian Grummell — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 15:07:00 EST

Filed under: Maryland Football, NC State Football, ACC, The Word

ACC official Ron Cherry is the Shakespeare of our time, inventing jargon at his whim. I mean, giving someone the business is common enough but not as applied to officiating.

Enjoy a fourth quarter moment of levity from yesterday's Maryland - North Carolina State game.

Referee Creates New Penalty: Giving Someone the Business originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sun, 25 Nov 2007 15:07:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Maryland's Henderson In A World Of Pain

Ian Cohen — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 13:57:00 EST

Filed under: Maryland Football, ACC, BCS, NCAA FB Injuries

Sometimes, you have to wonder how much you can really relate to the players you root for every Saturday (or, Thursday...or, Friday, if you're a WAC fan). Yeah, you may have chosen the same university to attend, but beyond that, there's not a whole lot else you may have in common.

This is particularly true in football where every single play results in some form of concussion. I mean, think what it takes for you to miss a day of work; I know a lot of people who take sick days because it's cloudy. Meanwhile, ballyhooed Maryland LB Erin Henderson is on some "Boy Named Sue" tip, toughing things out to a ridiculous extent possibly because he shares the first name of college football's premiere sideline eye candy, most likely because he wants to join brother E.J. in the NFL.

He's expected to play in the crucial matchup with NC State on Saturday, but dig his offseason schedule: on Monday, he's set for an MRI to determine whether he'll need arthroscopic knee surgery (ultimately determined by the Terps' bowl fate), and here's a sample of his weekly regimen:

On Mondays, Henderson spends nearly two hours with a chiropractor. On Tuesdays, he visits a deep-tissue massage therapist. On Wednesdays, he has another session with the chiropractor.

So yeah, next time you're thinking about booing your own squad, keep in mind that's what players are generally up to as opposed to setting their schedule around viewing "30 Rock." Then again, it didn't say what Henderson has scheduled on Thursdays...in that case, he should be watching "30 Rock." Sounds like he could use a laugh.

Maryland's Henderson In A World Of Pain originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 22 Nov 2007 13:57:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Boston College Plays the Same Song

Charles Rich — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 23:34:00 EST

Filed under: Boston College Football, Maryland Football, ACC

By the time Tom O'Brien left Boston College for North Carolina State, it seemed a lot like an amicable divorce. Boston College appreciated the job he had done for them, but it was time for both sides to move on to something else. BC fans were a little tired of solid 7-9 win regular seasons, a minor bowl, and a ranking in or near the top-25. There had to be something better.

Enter Jeff Jagodzinski and a more open offense. The Eagles reeled off 8 straight wins, had a Heisman candidate QB and a solid defense. This year, at least, things would be different.

Um, no. After the loss to Florida State, Boston College gets dropped by Maryland 42-35.

Maryland had lost three straight including a stunner to North Carolina and hadn't scored more than 17 points in that space. In only one game against 1-A opponents did Maryland exceed 30 points this season. Tonight they exploded on offense. Despite starting running back Keon Lattimore not playing, Lance Ball ran for over 100 yards and Chris Turner threw for over 300 yards.

Boston College hadn't allowed a team to score 30 points all season. Against the Terrapins, the BC defense continued to give up big plays.

The Eagles are now 8-2 with a game at Clemson next week. Essentially to decide who will be going to the ACC Championship game from the Atlantic division.

Boston College Plays the Same Song originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 10 Nov 2007 23:34:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Josh Portis Is For The Children

Ian Cohen — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 21:31:00 EST

Filed under: Maryland Football, ACC, BCS, NCAA FB Gossip, The Word

"They got the dropout keeping kids in the school"- Kanye West, "Champion"

Okay, that's not quite what happened here, but it's close enough. You might remember Josh Portis from performing rather impressively for Urban Meyer in his freshman year before he and his mother put up a stink to get him out of there before Tim Tebow could zoom past him on the depth chart. You also might remember him as a potential answer to an unsettled Maryland QB situation before encountering academic suspension for, as he puts it, "looking on somebody's paper."

Portis is understandably hoping that it's not the last you hear of him, and once again at his mother's urging, he's visiting at least three elementary schools in the College Park area to share his story. Granted, this appears to be 1/8th as fun as the assembly-type events I had in elementary school, but then again, I'm not even sure if kids get snow days anymore, so I guess you take what you can get. A lot of area schools are probably willing to stick to the collegians after a bunch of smart alecky kids asked Steve McNair what living during the Depression was like.

Most importantly, there's the implication that next year's QB derby for the Terps will be wide open once again. After starting out impressively, Chris Turner turned in a rather pedestrian performance against Virginia and won't be helped out by the injuries befalling his offensive line. I don't want to say I'm rooting against the guy, but if I have to watch another UMD game where the announcers try to relate to the "broseph" TV viewers by going on and on about his resemblance to Napoleon Dynamite, I might be begging for the sweet release of death soundtracked by Pam Ward.

Josh Portis Is For The Children originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 23 Oct 2007 21:31:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ralph Friedgen: Quit Yer Whinin'

Ian Cohen — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 19:50:00 EST

Filed under: Maryland Football, Virginia Football, ACC, BCS, NCAA FB Coaching

Flashback to the week before the Maryland/UVA tilt of 2002. Stuck off the realness only a one-game winning streak against a team you haven't beaten in nearly a decade can provide, Ralph Friedgen was heard to remark, "we expect to beat teams like Duke and Virginia." As night fell on Charlottesville that Saturday, Friedgen and his Terrapins would end up wearing a 48-13 ass-whoopin' with pride.

So it's not unprecedented for Ralph Mouth to completely discount the possibility of Virginia managing to prove he's the most dubiously touted "offensive genius" in Maryland outside of Brian Billick. Take this Saturday's nailbiter that ended in a hotly contested 18-17 Virginia victory. Now, he could've praised "fourth-string tight end" (as an ESPN recap referred to him as, despite having a 6'0", 195 lb." frame) Mikell Simpson, who singlehandedly racked up more yards than the entire Maryland offense. Or, he could've admitted that his offensive line allowed Chris Long made millions on Saturday with a performance that will probably constitute 85% of his highlight reel when ESPN televises the 2008 draft. Or, he could've took his defense to task for allowing one of the country's least productive attacks to take go 90 yards in the waning minutes of a game played in their own backyard.

Instead, Friedgen took the high road like so many Maryland fans and blamed the loss on the referees.

"I'll probably get in trouble again, but I had a pretty good view of it," Friedgen said of the touchdown. "I don't have the side angle, but the ball came out on that goal line. I saw it come out. He didn't have possession. "I never see anybody overrule anything anymore," he said. "I'm looking at the replay on the JumboTron, the guy was out of bounds on the fourth-down play, too."

Now, you can obviously accuse me of bias, but the fact is, neither the spot on Mikell Simpson's fourth-down lunge or his last-second leap into the endzone were egregiously bad enough to warrant being overturned. Particularly not when the best Fridge has got was a "pretty good" view watching the replay on the Jumbotron. And peep Kevin Barnes' grammatically dubious rip of a pass interference call that went against him on a 3rd and 16 during the fateful drive:

"I seen the receiver touch the ball," Barnes said. "Me and the ball got there the same time. Blatant pass interference that close in the game? You don't make that call."

Yeah, not a good year for guys named Kevin Barnes to put themselves on display. But easily, the funniest comment I've read thus far is one that accuses referee of...get this, a UVA conspiracy! Sure, the ACC will once again pay for their shortsighted expansion by likely having something other than a second Miami/FSU game, but the thought that referees would be favoring UVA against anyone, let alone Maryland is pretty specious reasoning. First off, Maryland's got a far bigger alumni fan base, not to mention huge pockets of population in New York, Philly, Baltimore and D.C. Secondly, anyone who's been following the Cavaliers for any amount of time knows their fans have been saddled with the reputation of being bad a mobilizing for bowl games (the fact that they're in scenic locales like Boise and Nashville and Charlotte in December makes this a chicken/egg argument anyway).

Either way, this is another small step for legitimizing Virginia after a disastrous start. Now, I don't want to portray the Hoo faithful as a bunch of nattering nabobs of negativity, a: because it's a bad look and b: outside of the football factories, everyone else likes to think of their team as the most doomed. But after UVA's initial BCS ranking was announced as #19, my friend texted me: "there's NO way they beat Maryland." Which made sense, seeing as how UVA had neither won a game while ranked or won a conference road game outside the state of North Carolina since 2004. But don't think that makes anyone any less scared of the upcoming trip to Raleigh.

Ralph Friedgen: Quit Yer Whinin' originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 22 Oct 2007 19:50:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Somehow Virginia Wins

Charles Rich — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 00:24:00 EST

Filed under: Maryland Football, Virginia Football, ACC

This time it was an 18-17 win over Maryland. Virginia completely dominated on the stat sheet with 200 more total yards than Maryland, but it took a touchdown with 16 seconds left in the game for Virginia to complete the comeback and get the win.

Sophomore QB Jameel Sewell has continued to improve in the season. Making plays to keep Virginia alive.

The story, though was little used tight end Mikell Simpson. He was forced into action when starting TE Tom Santi (and the leading receiver) went down in the game. All the sophomore did was pick up 152 receiving yards and have 119 rushing yards plus the two Virginia TDs. Simpson had more total yards than the entire Maryland team.

It's second straight 1-point win for Virginia. In their last 3 games -- all wins -- the points differential is a total of 4 points. This season, Virginia has 4 wins by 2-points or less. Add in the 5 point victory over Georgia Tech, and Virginia has 5 wins by a total of 11 points.

The result is that Virginia is 7-1 overall and 4-0 in the ACC. The Cavs are ranked in the top-25 despite what I thought last week. It's just hard not to think that at some point soon, that the close game will go against them.

Somehow Virginia Wins originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sun, 21 Oct 2007 00:24:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Maryland Healing Over Bye Week

Ian Cohen — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 17:48:00 EST

Filed under: Maryland Football, ACC, BCS, NCAA FB Injuries

"Bye weeks. Bronco Nagurski didn't get no bye weeks! And now he's dead! Well, maybe they're a good thing."- Moe Szyslak

Bye weeks are always a little challenging; on the one hand, you have the ability to spend your Saturday doing something people you don't want to hang out with considering more worthwhile. On the other...freakin' man up! What else am I supposed to do before the sunset makes being drunk somewhat acceptable?

Of course, maybe you shouldn't be so selfish and start realizing that a game of tackle football will bust that ass and five in a row just multiplies that. So even though Maryland's got a good bit of momentum after going hard against the "what happened to that boy?" combo of Rutgers and Georgia Tech, they need a bye week worse than just about anyone in the ACC before they take on rival Virginia on the 20th.

Most notably, QB Jordan Steffy is still undergoing tests, but after watching Chris Turner play, I imagine that a lot of Maryland fans would be just as happy to see him disappear. Other notable injuries including guard Andrew Crummey, who won't be back before the postseason, and linebacker Erin Henderson (brother of current Viking LB E.J.). Of course, Ralph Friedgen ain't sweatin' it:

"I think we're in good shape except for the injuries," Friedgen said.

Eh, I've already made too many Fridge jokes as is. Maybe I should take a bye on that one as well.

Maryland Healing Over Bye Week originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 09 Oct 2007 17:48:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ACC Comebacks Fall Short in the Early Games

Charles Rich — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 17:04:00 EST

Filed under: Georgia Tech Football, Maryland Football, Miami Football, UNC Football, ACC

Coming out of the locker rooms in the second half, an unnamed Miami assistant coach spoke to the ESPN2 sideline reporter off camera. He told him essentially to, "have batteries in the mic ready because they're going to make the greatest comeback ever." Have to admit to dismissing that statement as foolish bravado considering what happened in the first half. The joke was almost on me as Miami actually made a tremendous second half effort.

The Hurricanes scored 20 unanswered points on 3 TD passes in the third quarter to pull within 7, before QB Kyle Wright reverted back to Kyle Wright. He threw two more interceptions in the 4th quarter to kill -- I mean, kill -- Miami drives and hopes. UNC was only able to get a couple FGs out of them, but it put the game out of reach. Miami scored a rather meaningless TD with a little over a minute left in the game. UNC and Butch Davis won the game 33-27 for their first win over Miami since 2004.

Meanwhile Georgia Tech put itself in an early hole against Maryland.

The Yellow Jackets were down 21-3 with under a minute left in the first half when the GT defense drilled Maryland QB Chris Turner for a sack and fumble that was returned for 32 yards and a TD. That put the score at a slightly more manageable deficit. Until then, the Terrapins had dictated everything about the game.

Back-up QB Chris Turner had the start for the injured Jordan Steffy and looked solid. He wasn't outstanding, but he didn't make many mistakes. The Maryland defense was able to keep the Yellow Jackets from getting much to work.

Georgia Tech took their opening possession in the second half and took it right down the field to pull within 4 points, 21-17. Maryland, though, answered right away to extend the lead back to 11. That touchdown was the difference.

GT got a field goal and then added a TD halfway through the 4th quarter. The Yellow Jackets were not able to convert the 2-point attempt and remained behind 28-26. The Terrapins went 3 and out, Georgia Tech marched down the field in a time-consuming drive. They got to the Maryland 25 with more than 2 minutes left.

GT couldn't get any further, and found themselves losing yardage with a costly holding penalty. It forced a 52 yard FG attempt with a minute left. The kick was long enough but stayed just to the right. Maryland was able to hold on for the win.

ACC Comebacks Fall Short in the Early Games originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 06 Oct 2007 17:04:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Maryland-Navy To Resume Rivalry?

Ian Cohen — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 19:54:00 EST

Filed under: Maryland Football, ACC, BCS, Navy Football

Before 2005, Maryland and Navy had not faced each other since 1965. I'm not claiming to be an expert in regards to the financial workings of athletic departments, but the fact that it took four decades for these two to get it crackin' is just plain wrong. For one thing, there's the mere 30 mile separation between Annapolis and College Park and a palatial NFL stadium in which to house the contest. Not to mention that Navy has never shied away from playing BCS schools and even without the proximity, the Middies present a far more intriguing non-conference opponent than, say, Florida Atlantic. As if to make this perfectly obvious scenario even more so, both schools banked $1 million a piece as 67,000 piled in to PSINet Stadium, one of Baltimore's few sources of redemption outside of the harbor area.

For whatever reason (no one's giving any answers), things fell apart pretty quickly, and it doesn't appear to be getting any better. Maryland has decided to quit waiting to get a rematch in 2010 and is looking to move on to other options, but it does seem like there might be a chance to get it together in subsequent years. And although 2010 seems like way too far on the horizon to really have any sort of impact on either fanbase, Terp fans can at least hope that Josh Portis finally sees the field by then..

Believe it or not, there was some insinuation that Navy was stonewalling this thing because Maryland chose the Champs Sports Bowl (vs. Purdue) over the Meineke Car Care Bowl (vs. Navy) this past December. To recap: playing one of 2006's biggest fraud teams in Orlando vs. playing a team that makes you feel like a jerk when you root against them in Charlotte. Seems reasonable to be pissed.

Maryland-Navy To Resume Rivalry? originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 04 Oct 2007 19:54:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Maryland's Got Another Issue with Rutgers

Bill Maloney — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 23:48:00 EST

Filed under: Maryland Football, ACC, Big East, BCS, Rutgers Football

Fortunately Maryland beat Rutgers last Saturday. Imagine the laundry list of issues the Terps would have with Greg Schiano and crew if they had lost to the Knights. The latest controversy is not about tape sharing or off the field chicanery. Maryland is upset about good old fashioned dirty play. As the Star-Ledger reports:

Friedgen, at his weekly press conference yesterday, said "(Rutgers) went after him (Steffy). They were trying to take him out of the game."

Like the tape sharing, it was all for naught. When starting QB Jordan Steffy went down Maryland sent out backup Chris Turner. The raw QB picked up right where Steffy left off en route to the Maryland win.

Last year Rutgers was the darling of college football. Now newbies like South Florida are getting the love, Rutgers will have to win to stay in the spotlight. If they keep sneaking tapes and cheap shoting opponents people will care about Rutgers for all the wrong reasons.

Maryland's Got Another Issue with Rutgers originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Wed, 03 Oct 2007 23:48:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rutgers Video Follies

Charles Rich — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 22:53:00 EST

Filed under: Maryland Football, ACC, Big East, Rutgers Football, NCAA FB Scandal

Relax. This isn't exactly "cameragate, part 2." Actually, Rutgers didn't actually do anything wrong. Another coach at another school did it for them. A Duke coach broke ACC rules to repay a favor to a Rutgers coach, by supplying Rutgers the coaches film of the Wake Forest-Maryland game from the previous week.

The ACC confirmed that, in doing so, the staff member violated the league's video-exchange policy, which requires conference schools to notify other ACC schools when a nonconference program asks for game film.

The ACC has no actual punishment established for this sort of thing. Usually, it's just an accidental screw-up, that gets a letter sent around reminding schools of the policies. Add in the fact that Maryland won, and a sanction against the coach or Duke is unlikely. The biggest punishment for the coach is likely just being a coach for Duke Football.

Really, just added embarrassment for Rutgers. On top of everything else, they got just a little bit extra edge with the coaches film from a Maryland loss. Yet they still lost at home to the Terrapins.

Rutgers Video Follies originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 02 Oct 2007 22:53:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Revenge of the ACC

Charles Rich — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 23:07:00 EST

Filed under: Alabama Football, Florida State Football, Maryland Football, Virginia Football, ACC, SEC

Sure the Big 10 has taken its fair share of abuse this year. The Big East has and will take some more after Louisville, WVU and now Rutgers have fallen. Still, no conference has taken more grief the last couple years than the ACC.

Today, the ACC got a measure of respect back this evening. Maryland went in to New Jersey and beat a top-ten team. Virginia smacked around Pitt in the battle between bad ex-NFL coaches. Then there was Florida State showing some pride still existed as they took out Alabama 21-14.

The FSU defense kept the Crimson Tide from ever getting anything together. Xavier Lee came off the bench for FSU to provide the offense some energy by accounting for 283 of the 348 total yards.

"He gave us some mobility at quarterback and offensively he won the game," Bowden said. "He did what we've always wanted him to do. Xavier has always been a young man with great potential and I thought tonight he began to use that potential."

Overall, a good weekend for the ACC in the non-conference schedule. Just pay no attention to the dogs that were on the conference slate (and pretend that Boston College didn't really struggle with 1-AA UMass).

Revenge of the ACC originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 29 Sep 2007 23:07:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rutgers Has No Excuse

Charles Rich — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 19:20:00 EST

Filed under: Maryland Football, ACC, Big East, Rutgers Football

A pathetic performance against Maryland. How does a team, that hasn't had a real challenge all season; played at home for every game; and is coming off the bye, struggle -- let alone lose -- when it claims/aspires to be a top-10/BCS Championship team? Short answer, there is no excuse.

The Scarlet Knights somehow felt that by showing up they could crush the Terrapins the way West Virginia had earlier in the season. It showed throughout the game. Even when they came back to take a 17-14 lead at the end of the first half, Rutgers acted like a team that was far more arrogant than their history suggested.

Maryland never bought into it. They lost their starting QB, and the back-up QB never missed a beat. The Terrapins made no excuses and beat a top-10 team for the first time in 3 years.

Rutgers defense made the big stop in a 4th down and short inside of 3 minutes. Rather than get off the field and let the offense get back out there, they committed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty to start the offense in a deeper hole. Rutgers crumbled. The line collapsed on QB Mike Teel on 4th and 10.

After that, Maryland just ran an easy TD in to take a 34-24 lead with 2:04 left. The announcing crew speculated that Schiano did that on purpose to allow the offense more time. It made little difference. Rutgers never showed up in Piscataway.

Rutgers Has No Excuse originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 29 Sep 2007 19:20:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fourth Quarter Live Blog: West Virginia at Maryland

Brian Grummell — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 22:40:00 EST

Filed under: Maryland Football, West Virginia Football, ACC, Big East

W. Va @ Maryland | 1st Qtr | 2nd Qtr | 3rd Qtr | 4th Qtr

Welcome back!

West Virginia leads Maryland 28-7 thanks to a fantastic Noel Devine run that took them down to the Maryland one yard line. Steve Slaton sprinted wide for his third touchdown of the day, but check out Devine's line:

2 carries, 107 yards. Kid has arrived.

Maryland has a chance to leave here with its pride intact after West Virginia whomped on them last year, but this game's all but over.

Live Blog after the jump ...

10:18 - Impressive things I'm seeing from West Virginia so far this year: they're a second-half ball club. They are a little less consistent offensively but they are more explosive. Devine's presence certainly helps, but I think the third year of Slaton/White/Schmitt/Reynaud and all their maturity helps just as much.

Devine is now their device by which they break the opponents' spirit. You can come in and contain White and Slaton for a quarter, or two, maybe three, but when Devine checks in and starts ripping off big runs, "Sayonara, sweetheart!" in the words of Lee Corso.

Bonus credit goes to Pat White for a pair of third and long obvious passing down conversions. That's new.

10:22 - Yeh that was another amazing Noel Devine run. This is great fun to watch. If you didn't watch tonight's game you're missing something. He shook two tacklers then shrugged off a facemask tackle to keep that run alive. That's just special.

10:26 - I'm shocked that Slaton reception wasn't a touchdown. Great pass by White to get it past the defenders just the same. Field goal West Virginia. West Virginia 31, Maryland 7.

10:33 - Re: Maryland: they had a good game plan today, and they kept it close enough to have an opportunity to maybe make a game of this but never exploded on offense to where they could threaten the Mountaineers. They haven't had an explosive offense in a while, reverting to game-manager quarterbacks and a pounding run game. Steffy's probably the best quarterback they've had in 2-3 seasons, but that's not saying much, sadly.

10:35 - Chris Fowler's getting all artsy fartsy on us, dropping a Casablanca reference. I'm not sure Flutie or James followed ...

10:38 - Touchdown, Maryland. Nice drive there against West Virginia's "relent" defense. West Virginia 31, Maryland 14.

10:45 - Onside kick and Maryland recovers. That Noel Devine run hurts right about now ... That sack hurts even more. One step forward, two steps back. That fourth down sack hurts even more. That's gotta be depressing for the Maryland faithful.

10:53 - BALLGAME. Thanks for stopping by!

Fourth Quarter Live Blog: West Virginia at Maryland originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 13 Sep 2007 22:40:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Third Quarter Live Blog: West Virginia at Maryland

Brian Grummell — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 22:10:00 EST

Filed under: Maryland Football, West Virginia Football, ACC, Big East

W. Va @ Maryland | 1st Qtr | 2nd Qtr | 3rd Qtr | 4th Qtr

Welcome back!

If I told you an unranked team had faced a top five team with an explosive offense, turned the ball over three times in the first half and had gotten stomped 45-24 in the previous season, would you believe that team could possibly trail just 14-7 at halftime?

Such is the story for Maryland tonight which finds itself in a legitimate fight with West Virginia. Both teams have ceded yards but held firm on the scoreboard. This second half could be verrry interesting.

Live Blog after the jump ...

9:41 - Noel Devine just got clobbered. No worries, yet another third and long pass conversion by Pat White. West Virginia quietly has become even more dangerous this year, if also more inconsistent. Dilemma, no?

9:43 - Noel Devine has arrived! Great run there, just shed some tacklers after flashing his speed. PLEASE let that make the highlights. He's going to kill Steve Slaton's Heisman hopes. When Devine starts playing well is when teams start to lose hope against West Virginia, it's almost unfair.

9:45 - Touchdown Steve Slaton, short run. Solid analysis by Doug Flutie, Maryland was lined up a little weird and White knew to direct the run to the short side of the field where West Virginia had numbers. West Virginia 21, Maryland 7.

10:02 - Game's slowing down here. Niiiice third down stop by Maryland's defense. The score's wider than Maryland's performance tonight. Moral victories are lame but there's things they can take away from this game even if they can't get any closer.

10:04 - Worthwhile interview with former Maryland receiver Darryl Hill, the first black player in the ACC. Talking about his situation: "(the players) they're incredulous" I'm shocked it took that long in the ACC. I recently read about a handful of black players at Oregon in the 1920's if not earlier, and their difficulties. Several other Pac-10 schools integrated fairly early (if inconsistently). Jackie Robinson played football at UCLA, Brice Taylor was USC's first All American, etc.

10:09 - Wow Noel Devine just freaking took off on a basic inside handoff. I'm shocked he even got tackled at the one there. Credit to Steve Slaton for the one-yard touchdown there, West Virginia 28, Maryland 7. This game's all but over now. Once again Noel Devine comes in just as a team thinks its close to West Virginia and then completely changes the complexion of the game and the mood of the opponent. What an ace in the hole.

10:12 - Noel Devine: 2 carries, 107 yards. Wow.

10:15 - Quarter over, see you at the Fourth Quarter Live Blog!

Third Quarter Live Blog: West Virginia at Maryland originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 13 Sep 2007 22:10:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Second Quarter Live Blog: West Virginia at Maryland

Brian Grummell — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 20:47:00 EST

Filed under: Maryland Football, West Virginia Football, ACC, Big East

W. Va @ Maryland | 1st Qtr | 2nd Qtr | 3rd Qtr | 4th Qtr

Welcome back!

West Virginia and Maryland are knotted in a seven-all game. Who among you watched last year's game an expected anything resembling a close matchup after the first quarter tonight?

Live Blog after the jump ...

8:30 - We're about one more Maryland stop from noting that this is the second consecutive game West Virginia has gotten off to a slow start offensively. They rebounded last week, but this opponent looks a little more motivated and talented than Marshall. Hmm ...

8:32 - I'm more a fan of White than Slaton, but Slaton's got a knack for lulling you to sleep before making a play that he shouldn't be able to make. That last 10-yard run was nice, he was good for the first five, then shed a sure tackle to get the next five yards.

8:34 - Dammit, ESPN. West Virginia just had a nice fullback draw for 40+ yards and they interrupted it for the update about the NFL's cheating scandal. Whatever. West Virginia's driving.

8:37 - Missed field goal from 22 yards, yikes.

8:42 - This just got interesting with Ray Lewis on mic. "They're in cover three! Get out!" Good stuff. He's talking some X and O's and schemes, which is great. ESPN should look into this more.

8:45 - Can't say it enough, Darius Reynaud is slippery. He's got speed to burn, but makes his money shaking people and being hard to tackle.

8:45 - Ray Lewis reacting to a Steve Slaton run "oh my goodness". He's great off the cuff. ESPN needs to invest in this guy on the sidelines. Reacting to Owen Schmitt's 535 pound power clean: "wow. He's probably mad at somebody".

8:48 - That's impressive, a third and long pass goes for 35 yards for West Virginia. Tough situationally but they made the play. Who else but Reynaud. He was tired or he would have made a touchdown out of that.

8:49 - Touchdown Slaton, one broken arm tackle and then nothing but daylight tip-toes along the sideline. TOO easy. West Virginia 14, Maryland 7.

8:59 - Weird play there. Jordan Steffy was going to throw a ball away but left it on the field to be intercepted. That gives West Virginia the ball at their own 20 with 2:21 left. Minus two in the turnover margin at halftime bodes poorly for an otherwise solid night so far.

9:01 - Nice stop by Maryland. They'll get the ball back with a little less than 1:30 remaining and two timeouts.

9:05 - Nice, Maryland tried to run a pick. Yeh that's going to merit a 15-yard penalty guys. Down and long here, this drive's probably over and with it the first half.

9:14 - This half won't end. Catching up: Maryland punts, West Virginia gets the ball back with about 50 seconds left. West Virginia marches but then fumbles at midfield with 14 seconds left. Maryland passes for no gain and calls its last timeout with five seconds left. Shouldn't they have passed into field goal range? Instead all that's left is a hail mary opportunity.

9:16 - Hail Mary intercepted, half over. For having three first half turnovers, this is a great position for Maryland to be down just 14-7.

Catch the last few minutes of the President's speech, check back with us in about 15 for the Third Quarter Live Blog. Sound good?

Second Quarter Live Blog: West Virginia at Maryland originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 13 Sep 2007 20:47:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First Quarter Live Blog: West Virginia at Maryland

Brian Grummell — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 20:13:00 EST

Filed under: Maryland Football, West Virginia Football, ACC, Big East, The Word

W. Va @ Maryland | 1st Qtr | 2nd Qtr | 3rd Qtr | 4th Qtr

We open the third week of college football with a rematch of an epic Thursday night blowout from last year. West Virginia absolutely thrashed Maryland from the word go and had buried them by halftime in a effortless 45-24 victory. Maryland's obviously talking revenge and have the added luxury of playing before the home crowd.

West Virginia has the greatest offense on Earth and they mix in exciting frosh Noel Devine, so it shouldn't be difficult to convince you to tune in and follow along with the live blog. There is that matter of the President's address tonight about the war which rates as a 10/10 on the importance factor, but maybe put this thing in PIP while that's happening and stay updated with the live blog. Gotta love technology, right? The Office is a re-run tonight (get the DVD or TiVo it!) and there's no CSI, so there's no excuse not to be here with us.

Live Blog starts at 7:30 Eastern. Vitals, TV info and pregame notes after the jump ...
VITALS

- ((#4)) West Virginia (2-0, 0-0) @ ((Unranked)) Maryland (2-0, 0-0)
- TV 7:30 Eastern, ESPN
- Announcers: Doug Flutie, Craig James and Erin Andrews
- West Virginia is favored by 16.5

- Phil Steele Facts (West Virginia): Maryland HC Friedgen pulled a scholarship from WV RB Slaton, he responded for 195 yds & 2 TD's last year. WV has won the last three meetings with avg score 32-20.

- Phil Steel Facts (Maryland): Maryland is just 1-4 the last 4 years on Thursday night w/an avg loss by 23 ppg. MD gave up 340 yds rushing LY to WV marking the 2nd straight year they allowed 300+.

* * *
Pregame Notes (Continuously Updated)

... How about that "prison" outfit Erin Andrews is rocking tonight? Weird ... Lou Holtz is dating himself, referring to Alabama coach Nick Saban as Lou Saban ... That "black out" by Maryland is cool. I doubt it will affect this game in any way, though. Fans get tired of gimmicks that don't work, so Maryland really needs to show up tonight ...

LIVE BLOG

7:48 - Awful start for Maryland, fumbling the opening snap. My gosh ... Doug Flutie talkin' dirty there (I won't reproduce it on this venue what he was saying, heh. Go watch the replay).

7:50 - That didn't take long. The beauty of the West Virginia offense is you can usually tell within the first second and a half if a play is going for a touchdown. Pat White is simply brilliant. BTW, that's touchdown West Virginia, nice 20 or so yard option run by Pat White. West Virginia 7, Maryland 0

7:56 - Luckily for Maryland, they have a veteran offensive line going up against a porous West Virginia defense. Could be an exciting night?

8:02 - Touchdown, Maryland. Nice drive there, lots of runs spiked with a nice reception and breakaway by Darris Heyward-Bey. They're definitely in this game. West Virginia 7, Maryland 7

8:06 - I'm starting to buy into this Thursday night crew, they do a lot of funny movie lines. "Crab cakes and football, that's what Maryland does, baby!" Heh.

8:08 - Best nontraditional football name this year: West Virginia's Tito Gonzalez. Nice.

8:13 - Good sign for Maryland early: They're making some stops on the fancy stuff West Virginia's tossing at them. West Virginia's moving the ball, but the going's not as easy as usual.

8:18 - Keon Lattimore is just slow enough to be an effective runner against this defense. I'm a speed nut, but sometimes a guy's lack of gears miraculously works to his advantage. This is such a night.

8:21 - I forget what game it was, but one of Jordan Steffy's first career appearances was about as awful as I've seen a quarterback not named Michael Henig play. He seems to have recovered from that.

End of the quarter, see you at the Second Quarter Live Blog.

First Quarter Live Blog: West Virginia at Maryland originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 13 Sep 2007 20:13:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Can Anyone In The ACC Play Quarterback?

Ian Cohen — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 21:18:00 EST

Filed under: Florida State Football, Maryland Football, Miami Football, NC State Football, Virginia Football, Virginia Tech Football, ACC, BCS, Duke Football, Wake Forest Football

You'll remember that Boston College's Matt Ryan was named ACC Preseason Player of the Year despite not being anything more than the most jet black of darkhorses in terms of Heisman candidacy. But if QB is indeed the most important position on the field, it's only taken one week for Ryan to prove his worth, as he is in a tiny fraternity of ACC signal callers who actually earned their starting gig next for this upcoming Saturday. And it doesn't look like that might change any time soon.

Let's take a look at a rather large sampling of conference QB controversies/fiascoes/injury problems to illustrate what I thought last year: ACC defenses might not have racked up those impressive numbers strictly on their own talent...
Virginia: Man, remember that field goal that the Cavaliers got right before half time against Wyoming? Or, more to the point: how could you forget? That represents the sum total of Virginia's scoring in their last three road contests, divvying out to a robust 1 ppg. That won't get you very far even in the World Cup. As such, there are second thoughts as to whether Jameel Sewell is truly capable of leading the Virginia offense into the Paleozoic Era, let alone the 2007 season and beyond, to the point where vaunted freshman Pete Lalich had his redshirt turned into cinders for three minutes plus of garbage time.

Miami: We've been here before. Like, one week ago. Yeah, yeah 31-3 win and all against Marshall, but Kirby Freeman didn't exactly play in a manner that made him look that much more appealing than a handoff robot (or Kyle Wright at the very least). The stats: 9-21, 84 yds., 1 TD, 1 INT. More importantly, Graig Cooper and Javarris James combined for 215 yards on 26 carries, so until Freeman actively costs the Canes a game, he might be the choice for Randy Shannon.

Wake Forest: Even before Riley Skinner suffered a separated shoulder that will keep him out of the upcoming tilt with Nebraska, he was already good for a Half Henig (3 INT's) against Boston College. In what seems like a yearly ritual, injuries will cause Jim Grobe to work some magic on the offensive end.

Florida State: We've been here before. Like, one week ago. It looked like Xavier Lee was making strides in the offseason, but Drew Weatherford got the nod against Clemson and responded with five sacks taken and a 50% completion rate. For Jeff Bowden, that might be it in terms of vindication for the rest of his life.

NC State: Harrison Beck takes over for Daniel Evans after a valiant, if futile effort in trying to avoid an inaugural loss against Central Florida (yikes) for Tom O'Brien.

Duke: Look, say what you will about the team, but last season, Thaddeus Lewis set school records for freshman passing yards and was the last QB in DI-A to throw an INT (really!). Against UConn, he threw three picks and was eventually pulled for academic scofflaw Zack Asack, returning from a year hiatus after plagiarism accusations. Keep your head up, Josh Portis!

Virginia Tech: I'm not discounting East Carolina; after playing VT tough in week one and beasting out on NC State and Virginia last season, they might as well be a probationary ACC team. But while Sean Glennon's completion percentage (66%) was impressive, the Hokie offense didn't answer a whole lot of lingering questions from last season in its 17-7. Just remember: behind Glennon are Ike Whitaker and blue-chip Tidewater recruit Tyrod Taylor.

Maryland: Jordan Steffy left with cramps against Villanova and looked pretty impressive (unfortunately, all "well, it was against a 1-AA team" rationalizations are mothballed for now), but former super-recruit Josh Portis is out for the year after cheating on a quiz...and his mom couldn't save him this time.

Most shocking of all? Those that weren't included: UNC (last year's starter was moved to WR), Clemson (supposedly trotting out a placeholder for Willy Korn) and Georgia Tech (I don't care if it's Reggie Ball...what's it say that Taylor Bennett never managed to supplant him).

Can Anyone In The ACC Play Quarterback? originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 06 Sep 2007 21:18:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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