Wednesday Notebook
9/7/2011 8:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 7, 2011
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COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Maryland knocked off Miami 32-24 on Labor Day before a national audience. The Terps (1-0, 1-0 ACC) are off this weekend, but will face No. 19 West Virginia on Saturday, Sept. 17 in College Park, Md.
Statement Game: Maryland opened the 2011 season with a new coach and brand new uniforms and came away with a victory over Miami in which the offense racked up 499 total yards and the defense scored two touchdowns. In his Maryland debut, head coach Randy Edsall's Terrapins sported state-of-the-art `Maryland Pride' uniforms inspired by characteristics specific to the state flag and the University of Maryland. From head-to-toe, the right and left sides of the uniforms coordinated with the two patterns found on the state flag, including a custom helmet. "It was about being prideful of your state, being prideful of the University and being prideful of all the people that have put on the Maryland football jersey before us," said Edsall of the uniforms designed by Under Armour. "It's great that people are talking about Maryland football."
Rain or Shine: Despite heavy rain that started several hours prior to the game and persisted throughout, 52,875 fans showed up to see Maryland Monday night. It was the seventh biggest crowd in Byrd Stadium's history and the largest since Sept. 13, 2007, when 53,107 saw the Terps play West Virginia.
Sound Start: Maryland got off to a fast start against Miami, led by sophomore QB Danny O'Brien. On the first series of the game, O'Brien led an 11-play, 79-yard drive that resulted in a 10-yard TD pass to Ronnie Tyler. O'Brien, who is on the watch list for the Davey O'Brien, Maxwell and Manning Awards, went 6 of 7 for 72 yards on the series, including a conversion on fourth-and-eight from Miami's 36-yard line. After four offensive series, the sophomore was 19 of 26 for 228 yards. He finished the game 31 of 44 for 348 yards, while also running for 37 yards. His 385 total yards were the third most nationally in the FBS during the opening weekend.
"He spread the ball out well to everyone," said Edsall. "He was very good when he couldn't get it to his first receiver at looking down to his other options. He stayed poised throughout and did a great job at the end."
O'Brien, who has made just 11 starts (8-3 record) in his career, is moving up the ranks in the school record books. His three 300-yard passing games is tied for fifth; his 23 career TD passes is tied for eighth; and his 2,786 career passing yards is 16th.
Piling on the Yards: Maryland's no-huddle, hurry-up offense produced the biggest offensive output in almost six years. The Terps racked up 499 yards of total offense, the most since putting up 524 against North Carolina on Nov. 12, 2005. Quarterback Danny O'Brien accounted for 385 of those yards (348 passing, 37 rushing) while running back Davin Meggett, a Doak Walker watch list member, had 92 rushing yards and 34 receiving yards.
Getting Offensive on Defense: Maryland scored on defense four times in 2010 which was tied for sixth in the FBS and it has made scoring points a staple of its defense over the past 17 games. Over that span, the Terps have turned in eight defensive scores, including two against Miami on Monday night. With under a minute to play in the first half, DB Cameron Chism forced a fumble that DL Joe Vellano scooped up and ran in 30 yards for a TD. Then, late in the fourth quarter with Maryland clinging to a 26-24 lead, Chism intercepted Miami QB Stephen Morris on a fourth-and-three and returned it 54 yards for a TD.
Filling Voids: After the departure of four key playmakers at the wide receiver and linebacker positions following the 2010 season, Maryland entered Monday night's game against Miami with questions about who would fill those voids. Wide receivers Torrey Smith and Adrian Cannon, who combined for 103 catches and 1,379 yards, had to be replaced, as did linebackers Alex Wujciak (117 tackles) and Adrian Moten (77 tackles).
The receiving corps as a whole answered the challenge emphatically, with six players recording at least two receptions. Junior Kevin Dorsey, making just his second career start, caught eight passes for 124 yards, including a 52-yard catch late in the fourth quarter that set up what proved to be the game-winning field goal. Seniors Quintin McCree and Ronnie Tyler also had big games, combining for 13 catches, 82 yards and a TD.
The linebacking corps also answered the bell. Junior Darin Drakeford had a game-high 14 tackles (11 solo), one sack and a forced fumble in his first-ever start. Returning starter Demetrius Hartsfield, who switched from Will LB to Mike, totaled 13 tackles with an assisted TFL and Kenny Tate, who made the switch from safety to outside linebacker, had 11 tackles and an interception. Tate, the quarterback of the defense, is on the watch list for the Butkus and Bednarik Awards, and the Nagurski and Lott Trophies.
"I thought they played well," Edsall said of the linebackers. "I like the moves that we made [in the off-season]; those are going to be permanent moves. I think that as long as those guys keep the attitude that they're going to get better every day then we have a chance to be a lot better at those positions as well."
Looking at the Line: Critical to the performance of the offense was the job done by the line, which returned three starters from a season ago but has just one senior (Andrew Gonnella) listed on the two-deep. In addition to Gonnella, the left guard, junior center Bennett Fulper and junior right tackle R.J. Dill returned as starters, but sophomores Max Garcia (left tackle) and Josh Cary (right guard) were making their first career starts. The group didn't surrender a sack all game, allowed O'Brien to pass for 348 yards, and helped accumulate 151 rushing yards.
Vote O'Brien: Fans can vote for Danny O'Brien, who is a candidate for a number of national awards, for the 2011 Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award at VoteOBrien.org. The candidate list will be trimmed to 16 on Oct. 24, then to three on Nov. 21, and the winner will be announced Dec. 8. The Fan Vote counts for 5% during each round of the voting process and is combined with the results from the O'Brien National Selection Committee. For more information, visit www.DaveyOBrien.org.
