Sept. 13, 2008
Recap |
Final Stats |
Quotes |
Photo Gallery 1 
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Photo Gallery 2
Postgame Notes
Undaunted: With its win over No. 23-ranked California on Saturday, Maryland has now won three consecutive games versus ranked opponents dating back to last year. The Terps beat No. 8 Boston College (11/10/07) and No. 10 Rutgers (9/29/07) last season.
Great Scott: RB Da'Rel Scott rushed 19 times for 87 yards and two touchdowns against the Golden Bears, despite playing less than three quarters before leaving with a shoulder injury. Scott, who entered the game tied for fourth in the nation in rushing, now has six carries of at least 24 yards in 2008 (40, 37 and 26 against Delaware; 63 and 24 versus MTSU; 24 against Cal).
Thrice is Nice: With 87 rushing yards Saturday, Scott has 407 for the season, which is the sixth-highest total all-time by a Terp during the first three games of a season, as well as the 10th-highest total all-time by a Maryland ball-carrier during any three-game span.
Big-Time Play By A Big-Time Player: WR Darrius Heyward-Bey recorded two catches for 59 yards, including a 27-yard touchdown reception from QB Chris Turner in the third quarter that extended Maryland's lead to 28-6. Heyward-Bey has now caught at least one pass in 27 of the last 28 contests.
Chart Climber: Heyward-Bey continued his ascent through the receiving portion of Maryland's record book. By recording 59 receiving yards Saturday, the junior wideout passed Ferrell Edmunds (1984-87) to move into seventh place all-time in school history with 1,699 career receiving yards. He stands just 22 receiving yards behind Barry Johnson (1987-90) and Greg Hill (1982-84), who share fifth place on the all-time list. Heyward-Bey's 10th career touchdown reception in the third quarter moved him into a six-way tie for seventh place on Maryland's all-time receiving touchdowns list.
Precision Accuracy: Making his 10th career start at quarterback Saturday, Turner completed 15 of 19 passes for a completion percentage of .789. That figure marks the 10th-highest single-game completion percentage in school history, tying his own mark he set last season against Boston College (11/10/07). Turner finished the afternoon with 156 passing yards and two touchdown passes with no interceptions.
For Starters: In its first possession of the game, the Terp offense drove 60 yards in five plays, capped by a 24-yard Da'Rel Scott touchdown run. Maryland proceeded to score touchdowns on its first three possessions of the game, with Scott adding a 1-yard score and Dan Gronkowski catching a 1-yard touchdown pass from Turner on the first play of the second quarter. For Gronkowski, it was his second career touchdown and first since a 2-yard score versus Florida State Oct. 28, 2006. Gronkowski finished the game with a career-high four receptions for 24 yards.
Coming In Off The Bench: RB Davin Meggett replaced Scott, rushing for 82 yards, including the second rushing touchdown of his career in the fourth quarter when he ran in from 1-yard out. His rush for 38 yards in the fourth quarter marked a career-long.
Tackle Machine: LB Dave Philistin notched a game-high 13 tackles against the Golden Bears, tying for the second-highest total of his career. He added a tackle for loss of three yards. The ACC's leading returning tackler from a season ago, Philistin now leads the 2008 squad with 28 tackles.
Picking Up Where He Left Off: CB Kevin Barnes, who led the Terps with four interceptions a year ago, picked off a pass by Cal QB Kevin Riley during the first quarter, returning it 17 yards to set up Maryland's second touchdown. Barnes leads the team with two interceptions this season, having also snared one in the season-opening win over Delaware (8/30). Barnes added two pass-breakups, including one with a big hit on Cal RB Jahvid Best in the second quarter.
Providing Pressure: LB Moise Fokou accounted for Maryland's first sack of the season when he took down Cal QB Kevin Riley for a 4-yard loss to force the Golden Bears to punt on the game's opening drive. He added a second sack in the third quarter, setting a career-high for sacks in a game and tying a career-high for sacks in a season.
Opposing Quarterbacks Beware: Led by Fokou, the Terps tallied five sacks Saturday against Cal. LB Rick Costa (1.5 sacks) and DLs Jared Harrell (1.0) and Dean Muhtadi (.5) each contributed to the sack barrage against Cal, which had surrendered just one sack on the season entering Saturday's game, and led the Pac-10 in fewest sacks allowed the previous two seasons . The five sacks are tied for the most by the Terps since they recorded six sacks versus Virginia Oct. 10, 2005.
Offensive Outburst: With its performance against Cal, the Terps offense set season-highs in points (35), passing touchdowns (two), rushing touchdowns (three), pass completions (15) and first downs (19).
Getting Defensive: Cal entered the game ranked sixth in the nation in rushing offense (297.0 ypg), but Maryland limited the Golden Bears to 38 rushing yards on Saturday, including just 12 in the second half. The Terps added eight tackles for loss versus Cal, which eclipsed their two-game total entering today's game. The Terps defense did not surrender a touchdown to Cal until the 6:55 mark of the fourth quarter.
Streaks continue: Several Terps extended streaks on Saturday. DL Jeremy Navarre has now played in 40 consecutive games, and his 38 career starts are the most on the team. OL Edwin Williams has now started 29 consecutive games, tops on the team.
Series record: Saturday's game was the first between the pair of prestigious programs, so Maryland now holds a 1-0 series lead. The Terps improved to 2-3 all-time versus Pac-10 opponents.
Attendance: A crowd of 49,527 attended Saturday's game at Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium.
