Tough Loss For The Terps

Wake Forest 38
Maryland 24

If you had told me back in August when the season tickets arrived the following would have happened I would have done back flips (That is, if I knew how to):

Maryland would go 6-1 at home, beating both Florida State and Miami at Byrd Stadium.

Play Wake Forest for the ACC Atlantic Division title.

Finish 8-4 and go to a bowl game after back to back 5-6 seasons.

Last night Wake Forest played near perfect football in beating the Terps. Maryland can't expect to win if you give up almost 300 yards rushing (Wake had 296). The Terps hung in there, but the three INT's by QB Sam Hollenbach was just brutal and two of those led to Wake touchdowns.

The Post recap is here.

In reviewing past Maryland Football history, the last time a game was played at Byrd Stadium with a title on the line was back in November 1982 when Clemson beat Maryland 24-22 for the ACC Championship. This loss hurts as opportunities like this are rare. However, this team is young, they only lose one senior on the offense and three on defense. They will be strong next season.

Speaking of the defense, that seriously needs to be addressed in the off-season. The Terps were outgained in total yards in 11 of 12 games this season and Defensive Coordinator Chris Cosh could not figure out a way to stop Wake's ground attack last night.

Next up for the Terps could be the Music City Bowl in Nashville or the Meineke Car Care in Charlotte. Navy has committed to that game and it will have a huge regional following. My Dad said Maryland and Navy was a great rivalry when he was at Maryland and in 2005 these two teams met in Baltimore with Maryland winning barely.

So in closing, despite the loss I'm very proud of this team. They played hard and rewarded us fans with a respectable 8-4 season. I know I'll be back again screaming in section 19 next year for sure!

On a side note, before the game me and my friend BC picked up some Terps items at the store inside of Comcast Center. I bought Benjamin a Terps outfit and BC bought Benjamin a mini football. This morning Benjamin was saying "Ball!" after I gave it to him. Very cool. Benjamin always appreciates cool Terps items and says "Thanks BC!" Pics to follow...