Nov. 3, 2001

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COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Maryland ran its record to 8-1 on Saturday, winning for the eighth time for the first time since 1985. Following last week's loss at Florida State, Maryland averted a possible letdown and blitzed Troy State for a 47-14 victory. Next week, the Terps host Clemson in a game with bowl and conference championship implications. Following are postgame quotes:

Maryland Coach Ralph Friedgen

On the offense:
"I thought we tried to get the ball up the field a little better today. We hit two [long passes] and one we had a penalty on and then we missed a couple - two that were just off. I see us improving. We're getting a lot of things involved in the offense now, with the option and passing."

On defeating an underrated Troy State team and what it means on the national level:
"This is a team that played Miami at Miami. I believe it was very, very close in the first half...Against Nebraska, they were leading after the first quarter. We didn't have any problems with them. I think that says something about our football team on a national standpoint. Now I am getting involved in the polls as it is getting near the end of the season. I want the best for these kids and that should be recognized. The number one and number two teams in the country struggled against this team and we didn't, so that's got to say something."

"I was worried about this game, because we were kind of in a funk all week...Our warmup wasn't very good. It was like they were in a trance."

On avoiding a letdown:
"We played them after a time when you should be down - in between a big game coming up and after a big game. The stage was set for a disaster to strike today, because they have some speed on that team...but our kids responded well."

On being in contention for the ACC Championship:
"8-1 is pretty nice to be at right now. We have to take them one at a time, and hopefully we can get number nine next week."

On Troy State's game plan:
"I think Troy State did a good job trying to play our tendencies and had a good game plan against us. They were gambling and that's probably what I would have done, too."

Bruce Perry

On winning:"We need to keep it new. We need to keep winning every week and fulfilling the goals that we set for ourselves. We have surpassed most of our initial goals, so now we have to set new ones."

"This was a very important game. We were a bit down during the week because of the loss and we realized that we just needed to start over. We really pulled together during our practice on Thursday."

Daryl Whitmer

On Maryland's offense: "We were trying to run the ball a lot but they loaded the box so we went downfield with the ball."

On getting motivated: "Before the game, we came out flat in the warm-ups. Coach gave us a pep talk and it really worked. He said that if we didn't come out to play that we were going to get our butts kicked."

Jafar Williams

On next Saturday's game: "Clemson is a real good team so we will need to be up-tempo to beat them next weekend. We can't have a lot of mistakes that we have had. I had a couple-I will probably get chewed out for them. We just have to play smart and we will be fine."

Todd Wike

On the offensive line: "The Georgia Tech game gave us a whole lot of confidence that I am not sure we had going into the game. We beat North Carolina but we weren't sure how we would stack up to Georgia Tech and the big time schools that have handled us in the last couple years. Also in that game we did not play particularly well on the offensive line. After that game we turned up the heat a little bit and focused on getting back to the basics.

Troy State Head Coach Larry Blakeney

On comparing Maryland to Nebraska and Miami:
"Maryland is a good football team yet probably not as deep as Nebraska and Miami with quality players, but they are awfully well coached on both sides of the ball and in the kicking game. They have all the good elements of a championship team and I think they will win out."

On the game:
"[Maryland's] offense was pretty good. I feared it coming in. They were playing good football. They have goals to win the ACC and have a 10-win season. They certainly took care of business today in terms of stopping us and really keeping us from doing very much at all. Maryland's defense is strong. We are a young football team. We are not a football team that can give much up and have a chance to win. I think they were well prepared. I don't think they took a week off because we were coming to town."

On the first half:
"The first half was pretty painful. All we asked them to do was come back and try and salvage something at halftime. We moved the ball a little bit better in the second half and stopped them better. They were doing a lot of twisting and they were out-leveraging us on defense."