CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Well, it’s always a mystery which Terps team will show up in any given game. Tonight, they’ve allowed a team ranked last in the nation in scoring offense (9 points per game) to go up 21-0 at half. Ouch.
So far, the Terps are being gashed through the air by Virginia quarterback Marc Verica, who entered the game with zero touchdowns and five interceptions on the season. He has three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) through the first half.
Terp defenders are also getting consistently beaten to the outside by Cavalier ballcarriers – on Verica’s touchdown run, he beat Dean Muhtadi, who had Verica teed up, and Alex Wujciak to the pylon.
Offensively, the Terps don’t look much better. Chris Turner is having trouble finding open receivers, forcing some balls and missing with others. There’s also been little room for Da’Rel Scott or Davin Meggett to run the ball.
But the Terps always seem to spend parts of games doggin’ it, only to excel at other moments. We’ll see which team heads out of the visiting tunnel to begin the second half.
One thing working in their favor – on the Terps last play of the half, they got the ball down near the Virginia five-yard line on a hook-and-ladder, but Virginia stopped them just short of paydirt and was called for unsportsmanlike conduct. The half was technically over when the foul was committed, so the 15-yard penalty will be enforced on the second-half kickoff, which Virginia will receive. Right now, the Terps can use all the free yardage they can get.
Some quick irony – the Cavalier marching band concluded their halftime show with a rendition of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’,” which was one of Friedgen’s songs of choice when he first decided to play music during the Terps’ practices following the victory over Cal. But right now, it looks like it’s the Terps that need reason to believe.
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I am also concerned about the Terps’ inconsistency when facing different levels of opponents. It seems like every week, our football team is playing either up or down to our competition. One week, we lose to Middle Tennessee State, the next we beat a top 25 ranked Cal team. Then, we go on to beat a ranked Clemson but proceed to lose to an unheralded Virginia team. It seems like this happens every year. Our football program will only reach a high level of success by finding a way to give 100% effort regardless of the opponent. That should be the focus of the rest of our Terps’ season. We need to conquer ourselves before we beat our opponents.