Sorry we’re a little late on this one. By now, you’ve probably figured out that football lost. Well, there was a shred of positive news from the usual suspect, too.

• Football fell at home to Rutgers 34-13, committing five turnovers and 10 penalties. For our advance on the game, click here. And check Monday’s print edition for more coverage.
• Field hockey beat Wake Forest in a National Championship rematch 4-1.
• Volleyball, on the other hand, couldn’t handle the Demon Deacons, losing (25-19, 19-25, 22-25, 12-25). Read Jakob Engelke’s rundown of the match here.
• Men’s tennis player Ryan Lissner has made the final round of the St. Joseph’s Invitational, which was played today at 9:30. When results are in for that, we’ll post them.

ajoseph@umdbk.com

Last year, the Terps defeated Miami for their first ACC win, but when the regular season was finished it was the Hurricanes that really came out on top.

Despite wins in their last two matches, the Terps were nudged out of the ACC tournament by the same Hurricanes they beat weeks earlier, as Miami received the eighth and final bid.

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• Aside from the second quarter — the only quarter in which the Terps outplayed the Scarlet Knights — Rutgers held a 27:31-17:29 advantage in time of possession.
• Torrey Smith accounted for 232 of the Terps’ 448 all-purpose yards despite his only catching one ball in the second half and two Rutgers kickoffs being directed to Dan Bonato.
• Smith had two catches of 40 yards or more, both immediately following kick returns of at least 20 yards.
• In the fourth quarter, following Da’Rel Scott’s fumble near the end of the third, Maryland did not have a rushing attempt by a running back.
• Alex Wujciak accounted for 17 tackles on Rutgers’ 62 offensive plays.
• Rutgers had five tackles for loss on running plays. The Terps had one.
• Rutgers “Wildcat” formation quarterback Jabu Lovelace rushed for 24 yards on six carries and did not attempt a pass.
• Of the Terps’ 14 drives, half ended with either an interception, fumble or turnover on downs. Four more ended with punts.
• Third-string running back Gary Douglas had the first touch of his Terp career, a 10-yard reception, on the Terps’ final play of the game.
• The most important stat of the game: 1-3. That’s the Terps’ record so far, the program’s worst start since 1997.

ajoseph@umdbk.com

Boy, when it rains, it pours.

That’s the broad message from tonight’s 34-13 Terp football loss to an unheralded Rutgers team. The numbers aren’t bad, and the Terps actually led at halftime. But the Scarlet Knights outscored the Terps 17-0 in the fourth quarter, and the fact that the Terps continue to make the same mistakes was magnified even more.

Besides the sloppy ugliness, here’s five more concrete things to take from the Terps’ third loss of the young season:

1. The Terps are “disappointed” with their non-conference performance. Coach Ralph Friedgen used the word early and often during his postgame press conference. Before the season, the non-conference slate looked fairly manageable. Three wins at this point was probably expected, and three losses was almost unfathomable. This game was pretty much the tipping point on the non-conference schedule as a win against the Scarlet Knights would’ve brought at least some good feelings heading into ACC play. It’s pretty clear who the Terps are at this point. It’s not good, and ACC opponents will make turning it around even tougher.

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The Terrapin volleyball team struggled on defense for the second straight day as they lost to Wake Forest 3-1 (25-19, 19-25, 22-25, 12-25).

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It turned into a laugher in the last several minutes, and the Terrapin football team is off to its worst start to a season since 1997.

Joe Martinek scored on touchdown runs of 29 and 61 yards, and the Scarlet Knights ended up winning by three touchdowns.

Martinek’s first TD run put the Terps’ on their heels. His second one embarrassed them.

Hardly any fans remained for the final few minutes other than those in the Rutgers sections in their corner of the stadium.

The Terps begin ACC play next weekend against Clemson.

Expectations are low.

Ralph’s press conference should be very, very interesting.

Look for a lot more coverage online and in print in the days ahead.

Greg Schimmel is The Diamondback’s Terrapin football beat writer. He can be reached at schimmeldbk@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Greg_Schimmel.

Turnovers were the story of the third quarter.

Chris Turner fumbled in the endzone and defensive end George Johnson fell on the ball to give the Scarlet Knights the 17-13 lead.

Safety Joe Lefeged, the same player who knocked out Jordan Steffy two years ago, came in unblocked. Instead of taking the safety, Turner tried to get rid of the ball and he lost the handle.

Then Da’Rel Scott fumbled on the Terps’ next drive and the Scarlet Knights are threatening to score again.

Friedgen said after last week that if Scott keeps fumbling he won’t play.

The Terps’ defense has allowed three points so far despite the Scarlet Knights’ offense repeatedly being handed short fields.

Greg Schimmel is The Diamondback’s Terrapin Football team beat writer. He can be reached at schimmeldbk@gmail.com. You can follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Greg_Schimmel.

Punter Travis Baltz has a sprained left ankle and likely will not return.

Right tackle Paul Pinegar has a back injury and may return.

It’s only been about an hour and 15 minutes, but it’s already halftime at Byrd Stadium.

The Terps lead 13-10 after a second quarter that didn’t really see much action after the first minute I already described in the previous post.

The Terps’ defense has actually played very well, and it didn’t give up a touchdown in a half for the first time all season. 

A couple of interesting special teams plays late in the half.

Rutgers set up to attempt a long field goal but instead tried a fake. Their long pass fell harmlessly incomplete after a complicated set-up.

On the other end right before the half, Nick Ferrara made his second field goal in as many attempts for the Terps.

The true freshman’s 34-yard attempt was partially blocked but still made it through.

Backup punter Ted Townsley had the hold, as Travis Baltz has not returned.

Chris Turner has had a very up-and-down game, as the Terps’ quarterback has thrown two interceptions but has almost made some tough throws including a 24-yard touchdown pass to LaQuan Williams.

Torrey Smith has nearly 200 total yards in the first half.

Greg Schimmel is The Diamondback’s Terrapin Football team beat writer. He can be reached at schimmeldbk@gmail.com. You can follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Greg_Schimmel.

I waited until after the first play of the second quarter to write this because the Scarlet Knights were about to kick a field goal, which they made to go up 10-3 with 14:56 left in the half.

It was a pretty eventful first quarter.

The Scarlet Knights scored on a pick-six on the first play from scrimmage.

Chris Turner found Torrey Smith on the Terps’ second play from scrimmage for a 45-yard pass that eventually set up a 38-yard field goal by Nick Ferrara.

Then Terps’ punter Travis Baltz was injured when he drew a roughing the kicker penalty, and he got carted off the sideline after being helped off the field.

Ferrara’s first punt traveled 24 yards.

Also, Smith is now the Terps’ all-time leader in kickoff return yards.

LaQuan Williams just scored on a 24-yard touchdown pass from Turner to potentially tie the game pending the extra point attempt. The play is under review.

UPDATE: The play stands. 10-10 with 13:26 left in half.

Greg Schimmel is The Diamondback’s Terrapin Football team beat writer. He can be reached at schimmeldbk@gmail.com. You can follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Greg_Schimmel.