Terps Gearing Up For Home Opener
9/10/2010 8:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 10, 2010
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland Terrapins made final preparations Friday afternoon for their home opener against Morgan State, which is set for 6 p.m. Saturday in Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium.
It was a short week of preparation for the Terps, who just four days ago defeated Navy 17-14 in M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. The decreased time to prepare presented challenges for head coach Ralph Friedgen's squad, which had to balance installing this week's game plan with giving their bodies time to recover from Monday's bruising affair.
Maryland held a short walk-through on Tuesday, installed the game plan on Wednesday and stuck to its normal schedule Thursday by practicing for about 90 minutes. The Terps then held an hour-long walk-through on Friday in Byrd in shorts and t-shirts.
At Thursday's post-practice media session, Friedgen acknowledged the importance of starting the season 2-0.
"It would be very big for us; it would give us some momentum," said Friedgen. "The thing I was trying to explain to our players - it's not even about Morgan State. It's about us getting better each and every week. If we want to reach our goals, we have to be consistent. I put on the shirts this year - the difference between being good and great is great is consistently good."
The Terps hope a defense that held Navy to 14 points combined with an offense that racked up 134 rushing yards in the first quarter alone will continue to make strides Saturday against Morgan State. Friedgen spoke about the effect Saturday's game will have on Maryland's long-term goals for this season.
"Their goal is to focus on the next game, and this is the next game. The second goal is to win a minimum of seven games. Well, this one counts. We want to win the Atlantic Division and then an ACC Championship. Go to a bowl game, which I think this has an impact on that, and then hopefully we finish in the top 25. This (game) has an effect on that. So out of the six goals we have, four of them are impacted by this game," said Friedgen.
Morgan State enters Saturday's matchup at 1-0 after an unconventional 14-7 victory over Bowie State last weekend in which the Bears kicked four field goals and recorded a safety. The defense held Bowie State to minus 33 rushing yards and just 73 yards of total offense.
"(Morgan State has) a good defensive line," said Friedgen. "They play eight defensive linemen. Their secondary is new. Their linebackers played the whole game so I'm assuming they're not deep in that area. They have some talented skill people. Their offensive line is big; I don't know how mobile they are. But they've got some skill people."
Maryland's defense, meanwhile, stopped Navy on five of its seven trips to the red zone in Monday's game, while safety Kenny Tate and defensive lineman Joe Vellano picked up ACC Player of the Week honors for their efforts. Tate, who was also named the FWAA/Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week and the Jim Thorpe Award Defensive Back of the Week, notched a career-high 12 tackles and also forced a pair of fumbles. Vellano, in his first career start, came through with several crucial stops on the interior of the defensive line. The sophomore had 10 tackles, including five solo stops, as well as three tackles for loss and two sacks.
"We made an impression, a good impression," said Friedgen. "I think people saw how hard our guys played against a very good football team. I believe Navy will win another 10 games this year. Do you lose all that by not going out and playing your best? And that's where we are in the growth process. We have to go out and line up and play and show people what we're capable of. I really believe this team is capable of a lot of good things but they have to go out and do it. They can't rest. You have to keep going."
Friedgen announced that safety Antwine Perez, offensive lineman Paul Pinegar and sophomore Darin Drakeford will serve as captains for Saturday's game. He also named wide receiver Adrian Coxson as the offensive scout team player of the week and defensive lineman Ian Evans as the defensive scout team player of the week.
Tate will carry the Maryland flag onto the field Saturday and offensive lineman Andrew Gonnella will bring the American flag.
Kickoff for Saturday's game is set for 6:04 p.m. EDT, with the game to be broadcast live on the Terrapin Sports Radio Network and streamed on ESPN3.com.
Tickets for the game are available through the Maryland Athletics Ticket Office by calling 1-800-462-TERP or clicking here.
Terp Notes:
Ralph Friedgen Television Show: The 2010 Ralph Friedgen Television Show debuts at 11:30 a.m. Saturday on Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic. The fast-paced, 30-minute show goes behind the scenes with Friedgen and the Maryland football team. The show, which airs at the same time throughout the season, replays at 7 p.m. Sunday (Note: This week's show will replay at 3 p.m. Sunday and 7 p.m. Tuesday on Comcast).
Terps to Air on WLIF in Baltimore: Saturday's game will be carried on the Terrapin Sports Radio Network, which includes flagships WJZ-FM 105.7 and ESPN 1300 AM in Baltimore, as well as ESPN 980 in Washington, D.C. However, due to a conflict with the Baltimore Orioles-Detroit Tigers baseball game (7 p.m. start), the Maryland-Morgan State game broadcast in Baltimore can be heard live on WLIF-FM 101.9 and ESPN 1300 AM. WJZ-FM 105.7 will not be carrying the Terps game.
