This kick went in. The Terps lost. Remember?

The Terps want to move on.  So do the fans.  No one likes to lose to Middle Tennessee.

But before we all move on,  let’s just gather a little perspective. One last time, I promise.

Tuesday, I walked back from the weekly media luncheon with DBK sports editor Aaron Kraut.  He brought up a good point: A lot of the shock and dismay resulting from this loss seems to be courtesy of the directional in the school’s name.  Middle Tennesee State.  Call it the Waterboy effect.

Sure, the Terps should have won this game.  They know that.  But at the same time, maybe the fans fail to see the upset for what it was.

“I think a lot of people do underestimate [Middle Tennesee],” defensive lineman Deege Galt said.  “It’s a tough loss because they’re a team we can beat … It’s a tough loss, but yeah, I think a lot of people do underestimate them.”

Torrey Smith understands it from the fan perspective.

The Terps are an ACC program. They’re not supposed to lose to teams from the Sun Belt Conference. But he said the gap isn’t as wide as some believe.

“It’s definitely tough on the fans on the outside look in, but plenty of us were recruited by teams like Middle Tennessee State,” receiver Torrey Smith said. “People think that some of us are great players, but when it comes down to it we were recruited by those same schools too. They have players just like us. It’s the name itself that generally gets a lot of the fans.

“On a skill level, it’s probably not too different,” Smith continued. “But when it comes to the trenches – the offensive and defensive line – that’s probably the biggest difference.”

So the Maryland’’s biggest advantage was at a spot known to be its achilles’ heel. Great.

Look, the Terps did not protect this house — failing to live up to their Under Armour sponsorship. But the loss wasn’t a total shocker.

With four turnovers, the Terps did not play well enough to win. Simple as that.

“You have to buckle up,” receiver Ronnie Tyler said.  “They’re men just like you. They put their pants on one leg at a time just like you do. You gotta come out and be ready to have a good game.”

The Terps failed to do that on Saturday. Didn’t matter who the opponent was.

Michael Katz is a staff writer and internet expert for The Diamondback. He can be reached at mkatzdbk@gmail.com

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009 at 10:15 pm and is filed under Football. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.