Early in the second quarter against Wake Forest, things weren’t looking so good for the Terps. Sure, they were ahead 7-0, but they’d fumbled away two of their first four possessions and all four of the Demon Deacons’ opening possessions ended in Terrapin territory. The Terps looked sloppy on offense, but resilient on defense, allowing the Demon Deacs to drive after receiving a kickoff and punt, but stonewalling quarterback Riley Skinner and company following the two fumbles, which gave Wake Forest the ball twice inside the Terp 30.
Both times, Wake Forest blew scoring opportunities by missing field goals, and it was the last time they would get a chance at points. The Terps’ defense would only allow the Demon Deacons past the 50-yard line once more – early in the fourth quarter – but down 19-0 and having already missed two field goals, Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe decided to go for it on fourth-and-six from the Terps’ 28-yard line. Skinner’s pass was incomplete, and the Terps took over on downs.
After opening the game with four possessions that ended in Terp territory, the Demon Deacons ended eight of their next nine possessions on their side of the field. Only one Wake Forest drive lasted more than six plays or went for more than 24 yards after the first quarter. Yet, the Terps and Demon Deacons had identical average starting field position – their own 29 – for the game.
There was no single statistic that summed up the Terps’ most complete defensive performance of the season. They held Wake Forest to 219 yards of total offense, a gain of 2.2 yards per rushing attempt, a completion percentage under 50 percent, 3-for-15 on third downs and nearly a 10-minute discrepancy in time of possession. It was a dominant showing against an offense that for the last couple years had given the Terps fits.
jnewmandbk@gmail.com
I think there was one single statistic that summed up Wake’s performance early on; back-up kicker.