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MD : 17                                                                                                      UVA : 18

“I think we’ve mastered the art of soul crushing defeats.”

By Bob W.

Overall:  It is really hard to get motivated for this recap, which I’m guessing could be one of the least read recaps in D7 history.  I mean how many of us want to relive this event?  I honestly feel like I’ve been kicked in the stomach.  After beating Rutgers and Georgia Tech, it looked as though Maryland had finally found it’s identity, and quite honestly we probably came within 16 seconds of being ranked in the top 25.  Things were looking good and then it all just fell apart.

It started with the 4^th and 1 play that Friedgen elected to punt.  I’ll discuss that more later, but you can circle that one right there.   After we punt it away, the defense comes back on the field, tired, and is given the job of holding on to the win.  Now you have to hand it to the defense, they had kept UVA to 12 points up to that point, but you could just tell this last drive was going to be different. 

After the questionable punt was the questionable pass interference call.  I’ll be the first to admit, I don’t have a good seat to make that call, and I am most certainly bias, but several non Maryland fans commented to me about that playing saying how ticky tack it was.  That turned a 4^th and long into a 15 yard gain and 1^st down.  Which leads us to this.

The 4^th and 1 play.  Since we don’t sit down on that side of the field, as soon as the runner got hit, I immediately looked down the stadium to the section where the Maryland fans had the best look and they were going nuts.  Thank God I said to myself, it is finally over.  Then came the spot and everyone was just in shock.  Then came word that they were going to review it, and again I was relieved.  However, when the referee announced that there was not enough evidence to overturn the call on the field I felt as if I had just had my truck stolen.  You can’t be serious.  The worst part of that announcement was then knowing we were going to lose. 

Again, many people commented to me about the ball coming out of the RB’s hand (yes I should know who was running the ball but thanks to Edward 40 Hands and the lady behind us giving us vodka shots, my keen eye sight had been reduced to strictly seeing a white team and a red team on the field, heck I’m not even sure what color we wore but I did know it at that time) as he was going down.  A correct call would have won the game, but that’s what happens when you let the outcome be determined by referee’s.  They are only human.  The game could have been won several times, so you can’t say it was entirely their fault. 

Then finally came the TD run.  I thought he was in, and it looked that way on the replay, but others were not so sure.  At this point because I know no one is re-living this nightmare by reading the recap I don’t want to go into it too much further, but as I watched that last drive from my seat in Byrd, I felt so helpless as one by one breaks kept going UVA’s game.  Anyway, it over with, we lost, let’s move on and try to put this behind us, because if we don’t, it maybe a long December.

What’s it all Mean:  Quite frankly it means there will be no trip to Jacksonville.  Of course that was a long shot, but now it is officially dead.  It also means we are playing the rest of the season looking for win #6.  Our offensive line is so beat up that we really don’t have any chance of making a decent bowl.  In fact with the recent rash of injuries we could have already seen our best football of the year.   Hopefully we can somehow beat Clemson, or UNC, or NC State, though at this point, it is going to be tough.  Oh well, I’ve been wrong about this team before this year, so maybe I’ll be wrong again.   

Game Highlights:  Not too many bright spots for this one.  I will say though that when we went up 14-3 I was pretty content.  I never for a second considered the game over, and what Maryland fan would at this point, but I was feeling pretty good, and you could almost taste the top 25 ranking.  Oh well. 

Game Lowlights:  Wow where to begin.  Actually now that I say the word “Begin” I think I’m am going to go back to where it all started.  Not going for it on 4^th and 1 was the beginning of the end.  Our defense was tired, and constantly on the field, we were moving the ball and a score would have put this one out of reach, or at least put us up by 8.  Granted, I’m not the coach, I won’t have to answer to people when things go bad, but when the punting team came out after the we failed to convert the 3^rd down, Byrd went nuts.  EVERYONE knew it was a bad call, and all you could do is sit there and watch in horror as we punted away to UVA.  Deep down at that moment, you just somehow knew that the game was going to slip away from us, and that my friend is the definition of the phrase “Game Lowlight”.

MVP:  For this weeks MVP you have to go with Erin Henderson.  Though Henderson was questionable for the last 2 weeks, he manned up and played in the UVA game.  However, saying he played doesn’t do him nearly enough justice.  He recorded 18 tackles while playing. 

For honorable mention, I’m going with Lance Ball.  He 77 yards on 17 carries for an average of 4.2 yards per carry.  Of course when you average 4.2 yards per carry, it is odd that your coach would not want to risk a 4^th and 1, but hey, what do I know.

Random Thought- 

Around the ACC:

Game of the Week

Georgia Tech 34  Army 10- Rashaun Grant had 119 yard and a TD as the Jackets rolled over Army. 

Clemson 70  Central Michigan 14- Maybe we could learn a few things from the Tigers about scheduling opponents for homecoming.  Cullen Harper threw for 5 TD’s in this laugher. 

Wake 44  Navy 24- I actually saw the planes that performed the flyby for this one while I was crossing the Kent Narrows bridge.  Anyway, Kenny Moore caught 15 passes for 180 yards as Wake sinks the middies. 

Miami 37 FSU 29-  Honestly I didn’t even know who won this game until I just looked to do this recap.  That is sad.  Times are changing, and for the better if you ask me!! 

NC State 34 East Carolina 20– Congratulations to the Wolfpack on win #2, by the way has Tom O’Brien committed suicide yet?  I would have loved to be with him when they announced that BC was #2 in the BCS.