That's One B1G Terp -- Guru's Maryland Dynasty

[thesportsguru11]

Morning Presser: Durkin reportedly nervous to face triple option in debut

The old adage where the coach never tells the truth.. might have just been debunked.

Already facing a rather tight leash from a Maryland fan base that wasn't fond of hiring him in the first place, first year Maryland head coach D.J. Durkin was being 100% frank when he said at his Saturday morning press conference that he was "anxious" to face a triple option attack implemented by in-state rival Navy for his debut this afternoon.

Quote: Originally Posted by D.J. Durkin

We've prepared our best and I feel that we're ready. How ready... I'm not sure. The triple option is so unlike anything you face in football because you see it so rarely. It neutralizes any strengths we may have because of the finesse needed to run the offense. You deceive the defense because of the unpredictability of the pitches and such. So yeah I'm a little nervous. But I think a lot of that comes with the debut with the new team and the pressure I have on myself. I want to win just as much as any of you or the young men in the locker room this morning.

Maryland has not faced a triple option team since facing Paul Johnson's Georgia Tech team in 2012 as ACC members.

While maybe not an important news headline, it is certainly an intriguing one on the morning of opening day.

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Durkin on the lineup

Meanwhile, Durkin also commented about the surprising decision to start a handful of veterans over younger guys, especially on the offensive line where Maurice Shelton and Mike Minter start at guard over younger guys Quarvez Boulware, Terrance Davis and Derwin Gray, as well as redshirting promising D-Tackle Adam McLean.

Durkin stated that he is open to trying out lineups early this season and will use the first game as a benchmark to see where everyone stands.

Quote: Originally Posted by D.J. Durkin

I wouldn't expect the lineup that we trot out today to be the same next week. Lots of things change and a lot will hinge on how guys play today. A lot of guys at a lot of spots have been neck and neck this spring.. no one should be safe in their position. It's all about how you produce for me in the short term.

While Durkin's comments shed a lot of uncertainty and might irk the Terps fanbase slightly, today's game against Navy will do a better job determining where the team and its new head coach stand.

[Tearz49ers]

I've always had soft spot for Maryland, so I will be following this one closely.

[thesportsguru11]

Terrapinned

Mids run for 500 yards, Terps destroyed in Durkin debut


A multitude of Navy skill position players had a role in obliterating the Maryland defense.

D.J. Durkin had a tough first day at the office. After morning press conference comments that confused fans as to the team’s preparation for the season opener, Durkin’s new squad came out and laid an egg against their in-state rivals on national TV.

On the legs of Tago Smith and a seemingly unstoppable triple option offense, Navy looked just fine without the services of All-American QB Keenan Reynolds. The Mids rushed for a mind-boggling 500 yards of offense, passed for 200 more and annihilated the Terrapins in all facets of the game en route to a 58-28 season opening win at M&T Bank Stadium.

Navy asserted their rushing attack early and often, gashing and exhausting the Terps with long TD drives and multiple 10+ yard carries from Smith (over 100 yards in the first quarter) and slotback Dishan Romine.

Coupled with some solid defense, Navy built up a 14-0 lead early that left Maryland playing catch up all day long. Despite that, Maryland hung in there for a while thanks to inspired play from tailback Ty Johnson and wideout Levern Jacobs. A Jacobs touchdown reception off a beautiful touch pass from Perry Hills closed the lead to 24-21 right before the half. After a tough first two quarters, Maryland had some hope headed into the half.

Maryland's offense had some highlights of their own, led by (from left to right) Jacobs, D.J. Moore and Johnson.

Until the defense ruined the momentum and sealed the team’s fate on one play.



There was enough time for one more play for Navy. Passing over top of a frazzled Maryland D, Smith hit Romine and he turned on the jets, leaving Terrapin defenders in the dust as he went for six with time expired in the first half.

Just like that the Navy lead was back to 10 points - 31-21 over the bewildered Terrapin squad. That play effectively decided the game, as Smith and the Middies added 10 more third-quarter points compared to Maryland’s none to push the lead to 41-21. Another ugly quarter of defense later, and the 58-28 decision was reached.

While Durkin prides himself on his defensive prowess, the defense looked anything but stellar in his debut. Smith gained 267 yards rushing and over 200 passing, while Romine gained over 100 for himself. While I as the player will take some blame for the fact that I cannot under any circumstances stop the option, a performance such as that is simply inexcusable. All game long defenders were shut down by well executed blocks, missed tackles and made terrible plays on the ball. That will have to be cleaned up next week or else fans might start to question Durkin and his capabilities.

Conversely, aside from a couple forced passes, Maryland’s offense looked solid under first year coordinator Walt Bell. Though he threw a pair of INT’s to Tyris Wooten, Hills had a solid day and did all he could to keep the Terps in the game. Johnson ran for over 100 yards and the O-Line was fantastic in run blocking assignments. Jacobs (team high 103 receiving yards) and DeAndre Lane (team high 4 catches) both impressed throughout the game, showing capable hands and route running ability.

However, it takes good play all around to win a football game, and Maryland was well short of doing this today. But with a game under their belts and the nerves hopefully out of the way, we should expect a different team when we travel to FIU next week. See ya there.

Navy Midshipmen at Maryland Terrapins
Sep 3, 2016	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Navy Midshipmen (1-0)	14	17	10	17	58
Maryland Terrapins (0-1)	0	21	0	7	28

Team Stats Comparison
	NAVY	MD
Total Offense	720	441
Rushing Yards	505	143
Passing Yards	215	298
First Downs	27	20
Punt Return Yards	12	0
Kick Return Yards	77	251
Total Yards	809	692
Turnovers	1	2
3rd Down Conversion	4-7 (57%)	10-15 (66%)
4th Down Conversion	0-0	0-2
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	8-4-3 (87%)	3-2-0 (66%)
Penalties	0-0	0-0
Possession Time	24:53	18:11

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		NAVY	MD
6:19	(NAVY) Gulley 2 run (Moehring kick)	7	0
4:11	(NAVY) Smith 1 run (Moehring kick)	14	0
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		NAVY	MD
8:09	(NAVY) Moehring 33 FG	17	0
6:41	(MD) Johnson 2 run (Greene kick)	17	7
4:50	(NAVY) Smith 7 run (Moehring kick)	24	7
2:17	(MD) Johnson 5 run (Greene kick)	24	14
0:21	(MD) Hills 41 pass Jacobs III (Greene kick)	24	21
0:00	(NAVY) Smith 68 pass Romine (Moehring kick)	31	21
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		NAVY	MD
2:33	(NAVY) Moehring 25 FG	34	21
1:34	(NAVY) Smith 10 run (Moehring kick)	41	21
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		NAVY	MD
8:18	(MD) Hills 24 pass Edwards (Greene kick)	41	28
7:01	(NAVY) Smith 65 pass Tillman (Moehring kick)	48	28
4:06	(NAVY) Moehring 29 FG	51	28
1"52	(NAVY) Romine 42 run (Moehring kick)	58	28

Navy Midshipmen PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Tago Smith 6-9 215 2 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Tago Smith 32 267 8.3 3 Chris High 8 62 7.7 0 Toneo Gulley 7 70 9.9 1 Dishan Romine 4 113 28.2 1 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Dishan Romine 2 87 43.5 1 Jamir Tillman 2 77 38.5 1 Brandon Colon 2 51 25.5 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Jarid Ryan 8 0 0 0 Daiquan Thomasson 7 0 0 0 Sean Williams 7 0 0 0 Tyris Wooten 5 0 2 0 Daniel Gonzales 4 (4 TFL) 1 0 0

Maryland Terrapins PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Perry Hills 16-29 281 2 2 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Ty Johnson 26 109 4.1 2 Perry Hills 10 23 2.3 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD DeAndre Lane 4 60 15.0 0 Levern Jacobs III 3 102 34.0 1 Teldrick Morgan 3 51 17.0 0 Avery Edwards 3 31 10.3 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD William Likely III 9 (3 TFL) 0 0 0 Shane Cockerille 7 0 0 0 J.C. Jackson 7 (TFL) 0 0 0 Roman Braglio 5 (4 TFL) 1 0 0

Quote: Originally Posted by Tearz49ers

I've always had soft spot for Maryland, so I will be following this one closely.

As do I -- partly because they're an east coast team. Me not having a primary favorite team in college 'ball allows me to pull for more teams easier.

I'm really looking forward to mixing and matching the uniforms and seeing how well we can recruit here. Thanks for checking in Tearz!

[LopaKa]

Wow I did not expect that outcome. The triple option is always tricky to defense so I guess Durkins doubts were on point. Looks like a long way to the top for the Terps.

[thesportsguru11]

Quote: Originally Posted by LopaKa

Wow I did not expect that outcome. The triple option is always tricky to defense so I guess Durkins doubts were on point. Looks like a long way to the top for the Terps.

Yeah defending the option has given me fits since the beginning of time...even in the UConn chise I went 0-2 against Army and I think 1-3 against Navy. I'll chalk up the tough defeat this time to that track record and hopefully we don't encounter that type of performance again. Thanks for dropping in

[Bigsheen]

I completely forgot Perry Hills was at Maryland. Kid is from Pittsburgh and went to HS with some buddies I went to college with. Everyone said he should have went to college for wrestling instead of football but here we are

I hate facing the triple option...probably more than the spread read option teams on 14. The former just always gives me fits and in my PAT dynasty, Navy gashed me as well and I questioned why I ever put them on the schedule lol I see an easy win over FIU though.

[TheOtherPotterGuy]

Ouch. What a way to start the season off, especially when Durkin was not the coach people wanted. I'll echo what everyone else said about facing the triple option. I dreaded seeing teams like Georgia Tech and Navy because of it. They only way I've been able to have any sort of success against it is if I use a Dime or Dollar package all game. Even then though, if the big boys up front execute their blocks against my extra DB's and LB's, its over. FIU should be a good restart for you.

[gsutiger]

Really didn't expect this one to start the season..Thought it would have at least been close. They hurt you on the ground and through the air. On a bright note for the Terps Johnson was solid out there today. If Hills can complete a couple more of those passes and not turn it over twice it might have been a different game.