Maryland 14, Miami 13

Exciting game in College Park today. Two teams just duking it out and in the end, the Terps held on again and won 14-13. Sam Hollenbach had two TD passes to Darrius Heywood-Bey. One for 65 yards and another for a school record 96 yards.

Miami played with emotion and guts throughout the game for their fallen teammate Bryan Pata, who was shot and killed outside his apartment on Tuesday. (Before the game there was a moment of silence for Pata)

Here are a couple stats that stick out: The Terps ran just 37 offensive plays while Miami ran 73. Miami held a 37:09 to 22:51 advantage in time of possession. 14-13 Terps is the only thing that matters though.

I really thought Miami would pull it out in the end. I was telling my friend John that I need to start carrying a heart defibulator to these games. The Terps Defense forced two turnovers late in the game. With three minutes left in the game, Terps cornerback Josh Wilson tipped a pass by Miami QB Kirby Freeman. The ball hung in the air forever and was picked off by linebacker Trey Covington. Sigh of relief #1. But wait, there's more. Maryland could not get a first down despite having two chances to pick up one yard. So the Terps were forced to punt and that's when the Terps Isaiah Gardner forced Miami punt returner Bruce Johnson to fumble with about a minute to play. Sigh of relief #2 and game over. In keeping with this blog's title one Terp who shined silently was punter Adam Podlesh. He was huge punting the Terps out of trouble in the 4th quarter.

Only bummer was that Terps offensive lineman Donnie Woods suffered a neck injury early in the third quarter. The Maryland trainers immobilized his neck and he was airlifted to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Unit in Baltimore. The stadium was eerily silent when this went on. Later while driving home I heard a radio report that Woods was able to move his extremities and he would undergo more tests later on.

The Terps are now 8-2 (5-1 in the ACC) and they have won five straight games by a total of 13 points. They could advance to the ACC title game December 2. Tough road ahead for them though. Next Saturday they are at Boston College and on November 25th they have their final home game of the year vs Wake Forest. Right now my voice is shot.



Mike Wise's column here.