Maryland's Goal Line Stand Gives Terps Win Over Navy Midshipmen, 17-14
by Ben Broman on Sep 6, 2010 7:33 PM EDT
in Football
Email
PrintYou really can't script it better: Maryland-Navy, two in-state rivals, open the season in a neutral site for a packed house. 17-14, less than a minute remaining, fourth-and-goal on the one-yard line. It's straight out of a movie.
It wasn't the first time Maryland's defense had to bail the Terrapins out. Outside of the first quarter, MD's offense did little at all. Navy had been in the red zone seven times; only twice had they scored. Twice they were stopped inside the one. And the Maryland defense, which had been on the field all day thanks to Navy's time-eating triple-option offense, had to make one more stand.
As it so happened, they did. Navy's QB Ricky Dobbs faked the handoff to FB Vince Murray and ran to the left, only to be met by Maryland's safety duo, Kenny Tate and Antwine Perez. Tate made first contact, Perez followed quickly, and Dobbs was forced backwards, preserving MD's narrow three-point lead. Just like that, Maryland kicked off their season with a win.
Da'Rel Scott and Davin Meggett both rushed for first quarter touchdowns to give Maryland a 14-0 lead. They were answered by a second quarter TD from Andre Byrd and a third quarter TD from Dobbs. Maryland broke the knot with a FG by emergency kicker Travis Baltz, who was only because Nick Ferrara was hurt, and then came that final stop. The Terps came away with the win, 17-14.
Maryland started off the game like gangbusters: two drives, zero recorded passing attempts, 139 rushing yards, and two TDs. The Terps entered the second quarter winning 14-0, and could've been up by more had they taken advantage of a few of Navy's mistakes.
After that, it was Navy all the way. The Midshipmen's time of possession was pushing 40:00, twice as much as Maryland's 20:34. The Middies had 485 total yards; Maryland had just 271. The Terps' offense did little to nothing, and Navy rolled.
Except when they entered the red zone, also known as the Fumble Zone. Seven times they entered the red zone; a missed field goal, two fumbles, the end of a half, and a turnover on downs later, they scored only twice. Maryland's defense, supposedly the Terps' weak point, saved the game.
Maryland's rushing offense looked good enough. Navy's defensive line is small enough to make anyone temper their reactions, but 255 rushing yards is pretty good against anyone. Da'Rel Scott had his moments and Davin Meggett was one of the Terps' stars. What's really troubling is Maryland's passing attack; all confidence in Jamarr Robinson should be lost, as he went just 3-6 for 16 yards and an interception and looked constantly flustered in the pocket. Of course, that's why Danny O'Brien entered the game, but we'll hit more on that later.
For now, all you need to know is that Maryland's defense is a little better than we thought, they need to find a QB of the future, and, most importantly, they won their season opener.
Here's the schedule: grades coming tomorrow, plus some minor analysis tonight and a few more storylines throughout the week. Football is back.
48 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
passing 'attack'? HAHAHA
Sorry Ralph I’d love you to stay but you should’ve probably figured out how to recruit a QB who can pass the football. There’s no excuse for this level of incompetence in the passing game. It’s a joke.
Curious to know
What are we to make of Danny O’Brian’s cameo?
He is a fluid pocket passer, I’m not exactly sure the announcers are correct to say he was just in there for “game experience.”
They were definitely wrong
That’s coming in a future post, tomorrow or tonight if I can find the time.
We should run a 2 QB system...
use Jamarr as a Wildcat QB…
as I commented way back when
This most likely opens up the job for Danny O’Brien. I mean it was Jamarr’s job to lose. I’d rather have a passing attack……If we had a good passing attack we may have been able to shred Navy’s defense and made a statement. Right now I’m just happy we were able to win this game. I love how Friedgen continues to be uncertain about his Quarterbacks. Danny O’Brien may win this job sooner than most people think. Apparently DOB runs a 4.64 according to Rivals. I could see him in the mold of Aaron Rodgers who scrambles only when the pocket collapses or doesn’t see anything.
I’m glad i went to the game but the stadium wasn’t packed and it was a great game but it didnt have the feel of a rival game a lot of respect between the fans and players maryland has no benefit in playing navy every year
by valenciais1 on Sep 6, 2010 7:57 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Wrong
It was a great game day atmosphere, and you are talking about filling an NFL stadium not Byrd. I have seen far more empties at Skins home games. I think they def do this every year. Plus I can walk to the game!
What u mean wrong i was there the stadium wasn’t packed and everybody was nice it was a great atmosphere but not a rivalry atmosphere thats what i saw from sec 542
by valenciais1 on Sep 6, 2010 8:24 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
wrong valenciais1
I was in the student section right behind the field goal post and the place was very packed and all us maryland students were super intense and I felt a good rivalry feel with navy students in white straight across from us and we were always trying to out yell the navy students and fans
no your wrong
it was a great atmosphere. maybe you couldnt tell cuz you were in the 500’s. but why so negative right now? we just won a game that nobody thought we had any business winning
69,000 plus....
I’d say that’s a pretty damn good crowd. Remember you were in an NFL stadium.
i can't believe Navy didn't kick the field goal.
We were TIRED.
I'm hurt dog! Don't ask if me if I'm alright, hell naw! We said dominate and we not doing it! I put my heart into this s***, let's go man! - Ed Reed
by BaltimoreSportsFan on Sep 6, 2010 7:59 PM EDT reply actions
Interesting game
Way more entertaining than anything Virginia Tech is playing, but we knew that going in.
I don’t really know how to grade the defense for a game like this; it’s so unlike anything else you see unless GT is on the schedule – they’re not going to give up 400 rushing yards again but is it even possible to give a grade to the secondary?
The offense was less than inspiring – the line looked good to start the game, blowing Navy off of the ball, but then they got away from that as the game progressed. We got out-passing-yarded by the Naval Academy, that probably should never, ever happen.
The random sub of Danny O’Brien was comical. Everyone I was watching the game with called a fumble at that point, and a fumble we got. There’s no way it was for playing time purposes, considering we have Morgan State next week and from what I understand, they’re not particularly good. Robinson looked putrid passing but was impressive on the ground, perhaps if we were using Navy’s system, that would have been acceptable. I’m not sure what we’re paying James Franklin to do at this point outside of standing on the sidelines and go “DERP”. Every time the camera panned to him on the sideline it was like “Is he doing anything?” It was not exactly awe-inspiring.
That said, a win is a win is a win. Go Terps, spret oG, all that cheer.
Is Ralph Friedgen fired yet?
Is Jerry Angelo fired yet?
by ES46NE10 on Sep 6, 2010 8:54 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
ACC update....
And VT is getting shredded….If they lose doesn’t that mean we were the only team to play a “decent” team and win?
I would not call out the offense as underperforming on this one.
They moved the ball respectably throughout the game WHEN THEY GOT THE BALL. Yes, our passing attack was non-existent, but Scott and Megget looked great today. The defense couldn’t get off the damn field. The D just got extremely lucky that Navy had butterfingers at the goal line all day. A win is a win, but that game we should have lost. Maybe we used up all our bad luck fumbling last year, and we will luck our way into the National Championship this year. Haha
Respectfully disagree
One of the reasons Navy had the ball so much was because Maryland’s offense couldn’t keep them off the field. After the first quarter, they really did nothing with the ball. Maryland had zero drives that topped 6 plays after the first quarter; Navy only had two that didn’t. Kind of a chicken-or-the-egg argument, but I still think it holds up.
And I also disagree with the “butterfingers” thing; Moten destroyed Dobbs on the first one, and Tate’s helmet knocked out the ball on the second. The only plays Navy had “butterfingers” on were recovered by Navy. There were no “gimme” turnovers in this game except for the Robinson INT.
I call the fumbles lucky
While they may have hit the ball carriers hard, they were extremely lucky that the ball carrier fumbled, the timing of the fumbles, and that we recovered them. You could say that our D stepped up when they had to, but just hitting a guy hard doesn’t usually lead to a fumble, and certainly would be unlikely reproduced again. Navy moved the ball at will until the goal line stands.
Recovering fumbles deep in your own end is great, but it doesn’t make for a good offensive day. Usually teams play extra conservative that close to their own goal line. We would punt it back, and they drove it down our throats every time, while keeping our offense off the field.
As for the passing game, why would you pass when you average 7.7 yards per carry on the ground? We had a great rushing day. Thank god for our punter!!
awfully negative
im wondering what you think is a good way to cause a fumble then? ill take turnovers however i can get em. big hits, strips, adrian moten leaping over the o-line. we won the game negative nancy
by churl77 on Sep 7, 2010 12:27 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
16 yards passing?
if that isn’t a DREADFULLY underperforming I don’t know what is.
Also
We got the ball near our own goal line a couple of times that hurt our offense too. Probably not going to pass much when you are near your own goal line and are having success with the run. Averaging 7.7 yards per carry, why would you pass much?
Funny you say that
Because when the ball was near our goal line (four yard line) we threw the ball twice in a row and had our first two completions.
Just sayin’.
I agree that we didn’t need to go all out or anything in passing, but when we couldn’t do anything in the middle of the game we needed a passing game. Running on 3rd and 10 is almost throwing in the towel.
Good point, you are the master. :)
Running on 3rd and 10 was ridiculous. It looked like Fridge had no confidence in a 10 yard pass play.
That is because he clearly didn’t. Tomorrow I’m thinking I’m going to analyze the performance of Robinson, especially on passing downs. I’m not happy with him.
When you're rich you don't write checks - Randy Moss
by s.r.genovese on Sep 7, 2010 12:55 AM EDT up reply actions
In a fanpost, fwiw
When you're rich you don't write checks - Randy Moss
by s.r.genovese on Sep 7, 2010 12:55 AM EDT up reply actions
Saw the first half, had to leave the TV at halftime.
But I liked what I saw. Running is obviously going to be our game unless we put O’Brien in more.
Definitely gonna have too...
play a lot tighter against teams like FSU and WVU to even hope for tripping over our own feet into a NC….The team will gel, nerves will settle, confidence will build. And as for us being “supposed to” lose that game…..Navy didn’t turn the ball over because of butter fingers….they were pressured, out played and hit in the mouth early.
Thank goodness we don't have to play G Tech and this gimmicky offense this season.
I think the D will win a few more games for us this year. On the offensive side, I think we still need to give Jamarr a chance to solidify his spot. A lot of pressure in this game at a packed(almost) NFL stadium. I liked his mobility, Franklin needs to put him in situations that he can succeed in. Calling a pass on a 2nd and 2 situation, leading to a pick early, is no way to build confidence. Work on some bread-n-butter pass plays and let him hand-off or QB draw a majority of the time.
on every pass play
jamarr’s mindset was run-first. he needs a pass-first mentality on pass plays and can use his legs to get out of trouble if necessary. but he can’t be looking to run when he is safe in the pocket.
The Vince Young effect.
VY got it right after a while. Let’s hope Jamarr figures it out sooner.
know some of you may think I'm crazy but here's my idea.
I think Maryland should look into switching to a triple option offense sometime in the near future, i know it takes a while to switch but right now we would have the perfect personel to run this offense. Jamar robinson at quarterback, Da’rel or devin at FB and A-back or B-back and torrey smith at whichever position they don’t take being either A or B back. In my opinion this could make us the best team we could be, if we had already switched at the start of training camp.
We're you from? Austria. Well then, let's put another shrimp on the barbee!
I was hoping that was what they were going to do...
but fridge and Franklin are set on a pro style offense. I think they’re going to try to bring O’Brien along as fast as possible. Don’t be surprised if he’s the starting QB by the end of the season. If Robinson is smart, he’ll see the handwriting on the wall and ask to be switched to RB next year to replace Scott.
Pro Style offense MUCH better if you want recruits...
Its pro style or Spread…Georgia Tech is one of the few schools that can run the Triple O
The atmosphere was great and I was impressed by the players' passion.
I had been hoping for a win, but wasn’t getting my hopes up. You could see how much the players wanted this. It was close, but they showed a lot of character by staying in there and fighting till the last yard.
As for atmosphere, this was one of the best Terp football atmospheres I’ve been a part of. I’m glad I made the trip to Bmore for it.
PS Some students were doing a “we want faust” chant for a minute or two during half time.
i was hoping to hear that
i didnt though
i was pretty far away from the student section though
by bloodwatermission on Sep 6, 2010 11:38 PM EDT up reply actions
We should just run Navy's triple option...lol
But seriously, it was kind of sad to see Jamarr’s inability to pass. He’s got the feet of Tech QB Tyrod Taylor, but none of the awareness…his arm isn’t the problem…he can’t find receivers.
But man the kid can run. He’d be a damn good playmaker if he could pass the ball even SOMEWHAT.
I have a plan for when we play Morgan State—-
Run in down their throats the first possession. The rest of the game, let Jamarr THROW THE FOOTBALL. He did not look comfortable at ALL. Last year he was not this bad of a passer. I do not want to believe that he has regressed…
If we didnt have good recievers it'd make things a different story.
but Torrey Smith, Adrain Cannon, LaQuan Williams(he looked good the year he was opposite Heyward-Bey), Ronnie Tyler…too many weapons at reciever…not to mention the injured TE"s Devonte Campbell and the starter, forgot his name(LOL)
For the Morgan St. game we should pass 75% of the time
Let jamarr get his rhythm down in a real game situation. It was a little tough this game b/c he knew if he had 1 incompletion on 3rd down, Navy would get the ball back for another 8-10 drive. That’s a lot of pressure, at least more so than in a typical game. Our D can stop a pro style O much more regularly. Too many of you guys are quick to pull the plug. Give the kid a chance, his upside appears greater than his downside imo.
BTW, good job on the game thread terp fans...
we beat Vtech posts by over a hundred on their SB Nation site. And they’re a football powerhouse, hahaha. Seems like trouble’s brewing down in Beamerville.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Testudo Times
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.