TCY 2010 - Maryland Dynasty
 

Witness the road from perennial patsie to respectability and back to mediocrity...

2003 - 1-11
2004 - 2-9
2005 - 2-9
2006 - 5-6
2007 - 8-3
2008 - 6-5
2009 - 5-6

In the mailbox...
Perennial powerhouse UAB has been ruled ineligible for the playoffs due to rules violations. UAB is 68-15 over the years and had appeared in the playoffs 3 straight times.
Teddy Mackey, S, suspended for a team violation last year, has left the team.
Gerald Hutchins, our PK who was injured in his first game for the Terrapins has been ruled academically ineligible this year, This guy has bad luck written all over him.
Harvey Roberts, T, has been ruled academically ineligible.
Carlton Fuller, PK, has been ruled academically ineligible.
The kicking game at Maryland should be a hoot this year!
Our Northwest region scout has left the team after enjoying College Park for a year. :mad:
Our Southeast region scout has retired.

We were ranked 28th in recruiting last year, falling back from our #15 ranking a year ago. Duke was #7, and somehow our #28 position is still good enough for 2nd in the ACC. Go figure. Prestige-wise we move from 74 to 72 :(.

On the GREAT news front:
Bert Malone is BACK! After playing in only 4 games last season, our career reception leader is back and ready to continue in his starting role!
Devin Ruddy improved his grades at the last minute and will start this year at guard.
Sherman Lee pulled out a D- in Calculus and will start at ILB. Wahoo!

We have Cornell on our schedule already, so we only have to schedule our "annual" Navy game. They reject the only week we could really fill them in (week 1), so we accept an offer from Idaho to come to College Park. Rather than lose to Navy once again, I thought our kids might like to win a few this year.


Notice our season ticket sales drop from 35,400 to 33,800.

2010 ACC Preview
 

It's Clemson, North Carolina and Duke again in the ACC. Last year's upstart conference winner, N.C. State is picked to finish 5th. We're picked 6th, and I see no reason not to be picked that low until we actually prove something.

2010 Team Overview
 

Quarterbacks

Ellis Cushman will probably continue to be starter here, depending on how he starts off the year. Last year was a very mediocre one for him - 2099 yards passing with 17 TDs and 17 Ints. Having Bert Malone out for the majority of the year didn't help him at all, however. Heir apparent, Shawn Davidson will wait patiently in the background for Ellis to falter. O.J. Hudgins had his game or two in the spotlight, but he's just there for disaster purposes. Jared Rhodes was a late in the year recruiting pickup and will probably sit out the year as a redshirt.

Runningbacks

Geoff Norris has a very mediocre year last time out, but I'm not sure it was all his fault. The offensive line was just plain awful and we hopefully have upgraded this year. Alarming were the 44 times he was stuffed on only 147 carries. As far as a silver lining is concerned, Geoff's ratings jumped from a 35 overall to a 50 coming into this year. Christan Callahan, who lost his starting job to Geoff continues to wait in the wings as a backup (76 carries, 269 yards). Redshirt freshman, Cris Harper, will hold the clipboard and try to look cool.

At fullback, we return stud Kennedy Richardson. We didn't give him the ball that much last year, but he still improved from a 42 overall rating to 55. Plus, he has 3 years of eligibility left :).

Wide Receivers

Of course, thie big news in town is that all-everything Bert Malone is back from his injury that sidelined him the last 7 games of the season. Interestingly, he has also moved from a 64-64 player to 75-75. Because of this, we look for Bert to have a huge season for us. On the other side, we have highly capable Fernando Angell. Together, they make a great 1-2 combination and are backed up well with Howie Mott and redshirt freshman Kris Esposito. Recruit Dennis Booty will redshirt, and looks to make a name for himself in the rotation next year.

At TE, Tyrus Matesky returns after a pretty good sophomore season. He also jumped his ratings from 35 to 55. We look forward to seeing him in action this year. Ethan Otis will see playing time as a backup.

Offensive Line

Here is what killed us last year. Now that we have some guys coming off their redshirt season, I'm hoping we can upgrade across all positions. Glenn Tyree returns to his starting role at center. He had an admittedly mediocre year last year, but we're hoping that one year under the belt will help him get better in the future. He jumped from a 26 rating to a 41 - so that's already an upgrade. At guard, Devin Ruddy allowed 9 sacks, but improved immensely in the offseason upgrading himself from a 50 rating to 68. At the other guard spot, Victor Sawyer returns (17 KRBs, 7 Sacks allowed). He too improved in the offseason from a 38 to a 58. Corey Lucas has graduated, so the leader at the tackle position is now Arnie Winfield (11 KRBs, 5 Sacks allowed). Arnie has two years of eligbility remaining and has worked himself from a 44 to a 64. At the other tackle position, Brady Hesse and J.T. Styles should fight for the starting job. Prized recruit Harvey Roberts failed a class last year, so he won;t play :(. Overall, we went from a starting line of 52-50-26-38-44 to a 64-68-42-58-43. An upgrade at 4 out of 5 positions - now it's time for these guys to prove it on the field.

Special Teams

Arnie Woods returns for his final year as a punter. Ron Smedley will start next year, but after that it's a toss-up. I'll need to recruit a punter this year.

At placekicker we HAD Gerald Hutchins, but he got injured last year and then decided not to attend class, so we have a gaping hole here. Kurt Hillard was our kicker last year - a surprising 10 for 10 on FGs and 28 for 28 on EPs. His longest was 44 yards, so it's obvious we decided to try for the first down rather than kick due to weakness here.

Defensive Line

Big, gaping hole to fill here in the middle. All-ACC Eugene McCormick is gone, and he will probably be replaced by a combination of Schembechler and Bronson. Erik started 3 games last year, but came up with 5 sacks, 9 TFLs and 9 hurries. Hopefully he can put numbers like that together in a starting role. Charles Bronson saw very limited action (42 plays all year) and came up with 2 tackles, a sack and 1 TFL.

At end, Dana Hines returns after playing very well in his first year as a starter. He contributed 37 tackles, 8.5 sacks, 15 TFLs, 4 blocked passes and 11 hurries. He has two years left and can only get better - we're hoping he stays healthy. On the other side we'll probably go with a mix of T.J. Castillo (0 starts, but 10 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 hurries in limited action last year) and redshirt Mike Gardner. Gardner hails from the same Martin Luther King High in Philadelphia that Eugene McCormick came from, so we're looking for good things from him.

Linebackers

We're young but we're getting better at this position. On the inside, both Sherman Lee and Charlie Borkowski return. Sherman had 68 tackles and 33 assists and is the stalwart at the position. On the outside, Norbert Masiona is back, and he's joined by a trio of hotshot redshirt freshman - Arnold Galvin, Hugh Barton and Buddy Foudray. All three were prized recruits and should anchor our outside linebacking corps for years to come.

Secondary

Always a strength of ours, but our depth is getting pretty thin here. All-ACC Casey Mansfield is gone, and he will be replaced by Andy Brannan. Andy got a lot of experience last year stepping in when Lee Harper went down, so we don't expct much dropoff. On the other side all-everything Lee Harper returns and looks to add to his 14 career interceptions (including 6 in 7 games last year). Backing these guys up is a senior (Arnold Stone) and then 3 guys I'd like to redshirt. No injuries, please :) At safety, All-American high schooler J.J. Soper finally gets the starting job along with Sam Yunker. We are extremely thin here - our backups are walk-ons. :eek: Nice recruiting job here, Craig. :(

Recruiting Needs: S (2), ILB, CB, DE (2), DT, T (2), G, C

Craig,

Sorry about the tough end to last season. Still, with a high recruiting ranking hopefully you can turn things around. Did you reduce ticket prices at all in the offseason? You will probably make more money if you back off the prices a bit when prestige goes down after a tough year. I don't know if lot's of fans cause an increase to the home field advantage but it also can't hurt to play in front of a packed house. Once Davidson takes over your backfield should be together for a couple of years so hopefully they can reach their potential together. It might not hurt to give daivdson a start or two against weaker opponents to try to help his growth.

Good luck

No, I never really fool with ticket prices, but I may next year depending on how we do this year.

Regarding the QB situation: I'm actually thinking about starting Davidson sooner rather than later. I may give him a try in game #2 against Cornell, depending on how we do against Idaho. This is where I wish we could call our own plays in TCY, I could then bring Davidson in when I want.

Thanks for watching :)

Recruiting
 

As always, we begin with a look at the great state of Maryland...

Maryland has 3 Top 100 recruits this year:

#9, CB, Leslie Frizzell - he would fit in well here :)
#20, DE, Steve Jett - we need an end, and who could pass up a name like that?
#83, C, Max Giles - we could use a GREAT center as well.

Looking at these prospects, none of them list distance as a factor :( - in fact, Steve Jett has close distance as a negative. Typical.

Unfortunately, time and time again a team like Clemson or Kentucky comes in and steals the best players from our state. We need to get better to prevent that.

Only two players idolize us - a horrible quarterback and a mediocre tackle. Whoop-de-do.

Week 1 - Idaho
 

Recruiting
Todd Garrett, S, Massachusetts, #438
Kenyon Wagner, S, Pennsylvania, #620
Floyd Podbevsek, T, Maryland, #502
Cris Perkins, CB, Maryland, #282
Leslie Frizzell, CB, Maryland, #9 (oh well, what the heck)
Steve Jett, DE, Maryland, #20 (see above :))
Butch Davidson, ILB, Virginia, #25
Ty Shields, G, New Jersey, #557
Zach Flannery, DE, Pennsylvania, #343

Injuries
Gerald Hutchins, K, probable (but out for the year for academic reasons)

Idaho (0-0) at Maryland (0-0) (-8), TV5
Teams have never met

QB Earnest Bridges leads the high-flying Idaho attack. I'm hoping we don't get tripped up here, as Idaho finished 8-3 last year and 3rd in the Sunbelt. Just to be safe, I'm going to start Ellis Cushman. Go get'em, boys!


Despite the score, we really dominated the game. ToP: MD 40:33, Idaho 19:27. That says it all.

What I Liked:
Time of Possession
Fernando Angell's 7 catches for 127 yards!
Andy Brannan gets the starting job and gets 2 ints, 2 passes defended and 5 tackles.
We held them to 190 yards total offense.
We score 3 TDs on our first 3 drives - 186 yards on 39 plays.

What I Didn't Like:
Again, NO running game - arrgh! 118 yards on 45 carries. On the first drive, Malone had 22 yards on two reverses and Norris had the 17 yard TD run. That's 39 of the 118 yards in the first few mins of the game.
Bert Malone was largely stopped.
Geoff Norris - 20 carries, 52 yards

Oddly enough, Ellis Cushman has to leave the game with an emergency appendectomy, to Davidson takes over in his absence. Boy, imagine the odds of that?! :)

Week 2 - Cornell
 

Last year we went to Ithaca expecting easy victory only to have a tough time against these guys. A 7 point win was unexpected, and we hope to improve upon that this time.

Recruiting
Todd Garrett, S, Massachusetts, #438
Kenyon Wagner, S, Pennsylvania, #620
Floyd Podbevsek, T, Maryland, #502
Cris Perkins, CB, Maryland, #282, visiting Navy (already?!)
Leslie Frizzell, CB, Maryland, #9 (oh well, what the heck)
Steve Jett, DE, Maryland, #20 (see above )
Butch Davidson, ILB, Virginia, #25
Ty Shields, G, New Jersey, #557
Zach Flannery, DE, Pennsylvania, #343
Butch Blubaum, ILB, Maryland, #521
Irving Dole, C, Delaware, #154
Tyrell Vaughn, OLB, Delaware, #56
Ross Emerson, DT, Florida, #675
Alex Alley, K, Pennsylvania, #955
Blake Wynn, P, New York, #867

Injuries
Gerald Hutchins, K, probable (but out for the year for academic reasons)
Ethan Otis, TE, probable
Ellis Cushman, QB, out (9 weeks)

Cornell (0-0) at Maryland (1-0) (-8), TV4
Maryland leads the series, 1-0
Last Meeting: 2009, Maryland 33, Cornell 26

On our first drive, Geoff Norris takes the ball 7 times for 61 yards, and Shawn Davidson caps it with a 10 yard scoring pass to Bert Malone. Things are looking up!

On the ensuing drive, they pass all over us and chip in a 43 yard FG to cut our lead to 7-3.

Our next drive goes nowhere, and they complete a 4 play 59 yard drive to take a 10-7 lead, 13:41 left in the half. I'm concerned with our passing defense - we can't seem to stop them.

We begin a drive, but Shawn Davidson ends it with an interception at the Cornell 2 yard line. 9:04 left in the half. It seems we're running the ball much better and FB Kennedy Richardson has really been helping out on the blocking. Sometimes we get ourselves into 3rd and long situations, but Davidson seems to come up big with passes in the flat to Norris or Richardson.

With 3:30 left, Geoff Norris runs in from 8 yards out to complete a 48 yard drive. A well-balanced attack made this run like clockwork. Maryland 14, Cornell 10, 3:30 left in the half.

That's the way the half ends: Maryland 14, Cornell 10

After both Cornell's and our drive stalls out of the gates in the 3rd quarter, Cornell gets a big play when they block our punt. They start at our 18 yard line with 11:29 left in the 3rd.

5 plays later, they're in the end zone and take a 17-14 lead :(.

We drive 55 yards, but a 42 yard FG is missed wide right. Cornell maintians their 17-14 lead with 4:20 left in the 3rd.

On 3rd and 1, Cornell's Brown takes it around the left end for 15 yards. Unfortunately for him, redshirt Arnold Galvin strips him of the ball, and Norbert Masiona is there to make the recovery at the Cornell 49 yard line. 1st and 10 Maryland, 2:55 left in the 3rd.

Unfortunately, we have a 3 and out.

At the closing of the 3rd quarter, Cornell fumbles the ball again at midfield. Freshman Ron Levin strips the ball, and it's pounced on by cornerback Lee Harper. 1st and 10 Maryland at the Cornell 37.

6 plays later, Geoff Norris scores from 3 yards out to give us a 21-17 lead. Two huge passes from Davidson to the TE Tyrus Matesky enabled the score. 12:05 left in the game.

After a first down, we stop them on the next series and force Cornell to punt. Fortunately for us, it was a gimp 27 yard punt that gives us the ball at their 47 yard line. 9:20 left in the game.

On this series, we decide to go for the jugular. Davidson goes deep on the first play and finds freshman Dennis Booty open for a 40 yard pass play to the 7 yard line. On the very next play, Shawn finds Dennis again, and just like that, we have a 7 yard TD. Maryland 28, Cornell 17 - 8:37 left in the game.

4 plays later, Cornell scores on a big play of their own. A 49 yard TD pass to Cornell's Brown makes the score 28-25 (after their two-point conversion succeeded). ARGH! :mad: 6:47 left.

Starting at our own 7, we gain 9 yards on 3 running plays, but it's obviously 1 yard short. We are forced to punt from our own 16. Uh oh. 4:45 left.

38 yard punt with a fair catch. Under the conditions, the best we could hope for. Cornell begins their drive at their 46 with 4:36 left.

A 1 yard gain, an intentional grounding and an incomplete pass puts us in great position - Cornell will have to punt at 4th and 24. They do, and down the ball at our own 45 yard line. 3:30 left.

Oddly, we being by throwing a screen to Kennedy Richardson, and he weaves his way to an 8 yard gain. At least it keeps the clock moving. On 2nd down we throw an incomplete pass and we're stopped for no gain on 3rd down. Can I fire my offensive coordinator now?!

We are forced to punt and give Cornell the ball at their 20 yard line - 2:28 left. We use only a MINUTE of the CLOCK?! I'm feeling the bile well up in my throat.

Cornell runs the option - and it works perfectly as it catches us offguard. 26 yard gain. 2:09 left. Incomplete pass, and then another perfectly executed option for a 22 yard gain. They're now at our 32 with 1:42 left. Gulp. A run up the middle is stopped for no gain by cornerbacks Arnold Stone and Lee Harper. 1:19 left. A run off tackle is stopped for a 3 yard loss by T.J. Castillo and Dana Hines. 3rd and 13 at our 35 yard line - 0:57 left. A pass play is complete for a 16 yard gain. ARGH. 1st and 10 at our 19 with :49 secs left. They have one timeout remaining. They run a reverse - 11 yard gain to the 8. :37 secs left, and they call their last time out. We're going to lose this :(. They can pass all they want and stop the clock :(. A delay of game forces them back 5 yards. For some reason, they run off GUARD and are stopped after 2 yards. 17 seconds left, at our 11. On the next play, they kick a 28 yard FG and tie the game, 28-28 with 10 seconds left. This stinks.

Touchback on the kickoff. Davidson finds Angell open for 32 yards, giving us 1st and 10 at the Cornell 48. 3 seconds left. A long pass to Matesky is complete, but he's stopped 15 yards short of the goal line as time expires. Overtime.

We win the toss and let Cornell have the ball first.

Cornell - 3 yard gain off right guard.
Defense: 50 Alignment, Man-to-Man (Loose), Run - Aggressive.
CORN 6 Brown pass was underthrown, intended for 43 Thornton.
Defense: 50 Alignment, Man-to-Man (Loose), Run - Aggressive.
CORN 6 Brown scrambled for 1 yard.
Tackled by MARY 48 Borkowski.
4th and 6 at our 21
CORN 3 Shore attempted a 38 yard field goal and succeeded.

Ok boys, it's time to get the ball in the end zone. Here we go!

Defense: 34 Alignment, 4-Deep Zone, Run - Aggressive.
MARY 34 Norris ran around right end for 7 yards.
Tackled by CORN 96 Miller, assisted by CORN 33 Young.
Key block delivered by MARY 71 Hesse.
2nd and 3 at the 18
Defense: 34 Alignment, Man-to-Man (Loose), Run - Normal.
MARY 34 Norris ran off left tackle for 13 yards.
Tackled by CORN 33 Young.
Key block delivered by MARY 63 Winfield.
That's 26 carries and 139 yards for Norris - by far his best day as a Terrapin!
1st and goal at the 5
Defense: 34 Alignment, 3-Deep Zone, Run - Normal.
MARY 34 Norris ran off left tackle for 0 yards.
Tackled by CORN 37 Roberson.
Hmmm....no time to start relaxing, guys.
2nd and goal at the 5
Defense: 34 Alignment, 4-Deep Zone, Run - Normal.
MARY 34 Norris ran up the middle for 2 yards.
Tackled by CORN 97 Robey, assisted by CORN 91 Michalske.
Sigh...we HAVE to make it interesting, huh?
3rd and goal at the 3
Defense: Nickel, 4-Deep Zone, Pass - Aggressive.
The quarterback threw into double coverage.
MARY 9 Davidson pass completed to 82 Angell for 3 yards and a touchdown!
Woohoo! Our offensive coordinator mixes it up and Davidson finds Fernando open in the end zone!

Final Score: Maryland 34, Cornell 31!


Again, much tougher than I had hoped, but I'm happy to come away with a victory here. Has the offensive line and Geoff Norris finally come of age? The offensive line had 19 KRBs! Arnie Winfield was 6 for 11 in this category!

In other ACC Games:
Clemson 41, Penn 3
Duke 21, Northwestern 14
Alabama 59, Florida State 24
Cincinnati 24, North Carolina 21
N.C. State 45, Ole Miss 14
Boston College 27, Virginia 14
East Carolina 31, Wake Forest 6

Next week: we get to rest...

Nice game by davidson. Maybe the injury will be a blessing as he will get to play early and often. Also nice to see Cornell go to a four deep zone on the three :).

Just out of curiousity, Do you have Soper playing SS or FS? If you have him playing at FS and double cover a lot then that leaves Yunker alone in deep coverage. I am not sure what the best strategy is with only one good safety but it is something to think about.

Good read as always. Hopefully this starts the turn around. Feel free to ingore any of my advice from here on by the way.

Hehe, I never even noticed the 4-Deep Zone until you mentioned it...I guess it couldn't have been THAT deep, could it?

Continue with the suggestions, Dixie. I am by no means an X's and O's guy in football. I enjoy watching it, but I developed a distaste for Mad Dog Blitzing and YZ slants when I played the NFL Strategy game at the age of 8. I think that stunted me for life :).

BTW, yes - I do have him playing at FS - I guess I should switch Soper and Yunker's spots.

You wouldn't think so but sometimes reading some pbp I wonder if Jim has just coded infinitely deep end zones. Certainly it seems like teams perform much better in the red zones that I would expect, expecially in TCY. Cornell was actually in deep zones the last three plays.


I don't know how much you want to fiddle with it but you could change things depending on the type of offense the other team is running. If a team only has one WR maybe you want to use Soper to double that WR. Yunker probably isn't going to be too useful double coveraging but you have good corners so maybe they don't need double teams much. On the other hand, the SS generally helps more in run support. Just something to play with.

Recruiting
Todd Garrett, S, Massachusetts, #438
Kenyon Wagner, S, Pennsylvania, #620
Floyd Podbevsek, T, Maryland, #502, visiting Navy
Cris Perkins, CB, Maryland, #282, visiting Navy
Leslie Frizzell, CB, Maryland, #9 (oh well, what the heck)
Steve Jett, DE, Maryland, #20 (see above )
Butch Davidson, ILB, Virginia, #25
Ty Shields, G, New Jersey, #557
Zach Flannery, DE, Pennsylvania, #343
Butch Blubaum, ILB, Maryland, #521, visiting Navy
Irving Dole, C, Delaware, #154
Tyrell Vaughn, OLB, Delaware, #56, visiting USC (nevermind!)
Ross Emerson, DT, Florida, #675
Alex Alley, K, Pennsylvania, #955
Blake Wynn, P, New York, #867
Fred Mueller, CB, Virginia, #335

Injuries
Gerald Hutchins, K, probable (but out for the year for academic reasons)
Ethan Otis, TE, probable
Ellis Cushman, QB, out (8 weeks)

ACC Action
Georgia Tech 34, Princeton 7
North Carolina 38, Texas 36
N.C. State 34, Indiana 14
Virginia 38, Mississippi State 19
Wake Forest 62, Central Michigan 13

Next week: at West Virginia on TV4

Week 4 - at West Virginia
 

Recruiting
Todd Garrett, S, Massachusetts, #438
Kenyon Wagner, S, Pennsylvania, #620
Floyd Podbevsek, T, Maryland, #502, visiting Navy
Cris Perkins, CB, Maryland, #282, visiting Navy
Leslie Frizzell, CB, Maryland, #9 (oh well, what the heck)
Steve Jett, DE, Maryland, #20 (see above )
Butch Davidson, ILB, Virginia, #25
Ty Shields, G, New Jersey, #557
Zach Flannery, DE, Pennsylvania, #343
Butch Blubaum, ILB, Maryland, #521, visiting Navy
Irving Dole, C, Delaware, #154
Tyrell Vaughn, OLB, Delaware, #56, visiting USC (nevermind!)
Ross Emerson, DT, Florida, #675
Alex Alley, K, Pennsylvania, #955
Blake Wynn, P, New York, #867
Fred Mueller, CB, Virginia, #335

Injuries
Gerald Hutchins, K, probable (but out for the year for academic reasons)
Ethan Otis, TE, probable
Ellis Cushman, QB, out (7 weeks)

Maryland (2-0) (-1) at West Virginia (1-1), TV4
West Virginia leads the series, 4-3
Last Meeting: 2009, Maryland 37, West Virginia 7

We enter this game 2-0, but we really haven't played anyone at all, and our last victory was an OT victory over an Ivy League team. I had higher hopes coming into this season, thinking we improved more than that, but so far we haven't shown it.

West Virginia comes in having defeated a HORRIBLE Ohio team, 38-25. They then went to Kent State and were thoroughly beaten, 34-13. Howie Mahoney runs the offense and he is just plain awful. Last year, he completed 43.2 of his passes with 8 TDs and 22 Ints. This year he's improved a bit, but he still had thrown 3 interceptions to 2 TD passes. RB Bryant Davidson is a 4th year returning starter, but he has never gained more than 550 yards in a single season. If we don't win convincingly here, I will be disappointed.

We win the toss and start on our own 15. Davidson passes at will, and our drive ends with a 36 yard scoring strike to Bert Malone. MD 7, WV 0, 12:30 left in the 1st.

Halfway through the 2nd quarter and it's clear: we can't muster any running game (due to the wet grass and our ineptness) and we can pass at will. Unfortunately, we're the victims of 2 missed FGs (told ya our kicking game would be an adventure this year) and a fumble deep in WVA territory. All told, we've outgained them 231 to 16, and only have a 7 point lead to show for it. This is one of those classic "missed opportunities coming back to haunt them later" type games. I dread this.

At halftime, the score remains: Maryland 7, West Virginia 0 We've outgained them 264 to 68.

We stop them and then begin to methodically move the ball downfield on our next drive. This time, Shawn Davidson makes a mistake and throws a pick deep in West Virginia territory. Maryland 7, West Virginia 0, 8:35 left in the 3rd.

End of the 3rd...turnovers and penalties continue to hurt us. This is just plain awful. Maryland 7, West Virginia 0. MD Total Offense: 323, WVA Total Offense: 91.

A 13 play, 73 yard drive ends in a FG for them. Maryland 7, West Virginia 3 - 9:28 left.

9 play, 59 yard drive (including a "go for it" on 4th down) ends in an 18 yard TD pass to Bert Malone, giving us a 14-3 cushion with 4:41 left.

With 1:46 left, they get a 34 yard TD pass to make it a game again. MD 14, WVA 11. Again, our offensie coordinator fails to run the ball when we have possession with < 3 mins left. Argh!

They stop us on 3 consecutive running plays, using all their timeouts. They have the ball on their own 24 with 1 minute left.

4 incomplete passes later, it's over. I think :). 28 seconds left.

Final Score: Maryland 14, West Virginia 11

I think we may stink this year :(.


What I Liked:
We completely dominated them for the first 3 quarters.
Bert "One Man Offense" Malone
Shawn Davidson's all-around good game
11 TFLs for the D

What I Didn't Like:
Our 4th quarter "let-up".
Our penalties.
Our turnovers and missed FGs.

ACC Action:
Clemson 48, Cincinnati 19
Duke 38, Alabama 0
Florida 32, Florida State 28
Georgia Tech 63, Miami (OH) 14
N.C. State 35, Eastern Michigan 30
Wake Forest 16, Air Force 3

Week 5 - at North Carolina
 

Recruiting
Todd Garrett, S, Massachusetts, #438
Kenyon Wagner, S, Pennsylvania, #620
Floyd Podbevsek, T, Maryland, #502, visiting Navy, Maryland
Cris Perkins, CB, Maryland, #282, visiting Navy, N. Carolina
Leslie Frizzell, CB, Maryland, #9, visiting Tenn, Navy
Steve Jett, DE, Maryland, #20
Butch Davidson, ILB, Virginia, #25, visiting BYU
Ty Shields, G, New Jersey, #557
Zach Flannery, DE, Pennsylvania, #343
Butch Blubaum, ILB, Maryland, #521, visiting Navy, Maryland
Irving Dole, C, Delaware, #154
Tyrell Vaughn, OLB, Delaware, #56, visiting USC, UCLA, Central Florida
Ross Emerson, DT, Florida, #675
Alex Alley, K, Pennsylvania, #955
Blake Wynn, P, New York, #867
Fred Mueller, CB, Virginia, #335

Injuries
Gerald Hutchins, K, probable (but out for the year for academic reasons)
Ethan Otis, TE, probable
Ellis Cushman, QB, out (6 weeks)
Dana Hines, DE, doubtful (pulled groin)

Maryland (3-0) at #23 North Carolina (2-1) (-6), TV5
North Carolina leads the series, 6-1
Last Meeting: 2009, North Carolina 70, Maryland 23 :eek:

Last year's game was an out and out travesty, and we'd love to pay them back with a victory here, but I just don't think our personnel is up to it.

Fortunately for us, UNCs first-string QB is out with a dislocated elbow, so they've been rotating senior Leroy Dixon and true freshman Kendall Halpern. Halpern is an insane 10 for 10 for 175 yards and 3 TDs. He's also been sacked 6 times. However, since UNC runs the veer, the passing game isn't really a priority. They pound it out, spreading the ball between 4th year starter Marshall Mamula (43 carries for 268 yards and 3 TDs) who is nursing a pulled groin and Vinny Curry (34 carries 167 yards). They have the #6 rushing attack in the nation at this point (212 yards per game). One the defensive side, senior Rodney Johnson has 7 sacks in 3 games (!), though it seems they can be beaten by the pass. Our offensive line will have it's work cut out for us today - I wonder if Shawn Davidson can respond?

Defensively, we lead the ACC in rushing defense, but I'm sure that's just because of our relatively poor strength of schedule.

A gametime decision is made to start Dana Hines despite his injury. We're hoping he can hold up.

It's time for kickoff!

60,000 people are here in Chapel Hill to watch us on this rainy, 64 degree afternoon. We win the toss, elect to receive, and start on our own 16 yard line.

On the first play, Rodney Johnson and Willis combine on a sack for a 6 yard loss. Devin Ruddy allowed them to slip by. Hmmm...

On the second play, Shawn finds Tyrus Matesky open for a 22 yard strike, and just like that, hopes are high! 1st and 10 at our 32. The drive stalls on 3 straight running plays and it's time to punt. UNC will start their first drive on their own 31.

The first play is a run (surprise!) and we stop it for 2 yards. On 2nd down we blitz J.J. Soper and he forces Halpern to throw the first incompletion of his career! 3rd and 8. Halpern starts another completion streak on the very next play - a 20 yard completion for a first down :(. Their drive stalls at our 42 and we get the ball back at our own 6.

With 1:10 left, we take advantage of good field position and chip in a 29 yard FG for a 3-0 lead. So far, we've been able to stop their rushing attack and have allowed Halpern to throw like a freshman. Not sure how long this will last. Davidson has been impressive again as our rushing attack has done nothing.

We stop them again and convert a 12 play, 79 yard drive on our next series of downs. Repeatedly, Davidson has been throwing to Malone and Angell over the middle on 3rd and long plays. Our rushing attack has done NOTHING (6 yards rushing, 131 yards passing) but not for lack of trying. Davidson is looking more and more like a leader on this team (Ellis Cushman who?). MD 10, UNC 0 - 5:27 left in the half.

An 11 play, 71 yard drive ends in a 41 yard FG for UNC. MD 10, UNC 3 - :20 left in the half.

Halftime Score: MD 10, UNC 3

Davidson is repeatedly threading the needle and throwing away from double coverage. I'm really loving the way he's reading the defense and making decisions on the fly. It's fun watching him work. On the other side of the ball, it seems UNC's offensive line is starting to open up holes for the running game, as they've gained 87 yards on the ground - most of it on their last drive. At halftime, we have 140 yards total offense, they have 146.

On UNC's second series, a bad punt gives them possession on our 39 yard line. UNC has really been hit hard by the penalty bug, the same thing that happened to us last week. Let's hope it continues... their drive goes nowhere and they turn the ball over on downs. Perhaps because of this, UNC is also hit with an unnecessary roughness call on the play and we start on our own 46. 10:33 left in the 3rd.

A 22 yard gain off tackle by Geoff Norris (by far his best run of the day) gets us in FG position, and we extend the lead to 13-3 with 8:22 left in the 3rd.

The ensuing kickoff is returned 99 yards for a TD. ARGH! MD 13, NC 10 - 8:16 left in the 3rd.

The 3rd quarter ends with UNC driving at our 39 yard line. MD 13, UNC 10.

Curry runs off tackle for an 11 yard TD run, giving UNC it's first lead of the game. UNC 17, MD 13 - 12:46 left in the game.

Methodically, we move the ball downfield. It definitely wasn't pretty, but at the end we got a 31 yard FG. 17 plays, 49 yards and 8:10 used on the clock. Good grief! UNC 17, MD 16 - 4:36 left in the game.

UNC will start 1st and 10 at their own 30. C'mon defense!

1st and 10 - 3 yard run off the left guard.
2nd and 7 - Dana Hines busts through the line and delivers a clutch sack!
3rd and 12 - 4 yard gain on a trap up the middle, bringing up 4th and 8!

Our defense did the job!

The ball is punted, and we have it at our own 31, with 2:19 left.

1st and 10 - Davidson finds Kennedy Richardson for a 6 yard gain after throwing away from the double coverage.
2nd and 4 (1:59) - Davidson is hurried into a bad throw.
3rd and 4 (1:50) - UNC blitzes 3 players and Davidson throws overtop into the waiting hands of Bert Malone for a 36 yard pass!
1st and 10 at the UNC 27 (1:34) - Cris Harper runs up the middle for a 2 yd gain.
(Coaches note - ok, this worries me. We have a HORRIBLE placekicker - I'd really like to move further into FG range rather than just sit on the ball now)
2nd and 8 (1:16) - Geoff Norris runs around left end for 8 yards (!)
1st and 10 at the 17 (0:58) - Davidson takes it himself for a 6 yard gain up the middle. It looks like he's hurt on the play (NOOO!) but it doesn't say it's serious. We all wait with bated breath.
2nd and 4 at the 11 (0:47) - Norris runs around the right end for 2 yards, and we call timeout.
3rd and 2 at the 9 (0:35) - We hand the ball to Kennedy Richardson, and he will not be denied! 9 yard TD run!!! We don't succeed in the 2pt conversion, but we lead, 22-17 with 0:27 left! UNC has all 3 timeouts. Gulp.

UNC returns the ball to their own 30 and fumble! However, they recover. 1st and 10 at their own 30 - 20 seconds left.

First pass - INTERCEPTED! The freshman Howie Shelton comes up big! 13 seconds left, our ball at the UNC 49.

Final Score: Maryland 22, North Carolina 17 - WOOHOO!


Shawn Davidson is THE MAN! 21 of 28 passing against a team that annihilated us, 70-23 last year?! I'll take it!

What I Liked:
After doing "ok" against inferior competition, we kicked it up a notch and outplayed a pretty good team. Our time of possession was great!
ZERO turnovers
12 of 19 on 3rd down conversions
Dana Hines saved his only sack of the day for a BIG series.
Our offensive line only allowed 1 sack (on the first play of the game) and 1 hurry ALL day. Our run blocking leaves a lot to be desired, but the line gave Davidson time to pass today - and it was deadly.
Our secondary gave up 8 completions, 4 passes defenses and an interception.

What I Didn't Like:
Geoff Norris was stuffed 11 out of 23 carries.
We allowed a kickoff return to be run 99 yards for a TD.

Other ACC Action
Duke 33, Clemson 30 - wow!
Florida State 38, Wake Forest 35
Georgia Tech 35, N.C. State 27 (so much for last year's champs)

Our victory, paired with Duke's and GT's means this conference is wide open this year.

Oh...and I check with out doctor - Shawn Davidson's late game injury doesn't even show up on our report. He'll be fine :)

Week 6 - Clemson
 

Recruiting
Todd Garrett, S, Massachusetts, #438
Kenyon Wagner, S, Pennsylvania, #620
Floyd Podbevsek, T, Maryland, #502, visiting Navy, Maryland
Cris Perkins, CB, Maryland, #282, visiting Navy, N. Carolina, Maryland
Leslie Frizzell, CB, Maryland, #9, visiting Tenn, Navy
Steve Jett, DE, Maryland, #20
Butch Davidson, ILB, Virginia, #25, visiting BYU
Ty Shields, G, New Jersey, #557
Zach Flannery, DE, Pennsylvania, #343
Butch Blubaum, ILB, Maryland, #521, visiting Navy, Maryland
Irving Dole, C, Delaware, #154
Ross Emerson, DT, Florida, #675, visiting Louisville
Alex Alley, K, Pennsylvania, #955
Blake Wynn, P, New York, #867, visiting Maryland
Fred Mueller, CB, Virginia, #335

Rejections
Tyrell Vaughn, OLB, Delaware, #56, committed to Central Florida

Injuries
Gerald Hutchins, K, probable (but out for the year for academic reasons)
Ethan Otis, TE, probable
Ellis Cushman, QB, out (5 weeks)
Dana Hines, DE, questionable (pulled groin)
Cristian Callaghan, RB, out (separated shoulder - 5 weeks)

#12 Clemson (2-1) (-3) at Maryland (4-0), TV4
Clemson leads the series, 7-0
Last Meeting: 2009, Clemson 45, Maryland 7

Another big, big game for us. Win this, and we are inexplicably in the driver seat for the ACC championship. Lose this, and everyone says they knew it all along.

Looking over the rosters, Clemson has so much more talent than we do. Fortunately, a lot of that talent seems to be injured right now. Last week, Clemson was beaten by Duke, 33-30, and my concern is that was the game that awoke the sleeping giant. Can we possibly catch them off guard the second week in a row?

Of interest, Shawn Davidson vs Erik Jones. If you remember, Erik was our prized recruit out of Maryland who was stolen from us by the Tigers. He's currently starring for them after shrugging off some early career injuries (35 for 47, 588 yards, 8 TDs, 2 Int). Thomas Shields is the star runner (83 carries, 407 yards, 5 TDs), but their defense doesn't look as phenomenal as usual. I'm not sure if it's the injuries or they just haven't clicked yet. I'm hoping they don't decide to click today.

We are currently 9th in the nation in passing and 15th nationwide in 3rd down conversions. Because of our lack of running game, we are quickly turning into a methodical, possession passing offense. I'm hoping Clemson allows us to do that, but I have my doubts.

On to the Game!

70 degrees and fair here in College Park! Man, finally a non-rainy day! Clemson wins the toss and elects to receive.

Duran returns it to the 40, where he is hit by sophomore J.R. Geffen. Duran fumbles and Geffen returns the ball 15 yards to the Clemson 25! MD fans are roaring!

(Coaches Note: I've seen this before...we gain about 7 yards on the next series, get a FG, everyone's happy...and then the onslaught begins...)

On our first play Davidson finds Norris open, but for a very short 1 yard gain. Ok, at least we have a completion under our belts. 2nd and 9, Davidson is hurried into an incompletion. On 3rd and 9, Davidson finds Harper for a 4 yard gain. 4th and 5 at the Clemson 20. (Coaches note: See, I told you so!) 37 yard FG is missed wide right. 13:27 left. Sigh.

Clemson runs an option on 1st and 10 and catches us flat-footed for a 10 yard gain (Norbert Masion on the stop). 5 yard run on the second play - and it's announced we have 44,000 fans on-hand. Not a sellout, but not bad, either. Shields runs for 27 yards on their third play, and they're already at our 38. Fortunately, we stop them soon after (thanks to 2 false starts and an offensive holding on 3 consecutive plays) and we have the ball at our own 16

A 13 play, 71 yard drive by Clemson gives them a 7-0 lead with 9 second left in the 1st quarter. They've been mixing it up really well (65 rushing yards, 52 passing yards). 9 yd TD pass from Erik Jones - sigh.

We get the ball back and are able to convert a couple first downs. Finally, from our own 46, Shawn Davidson bootlegs it around the left tackle and fools everyone. 45 yards later, he's finally brought down and gives a 1st and goal at the Clemson 9 yard line. The sound in the stadium is deafening! One play later, Davidson finds Fernando Angell in the end zone for a 9 yard TD pass! The EP is good, and we have a tie ballgame, 7-7! 13:11 left in the 2nd.

Clemson goes 60 yards in 3 plays :(. Erik Jones again connects for his 10th TD pass of the year. Clemson 14, Maryland 7 - 11:24 left.

With 2:30 left, we go for it on 4th and 1 at our own 38. We don't make it. Clemson takes over at our 37 yard line. What were we thinking?

3 plays later, Clemson takes a 21-7 lead. I can't wait to talk to the reporters after this one. 1:32 left in the half.

Halftime Score: Clemson 21, Maryland 7.

This is one of those games where it's so frustrating. You can just see that the opponent is better. Total Yards: Clemson 239, Maryland 144.

Midway through the 3rd, our defense stops their rushing attack for a 3 yard loss on 3rd and 3, forcing Clemson to punt. We get the ball at our 40, and it seems like we're energized again. Davidson is throwing 8 and 9 yard passes left and right and also runs another bootleg for a 25 yard gain. Finally the drive ends in a 3 yard Geoff Norris touchdown, cutting Clemson's lead to 21 to 14 with 6:29 left in the 3rd.

Unfortunately, a 45 yard KR returns starts Clemson at their own 49. 7 plays later they're in the end zone and push the lead back to 14. Clemson 28, Maryland 14 - 2:29 left in the 3rd.

2nd play in the next series is a Davidson interception. Clemson starts at our 38. I feel this game slipping from our tenuous grasp...

We hold them to a FG, but it still extends their lead to 31-14. 14:03 left in the game.

3 and out. We punt. :(

It's obvious we're tired now and giving up. Another TD run by Shields gives them a 38-14 lead. 11:00 left.

They score another TD late in teh game with the 2nd string unit, and we go down easily, 45-14.

I think what killed us was that stupid 4th and 1 in our territory :(.


What I Liked:
Shawn Davidson - didn't have a great passing game, so he ran for over 100 yards.
Sherman Lee had 11 tackles and 7 assists and 3 TFLs.
Brady Hesse was 7 of 9 on KRBs!

What I Didn't Like:
Erik Jones picked us apart (14 of 16 for 213 yards and 2 TDs)
Thomas Shields carried the ball 38 times for 170 yards and 3 TDs.
No passes defensed - I think our secondary was too bust trying to stop Shields.

Other ACC Action:
N.C. State 45, Duke 31
North Carolina 17, Florida State 7
Virginia 41, Georgia Tech 26

ACC Standings after Week 6

It's wide-open, folks.

Next Week: at N.C. State, TV4

Recruiting
Todd Garrett, S, Massachusetts, #438
Kenyon Wagner, S, Pennsylvania, #620
Floyd Podbevsek, T, Maryland, #502, visiting Navy, Maryland
Cris Perkins, CB, Maryland, #282, visiting Navy, N. Carolina, Maryland
Leslie Frizzell, CB, Maryland, #9, visiting Tenn, Navy
Steve Jett, DE, Maryland, #20
Butch Davidson, ILB, Virginia, #25, visiting BYU
Ty Shields, G, New Jersey, #557
Zach Flannery, DE, Pennsylvania, #343
Irving Dole, C, Delaware, #154
Ross Emerson, DT, Florida, #675, visiting Louisville
Alex Alley, K, Pennsylvania, #955
Blake Wynn, P, New York, #867, visiting Maryland
Fred Mueller, CB, Virginia, #335
Adrian Clayton, ILB, Pennsylvania, #358
Donny Hayes, ILB, North Carolina, #610

Rejections
Tyrell Vaughn, OLB, Delaware, #56, committed to Central Florida
Butch Blubaum, ILB, Maryland, #521, committed to Navy

Injuries
Gerald Hutchins, K, probable (but out for the year for academic reasons)
Ellis Cushman, QB, out (4 weeks)
Dana Hines, DE, questionable
Cristian Callaghan, RB, out (4 weeks)

Maryland (4-1) at North Carolina State (4-1) (-9), TV4
North Carolina State leads the series, 4-3
Last Meeting: 2009, N.C. State 24, Maryland 21

Ok, we were tripped up last week with the disappointing effort against Clemson. It's time to right the ship and get moving back in the right direction again.

Senior Corey Jasper returns as the leader of the N.C. State attack. Last year, he led them to a 10-2 record and passed for 4069 yards with 44 TDs and 16 Ints. This year, he's off to another fine start (136-213, 1908 yards, 18 TDs, 5 Ints). Corey is the current ACC career record holder in completions, yards and TD passes, so we have our work cut out for us. His big target is junior Steve Cooley, who has 21 TD receptions in 18 games. N.C. State doesn't run much, but you don't have to when you have the #1 passing attack in the nation. Defensively is where N.C. State is hurting, and hopefully we can take advantage.

The Game

N.C. State wins the toss, elects to receive, and starts on their own 29 yard line. On the 5th play of their drive, we go to a dime package, freshman Howie Shelton picks off the pass and returns it to the Wolfpack 49 yard line. We get the ball to the 16, where Kennedy Richardson promptly fumbles the ball and N.C. State recovers. Looks like we're even on the turnover front. 9:28 left in the 1st quarter.

8 plays, 71 yards, 4:15 used on the clock, but N.C. State can only muster a FG as Maryland stops the Wolfpack on a crucial 3rd and 1 at the Maryland 5. N.C. State 3, Maryland 0 - 4:53 left in the 1st

A couple drives later, Sherman Lee strips the ball from the N.C. State running back and Howie Shelton finds the ball again, giving Maryland a first down at midfield.

An 11 play, 74 yard drive ends in another N.C. State FG. N.C. State 6, Maryland 0 - 7:24 left in the half. The running attack, again, is getting nowhere, and Davidson is having trouble with receivers dropping passes. It's stormy and 66 - but N.C. State doesn't seem to have the same problem.

A 5 play, 90 yard drive (63 yard TD pass to Sawyer) gives N.C. State a cushion as they extend their lead to 13-0. Again - dropped passes by the Maryland wide receivers is killing us, along with the 4 total yards rushing.

Halftime: N.C. State 13, Maryland 0

Total Offense: N.C. State 302 (284 passing), Maryland 39 - ugh.

Maryland starts that half with a 9 play, 80 yard drive, ending with a 7 yard TD pass to Bert Malone (on a 4th and 4 play - go figure). Geoff Norris ran for a 33 yard gain earlier in the drive.N.C. State 13, Maryland 7 - 10:15 left in the 3rd.

On 4th and 2 at their own 42, N.C. State goes for it, and the Maryland defense puts the hurt on for no gain. Maryland takes over at the Wolfpack 42!

Unfortunately, we have a 4th and 4, and we come up short as well.

On 3rd and 4 for N.C. State at the Maryland 23, Henderson runs around end for a 4 yard gain but is stripped of the ball by J.J. Soper. Andy Brannan pounces on it, and Maryland has the ball at their own 19. According to the announcing team, the weather has definitely created a very slippery bal today.

The 3rd quarter ends, with Maryland on their own 42 looking at a 3rd and 7.

On a 3rd and 3, at the N.C. State 29, N.C. State runs the ball again, and again a fumble occurs. Lee Harper gets it, and Maryland has the ball, 1st and 10 at the N.C. State 26 yard line. 9:36 left in the game.

4 plays later, Davidson finds Malone in the end zone again, for an 8 yard TD pass. With 7:35 left in the game, Maryland takes their first lead, 14-13.

8 plays and 51 yard later, N.C. State connects on a 43 yard FG to retake the lead. N.C. State 16, Maryland 14 - 2:28 left. On the drive, OLB Arnold Galvin was seriously hurt, but we're not sure how long he'll be out.

Time for Davidson to step it up!

We go for a broke on a 3rd and 5 from our own 42, and it's intercepted. Looks like it's game over. 1:38 left - we have all 3 timeouts.

Yep, game over. N.C. State 16, Maryland 14


What I Liked:
The fact that we forced 3 fumbles.

What I Didn't Like:
No rushing attack.
4 dropped passes.
Only 2 passes defensed.

ACC Action
Duke 47, Virginia 20
Georgia Tech 28, Florida State 24
North Carolina 17, Wake Forest 10

Next Week: at Virginia

Week 8 - at Virginia
 

Recruiting
Todd Garrett, S, Massachusetts, #438, visiting Maryland, Washington, Harvard
Kenyon Wagner, S, Pennsylvania, #620, visiting Maryland
Floyd Podbevsek, T, Maryland, #502, visiting Navy, Maryland, Alabama
Cris Perkins, CB, Maryland, #282, visiting Navy, N. Carolina, Maryland, E. Carolina, Marshall
Steve Jett, DE, Maryland, #20, visiting Maryland, Wisconsin
Ty Shields, G, New Jersey, #557, visiting Maryland
Zach Flannery, DE, Pennsylvania, #343, visiting Maryland, Pitt, Tulsa
Irving Dole, C, Delaware, #154, visiting Maryland, Iowa State, Kentucky
Alex Alley, K, Pennsylvania, #955, visiting Maryland, West Virginia
Fred Mueller, CB, Virginia, #335, visiting Maryland, Virginia, Memphis
Adrian Clayton, ILB, Pennsylvania, #358, visiting Maryland, UNLV, Utah
Donny Hayes, ILB, North Carolina, #610

Committments
Blake Wynn, P, New York, #867
Butch Davidson, ILB, Virginia, #25 - wow, A Top 100 recruit!

Rejections
Tyrell Vaughn, OLB, Delaware, #56, committed to Central Florida
Butch Blubaum, ILB, Maryland, #521, committed to Navy
Leslie Frizzell, CB, Maryland, #9, committed to Navy - argh!
Ross Emerson, DT, Florida, #675, committed to South Florida

Injuries
Ellis Cushman, QB, out (3 weeks)
Dana Hines, DE, probable
Cristian Callaghan, RB, out (3 weeks)
Arnold Galvin, OLB, out (9 weeks)
Fernando Angell, WR, out (6 weeks)

Ugh, we lose one of our starting OLBs and our split end. Redshirt soph Hugh Barton will get to start in Glavin's place, while true freshman Dennis Booty will get more a starring role as the starter. Booty can make the big play, but he's very young and has caught 7 balls this year while dropping 5 :(. He's going to be good, but at 19 he just hasn't matured enough yet.

Maryland (4-2) (-3) at Virginia (2-2), no TV
Virginia leads the series, 4-3
Last Meeting: 2009, Maaryland 42, Virginia 15

Ok, now we're trying to end a two game losing streak, and now we have to do it without a couple more starters. Virginia runs a power-I and the strength is in their running game. Warren Swann is 2nd team ACC and he's carried the ball 73 times for 451 yards (6.1 avg) and 4 TDs. Louis Stokes is the QB, and he averages more than 200 yard passing per game, but has also thrown 11 interceptions in 3 games started. We're hoping we can help pad that category. Defensively, we'll have to watch out for Cris Giedghill who has 6 sacks in 4 games (21.5 in his career) - he was 2nd team all ACC as well last year as a redshirt junior.

On to the Game!

We won the toss and we elect to receive. On first down, Cris Giedhill breaks through the line and dumps Davidson for a sack (6 yard loss). On 2nd down, Shawn finds Malone open and get 11 yards, bringing up a 3rd and 5. Tyrus Matesky catches the ball in the flat and is dragged down after 9 yards. First down! The drive ends 3 plays later, and we are forced to punt. The Cavaliers will begin their drive at their own 24.

On a 4th and 16 at our 31, Stokes connects on a 28 yard pass play - UGH! On the next play, Stokes finds Gillespie in the end zone for a 3 yard TD pass. Virginia 7, Maryland 0 - 6:52 left in the 1st.

Shortly after the beginning of the 2nd, we finally start clicking and we start to chip our way downfield, mixing the run and the pass to perfection. A 14 play, 85 yard drive (7:38 on the clock) culminates in a Geoff Norris 9 yard scamper for the equalizing touchdown. Maryland 7, Virginia 7 - 5:57 left in the half.

Halftime: Maryland 7, Virginia 7
Total Offense: Maryland 201, Virginia 104

Virginia starts with the ball at their 32. It takes 3 plays and 68 yards :(. Stokes finds Gillespie open for a 52 yard TD pass, and Virginia retakes the lead, 14-7.

We move the ball, and come up empty. Unfortunately, Virginia passes all over us and finally lets Warren Swann run the final 17 yards to take a 21-7 lead. 6:15 left in the 3rd.

Virginia is driving yet again deep in our territory when we actually catch a break. Mr. Interception finally decides to throw one, and Norbert Masiona returns it 24 yards to our own 25. 9:38 left in the game.

A 24 yard pass to Esposito ends a 5 play 60 yard drive and cuts their lead to 21 to 14. 6:52 left in the game.

A 3 and out gives us the ball back at our 29 with 4:53 left.

7 plays, 55 yards later, another TD pass to Esposito ties the score at 21-21! 3:03 left in the game!

6 plays, 60 yards, 2:25 gone from the clock on the drive UVA uses to take a 24-21 lead. :mad: We have 38 seconds for the equalizer.

On first down, Davidson is sacked for a 7 yard loss. 2nd and 17 at our 25 - 23 seconds left.

Dennis Booty is found open against the 4-deep zone for an 18 yard gain. 1st and 10 at the 43. 11 seconds left. tick...tock...tick...tock...

Incomplete. 6 seconds left.

Sacked....game over. Sigh.

Virginia 24, Maryland 21


What I Liked:
We were actually able to run the ball a bit.
First Downs: Maryland 30, Virginia 17 - yes, we can move the ball, but it seems we're not a big play type of team.
12 KRBs by the offensive line.

What I Didn't Like:
No sacks.
Sawyer allowed 3 sacks.
Giedhill was a wrecking crew against us - 3 sacks, 1 pass blocked and 2 hurries. He also had 6 tackles, 4 for a loss.

ACC Action:
Clemson 48, North Carolina 27
Duke 51, Georgia Tech 20
Marshall 64, Florida State 14
N.C. State 59, Wake Forest 21

N.C. State and Duke are now 3-1 in the conference, with Clemson and Virginia at 2-1. We are 7th at 1-3. Sigh.

Great report. Reading this has actually made me want to fire TCY up when I get home from work. Damn you! Ha!

Thanks! I saw you started a Duke dynasty. I hope you have as much success with them as they've had in my dynasty - they're 71-28 and a perennial power in my world. Good luck!

Recruiting
Todd Garrett, S, Massachusetts, #438, visiting Maryland, Washington, Harvard
Kenyon Wagner, S, Pennsylvania, #620, visiting Maryland
Ty Shields, G, New Jersey, #557, visiting Maryland
Zach Flannery, DE, Pennsylvania, #343, visiting Maryland, Pitt, Tulsa
Irving Dole, C, Delaware, #154, visiting Maryland, Iowa State, Kentucky
Alex Alley, K, Pennsylvania, #955, visiting Maryland, West Virginia
Fred Mueller, CB, Virginia, #335, visiting Maryland, Virginia, Memphis
Donny Hayes, ILB, North Carolina, #610

Committments
Blake Wynn, P, New York, #867
Butch Davidson, ILB, Virginia, #25
Floyd Podbevsek, T, Maryland, #502
Steve Jett, DE, Maryland, #20
Adrian Clayton, ILB, Pennsylvania, #358
Roman Creaser, CB, Florida, #777

Rejections
Tyrell Vaughn, OLB, Delaware, #56, committed to Central Florida
Butch Blubaum, ILB, Maryland, #521, committed to Navy
Leslie Frizzell, CB, Maryland, #9, committed to Navy - argh!
Ross Emerson, DT, Florida, #675, committed to South Florida
Cris Perkins, CB, Maryland, #282, committed to Navy

Injuries
Ellis Cushman, QB, out (2 weeks)
Cristian Callaghan, RB, questionable
Arnold Galvin, OLB, out (8 weeks)
Fernando Angell, WR, out (5 weeks)

On the recruiting trail, this was another big week for us. We picked up our 2nd Top 100 recruit, DE Steve Jett. Steve is probably a bit overrated, but his strength is pass rushing and he's got a great athletic prep rating - we'll keep him :). Other commits are ILB Adrian Clayton (will definitely redshirt), T Floyd Podbevsek (he's a run blocking specialist - Lord knows we need it) and CB Roman Creaser (our scouts say he;s not ready yet, but has a lot of athletic upside). The only blemish this week was yet another loss of a fine player to our rivals at Navy (CB Cris Perkins). It's nice, however, to finally begin to keep some of our Top 100's in-state.

#16 Duke (6-1) (-8) at Maryland (4-3)
Duke leads the series, 7-0
Last Meeting: 2009, Duke 38, Maryland 7

Wow - I hate when you write something on the bulletin board, only to hit some magic combination that deletes your last paragraph :mad: Oh well. Duke is better than us, that's all that really matters. James Thomason is Duke's leading rusher (174 carries, 800 yards, 10 TDs) and #2 in the ACC. Their offensive line is a runningback's dream and is led by center Antoine Collier (#1 in the ACC in KRBs) and G Lorenzo Swank (#4 in the ACC in KRBs).

Maryland Offense: Rushing #57, Passing #17
Duke Defense: Rushing #29 (#1 in ACC), Passing #105

Duke Offense: Rushing #10 (#2 in ACC), Passing #31
Maryland Defense: Rushing #52, Passing #109

We've been burned by the pass all year :(.

On to the game!

Duke wins the toss, returns it to their own 30, but they're caught holding and therefore must start at their own 10. Get ready for the James Thomason show :rolleyes: . Oddly, they pass all three downs and can't complete a single one. I'll take it! They punt, and in typical TCY fashion, it's short and we start on their 44.

Deciding to break the mold, we hand off to Geoff Norris and he rambles through a hole created by Arnie Winfield for 8 yards. On 2nd and two, our offensive line forgets to block and Norris is dropped for a 3 yard loss, bringing up a 3rd and 5. Davidson's first pass is hurried and thrown incomplete. Our drive stalls at their 39 - we'll probably go for it and lose our great field position :rolleyes: . Well, we go for it, but Davidson finds FB Kennedy Richardson open for a 10 yard gain and a first down. Go figure. The very next play, Shawn finds Bert Malone in the end zone - 29 yard TD pass and a quick 7-0 lead. 11:39 left in the 1st quarter. Hmmmm.....

On their next drive, Thomason gets his first carry and it's a nice one for 21 yards. After a 15 yard pass, our defense tightens up and is aided by a Duke false start. This ends their drive on our 46 yard line. Bert Malone returns the punt and decides to undo his nice touchdown by fumbling and giving Duke the ball at our 20. Wonderful.

5 plays later, Duke gets the ball in the end zone via the pass. We're tied up, 7-7. 6:24 left in the 1st quarter.

End of the 1st quarter, still 7-7. Maryland ball at the Duke 40 yard line. We've kept Thomason in check but we're finding it hard to stop their passing attack led by Strickland. Offensively, we're ok but have yet to find a groove.

Hillard misses a 42 yard FG wide right.

9 play, 79 yard drive for Duke ends in the second TD pass of the day for the Strickland-Nadeau combination. Duke 14, Maryland 7 - 6:10 left in the half. Again, we're holding Thomason (11 carries, 42 yards - 15 yards on his last two carries), but the passing is killing us, as usual.

Halftime: Duke 14, Maryland 7. Total Offense: Duke (183 yards, 32 rushing). Maryland 79 yards (21 rushing). Our offense just isn't moving the ball now.

Duke takes advantage of another fumbled punt return and they convert a 31 yard FG to extend their lead to 17-7. 4:06 left in the 3rd. Our offense is beginning to perk up...a little.

3 and out for us, a blocked punt recovered in the end zone for Duke, and they widen their lead. Duke 24, Maryland 7. 2:38 left in the 3rd. This may be getting ugly now. We're giving up too many sacks :(.

Another TD pass, this time to Westbrook, gives Duke a 31-7 lead late in the game. I've counted 8 sacks of our quarterback so far. This is embarassing.

Final: Duke 31, Maryland 7


What I Liked:
Our defense played ok, holding Thomason to 56 yards on 21 carries and Duke to 301 yards total offense.
DE Dana Hines: 10 tackles, 2 assists, 2.5 sacks, 1 hurry, 1 pass blocked, 6 TFLs

What I Didn't Like:
We let Shawn Davidson get sacked 8 times for 47 yards.
We had 3 turnovers, Duke had zero.
158 yards total offense.
Our first drive, 5 plays and 44 yards, was our longest of the day :(.

Other ACC Action:
Wake Forest 43, Clemson 40 - wow!
Virginia 48, Florida State 20
North Carolina 40, N.C. State 34

ACC Standings

My question is - how do teams like Wake Forest beat teams like Clemson, Duke and UNC when I'm a combined 2-22 against these teams (both victories against UNC)?! It seems every year these teams are upset, and they somehow pummel me. Argh.

Duke seems to be in the driver's seat for the title this year. Their sole "tough" game is at North Carolina next week. However, if they lose there, who knows what's going to happen. Our 3 remaining games are against the 6th, 7th and 8th place teams, so hopefully we can turn this around. Of course, those teams are probably looking forward to playing us as well.

Recruiting
Todd Garrett, S, Massachusetts, #438, visiting Maryland, Washington, Harvard
Irving Dole, C, Delaware, #154, visiting Maryland, Iowa State, Kentucky

Committments
Blake Wynn, P, New York, #867
Butch Davidson, ILB, Virginia, #25
Floyd Podbevsek, T, Maryland, #502
Steve Jett, DE, Maryland, #20
Adrian Clayton, ILB, Pennsylvania, #358
Roman Creaser, CB, Florida, #777
Kenyon Wagner, S, Pennsylvania, #620
Ty Shields, G, New Jersey, #557
Zach Flannery, DE, Pennsylvania, #343
Alex Alley, K, Pennsylvania, #955
Fred Mueller, CB, Virginia, #335
Donny Hayes, ILB, North Carolina, #610


Rejections
Tyrell Vaughn, OLB, Delaware, #56, committed to Central Florida
Butch Blubaum, ILB, Maryland, #521, committed to Navy
Leslie Frizzell, CB, Maryland, #9, committed to Navy - argh!
Ross Emerson, DT, Florida, #675, committed to South Florida
Cris Perkins, CB, Maryland, #282, committed to Navy

Injuries
Ellis Cushman, QB, probable
Cristian Callaghan, RB, probable
Arnold Galvin, OLB, out (7 weeks)
Fernando Angell, WR, doubtful
Kris Esposito, WR, questionable

A slew of commits this week helps ease the pain of our 4 game losing streak.

Ellis Cushman is now back from his week 1 emergency appendectomy. Unfortunately for him, he's permanently lost his starting job to Shawn Davidson. Ellis' last year was his best when he threw 17 TDs against 17 Ints. Shawn currently has 14 TDs and only 7 Ints and that's against the really tough competition. He has three remaining games against the less talented teams in the league, and he's earned the right to start against them. Shawn also has two years of eligibility left - woohoo.

Florida State (1-6) at Maryland (4-4) (-18)
Maryland leads the series, 4-3
Last Meeting: 2009, Maryland 45, Florida State 28


Sigh...while running one of my other dynasties, I neglected to change all my option settings back so I would be controlling the game plan, starting lineup, etc. So...Cushman started :(. Oh well. The settings have now been changed back and Davidson has been informed of the situation and he's ok with it :D

Other ACC Action
Clemson 52, N.C. State 16
Georgia Tech 17, North Carolina 7
Virginia 41, Wake Forest 28

Duke and Virginia are tied in 1st with identical 4-1 conference records. However, Duke defeated Virginia earlier, so they have the upper hand.

Recruiting
Todd Garrett, S, Massachusetts, #438, visiting Maryland, Washington, Harvard

Committments
Blake Wynn, P, New York, #867
Butch Davidson, ILB, Virginia, #25
Floyd Podbevsek, T, Maryland, #502
Steve Jett, DE, Maryland, #20
Adrian Clayton, ILB, Pennsylvania, #358
Roman Creaser, CB, Florida, #777
Kenyon Wagner, S, Pennsylvania, #620
Ty Shields, G, New Jersey, #557
Zach Flannery, DE, Pennsylvania, #343
Alex Alley, K, Pennsylvania, #955
Fred Mueller, CB, Virginia, #335
Donny Hayes, ILB, North Carolina, #610
Irving Dole, C, Delaware, #154


Rejections
Tyrell Vaughn, OLB, Delaware, #56, committed to Central Florida
Butch Blubaum, ILB, Maryland, #521, committed to Navy
Leslie Frizzell, CB, Maryland, #9, committed to Navy - argh!
Ross Emerson, DT, Florida, #675, committed to South Florida
Cris Perkins, CB, Maryland, #282, committed to Navy

Injuries
Arnold Galvin, OLB, out (6 weeks)
Fernando Angell, WR, probable
Kris Esposito, WR, probable'
Arnie Winfield, T, out (19 weeks)

Winfield is our starting tackle, and our 2nd best offensive lineman. We're hoping he'll be back for next year.

We've also decided to start throwing some starts to some of the guys who will be helping us down the road next week, as we have very little to gain by starting redshirt seniors.

ACC Action:
Clemson 28, Virginia 0
Duke 20, North Carolina 10
N.C. State 42, Florida State 16
Wake Forest 24, Georgia Tech 17

Duke only has to defeat the #8 and #9 ACC teams (Wake and FSU) to secure the ACC title.

Recruiting
Todd Garrett, S, Massachusetts, #438, visiting Maryland, Washington, Harvard

Committments
Blake Wynn, P, New York, #867
Butch Davidson, ILB, Virginia, #25
Floyd Podbevsek, T, Maryland, #502
Steve Jett, DE, Maryland, #20
Adrian Clayton, ILB, Pennsylvania, #358
Roman Creaser, CB, Florida, #777
Kenyon Wagner, S, Pennsylvania, #620
Ty Shields, G, New Jersey, #557
Zach Flannery, DE, Pennsylvania, #343
Alex Alley, K, Pennsylvania, #955
Fred Mueller, CB, Virginia, #335
Donny Hayes, ILB, North Carolina, #610
Irving Dole, C, Delaware, #154

Rejections
Tyrell Vaughn, OLB, Delaware, #56, committed to Central Florida
Butch Blubaum, ILB, Maryland, #521, committed to Navy
Leslie Frizzell, CB, Maryland, #9, committed to Navy - argh!
Ross Emerson, DT, Florida, #675, committed to South Florida
Cris Perkins, CB, Maryland, #282, committed to Navy

Injuries
Arnold Galvin, OLB, out (5 weeks)
Fernando Angell, WR, probable
Kris Esposito, WR, probable
Arnie Winfield, T, out (18 weeks)

Georgia Tech (5-3) (-4) at Maryland (5-4)
Georgia Tech leads the series, 5-2
Last Meeting: 2009, Georgia Tech 20, Maryland 9

Georgia Tech is pretty much a passing team, running from the pro formation. Led by senior Renaldo Lucas (19 TDs, 7 Ints), they average 30 points a game and feature the #21 passing attack in the nation. As far as matchups are concerned, that doesn't bode well for us. To counterbalance this, GT also has the worst rushing defense in the ACC, as well as the 2nd worst passing defense. Shaun Gaylor (a redshirt freshman) leads the team with 8.5 sacks.


Hmmm....disappointing.

What I Liked:
We forced 4 turnovers.
Dana Hines had 2 sacks.

What I Didn't Like:
13 penalties, 103 yards
Shawn Davidson was off his game.
Davidson had 7 bad throws and we had 11 (!) passes defensed.

ACC Action
Clemson 37, Florida State 13
Duke 38, Wake Forest 14
Virginia 29, North Carolina 15

Duke is in first at 6-1. Clemson and Virginia are tied for 2nd at 5-2.

Committments
Blake Wynn, P, New York, #867
Butch Davidson, ILB, Virginia, #25
Floyd Podbevsek, T, Maryland, #502
Steve Jett, DE, Maryland, #20
Adrian Clayton, ILB, Pennsylvania, #358
Roman Creaser, CB, Florida, #777
Kenyon Wagner, S, Pennsylvania, #620
Ty Shields, G, New Jersey, #557
Zach Flannery, DE, Pennsylvania, #343
Alex Alley, K, Pennsylvania, #955
Fred Mueller, CB, Virginia, #335
Donny Hayes, ILB, North Carolina, #610
Irving Dole, C, Delaware, #154
Blake McDonald, DT, Hawaii, #578

Rejections
Tyrell Vaughn, OLB, Delaware, #56, committed to Central Florida
Butch Blubaum, ILB, Maryland, #521, committed to Navy
Leslie Frizzell, CB, Maryland, #9, committed to Navy - argh!
Ross Emerson, DT, Florida, #675, committed to South Florida
Cris Perkins, CB, Maryland, #282, committed to Navy

Injuries
Arnold Galvin, OLB, doubtful
Kris Esposito, WR, probable
Arnie Winfield, T, out (17 weeks)
Tyrus Matesky, TE, questionable
T.J. Castillo, DE, probable

Just to add that silver lining to our overcast sky, our leading tackler (Sherman Lee) is currently failing a class and at risk of being suspended next year! Yay!

Our passing offense has just downright STUNK this year (we're 118th in the country). Can we actually finish over .500?!

This will be Bert Malone's last game. He's currently the career record holder at Maryland in receptions, TD passes and Yards. We bid you farewell, Bert - thanks for the memories.

Maryland (5-5) at Wake Forest (4-6) (-1)
Wake Forest leads the series, 4-3
Last Meeting: 2009, Maryland 21, Wake Forest 17


Wow, hugely disappointing. We gave the start to Callaghan over Norris and (of course) Norris performed better. Davidson was awful, and this is not particularly how we wanted to end this year. Ugh. Bad all around.

ACC Action
Clemson 45, Georgia Tech 10
Duke 31, Florida State 9
Virginia 38, N.C. State 24

Looks like Duke, Clemson and Virginia in the playoffs. If so, this will be Virginia's first appearance in the playoffs! Congrats, to the Cavaliers!

2010 Final Standings
 

Oddly, Virginia doesn't make the playoffs, and the only representatives from the ACC are Duke and Clemson.

The National Championship game is USC vs. Central Florida. UCF is a 5-point favorite, but I predict USC in a blowout.

Therefore, UCF wins, 17-10. Congrats to Central Florida!

Maryland Awards
 

2nd Team All-ACC
Dana Hines, DE

Wow, extensive list.

For next year, we have 8 starters returning on both offense and defense. Is this the year we turn the corner?!