7 replies to this topic

[BSLChrisStoner]

The University of Maryland fell to 2-1 on the year, as the Terrapins lost the 'Edsall Bowl', losing to the Connecticut Huskies 24-21.

The Good:

1) Good kickoff coverage from Maryland to start the game, with Sean Davis make a solid hit. There was again good kickoff coverage from the Terps in the 4th Quarter, following their 2nd TD of the day.

2) UConn's first possession started with Dexter McDougle making a good open field tackle. After the Huskies picked up a 1st down on 3rd and 1, they had a penalty which forced 1st and 20. UConn's Whitmer was on the verge of picking up another 1st on the ground, when Drakeford forced a fumble, recovered by Maryland.

3) After several plays on the Huskies 2nd series, Maryland's defense adjusted to the wildcat offense. The Terps were doing a good job flowing from sideline to sideline, and group tackling. CB Jeremiah Johnson had a nice tackle on McCombs, and after forcing UConn into a 3rd and 8, gained possession back when Whitmer had only underneath routes available to throw.

4) Renfro had a good punt on his 2nd attempt.

5) Farrand came through to shoot the gap and make a tackle for loss on UConn's 3rd series. On 3rd and long, Vellano made a 3rd down tackle and forced another Huskies punt.

6) Nice KR from Diggs after UConn's 2nd TD.

7) Maryland finally had a positive offensive play on their 5th series, when Hills ran away from pressure on 2nd and 8. A late hit gave the Terps a 1st down from the UConn 42. After Boykins dropped a would be 1st down on 3rd and 5 from the 37, the Terps went for it on 4th down. Hills found Diggs for the 1st, and Diggs would add further yards after the catch bringing the ball to the UConn 19 yard line. Wes Brown then exploded for a TD run, pulling Maryland within 7. Great run blocking upfront. The 8 play, 67 yard TD drive was a huge answer to UConn's 2nd score.

8) AJ Francis pushed away several blockers, and made a tackle for loss, as UConn began their 5th possession.

9) Hartsfield had a great open field tackle on UConn's 2nd series of the 2nd Quarter. Farrand dropped back in coverage on 3rd down, and got his hands up knocking down the UConn pass attempt.

10) A 23 yard PR from Diggs (who made something from nothing), gave Maryland the ball on their 28 with just under 5 minutes left in the 1st half. Hills ran for a 1st down, running past a defender on the edge. Brown rushed to right for 16 more, taking the ball in UConn territory. Maryland would not score on the series, but by having some success, they changed the field position; and prevented UConn from extending their lead prior to the end of the 1st half.

11) Drakeford made the first big Maryland play of the 2nd half, dropping Whitmer for the sack on 3rd and 8.

12) Diggs followed with a 32 yard punt return in traffic, giving Maryland the ball from the UConn 42.

13) Goree shed a blocker, to make a good tackle on UConn's 2nd series of the 2nd half.

14) Boykins had a great effort, reaching for the 1st in the 3rd Quarter. The Terps were facing 3rd and 7, and Boykins caught the ball a yard or two short of the 1st, before pulling his defender along for the ride.

15) Following their recovered FG, the Huskies started a series in the 3rd from the Maryland 23 yard line. The Terps defense was able to hold up, and force UConn into a FG attempt (converted to give the Huskies a 17-7 lead).

16) You have to like the combination of size and speed that Wes Brown brings. He surprises a bit on his ability to get to the edge, and is a load running straight ahead.

17) After a UConn FG put the Huskies up 17-7, Maryland used 3 successive runs from Brown, and a 14 yard completion to Leak; to move the ball 28 yards. Maryland was forced into a 4th and 9 punt, but a 15 yard penalty from UConn gave the Terps new life within Huskies territory (1st and 10 at the UConn 31) as the 3rd Quarter ended. On 3rd and 10, Hills was running for his life against pressure and threw the ball down the field. Leak tipped it (and was interfered with), and the deflection went to Diggs for the TD. The score pulled the Terps within 3 at 17-14.

18) Kilgo took advantage of good coverage down the field, for a sack in the 4th.

19) Diggs again provided an answer to UConn, with another good KR following the Huskies 4th Quarter TD. Starting at their own 47 yard line, Hills picked up 6 on a keeper, and found Leak for 22 more. An inside screen to Boykins on 3rd and 6 gave Maryland another 1st. Hills did a good job on that play against the pressure. On a designed draw, Hills scored from 10 yards out. Hills absorbed some contact, to cross the goal line. This pulled MD back within 3, with 4:39 left in the game.

20) With the Terps within 3 at 24-21, Alex Twine made a 5 yard tackle for loss, forcing the Huskies into a 3rd and 14.

21) One nice adjustment that OC Mike Locksley made during the game, was running quick plays after anything positive. This helped against the pressure from Don Brown, and limited the substitutions Brown could make. On the final drive, this helped Maryland get a 1st down on a 12 yard pass to Boykins on 2nd and 7. As that drive continued, Diggs picked up another 1st on 3rd and 10.

The Bad:

1) The Huskies picked up their first 1st down, in their initial series today; when Maryland could not make the stop on 3rd and 1. After a UConn penalty, the Huskies were facing a 1st and 20. Maryland would recover a fumble caused by Drakeford, but Whitmer had been the verge of picking up another 1st, with a long run.

2) On the 2nd UConn possession, Maryland had a little trouble recognizing and defending the Huskies wildcat offense on the first couple of plays.

3) The 3rd Maryland series started with a 5 yard penalty, with movement on the line. Two plays later, an illegal substitution penalty on Dorsey backed Maryland up once again (into a 3rd and 16).

4) In the 1st Quarter, UConn had a fumble, and 2 punts; but still had the 7-0 lead. As the Quarter ended, their 4th drive was beginning from the Maryland 36. The Huskies had already taken advantage of the field position battle to get a punt returned for a score, and were now on the verge of again getting points - helped by the Terps being able to do nothing on offense. The 2nd Quarter began with UConn picking up 3rd and 5, setting up a 1st down from the Maryland 24. A 15 yard McCombs run brought the Huskies to the Maryland 9 yard line. On 3rd and Goal from the 4, Maryland called timeout. Despite the additional time to plan, UConn went up 14-0 on McCummings 4 yard TD run.

5) In the 2nd Quarter, with MD down 14-0, the Terps faced 3rd and 5 from the UConn 37. Boykins was not able to come up with a would be 1st down catch on a quick slant.

6) UConn got good field position, starting at their 41, following Maryland's initial TD.

7) Maryland's 2nd series of the 2nd Quarter had the Terps moving backwards. Hills under threw a pass down the sideline to Leak in single coverage on 2nd down. On 3rd down, Hills was sacked for a 10 yard loss.

8) It was a bad looking offensive series for Maryland to start the 2nd half.

9) A great PR from Diggs, had Maryland beginning their 2nd series of the 2nd half in Huskies territory. Nick Klemm was called for blocking below the waist, moving Maryland back from the UConn 42, to facing 1st and 25 from the MD 43. Even with holding from Fulper, Hills was sacked for the 4th time several plays later, and Maryland had to punt. Horrible job of taking advantage of the Diggs return.

10) Maryland's defense forced a 3 and out on the Huskies 2nd series of the 3rd Quarter. A block in the back from Maryland, had the Terps starting from their 23, as opposed to out by their 40.

11) Bad drop from Dorsey on Maryland's final series.

12) Down 3, Maryland had a 1st and 10 on the UConn 32 with 1:55 left in the game. You had to gain some positive yards in that situation, and at-least give yourself a FG attempt to tie.

The Ugly:

1) Following Whitmer's fumble, Hills and Maryland took over on the UConn 47. On Maryland's first offensive play of the game, Hills was picked off, giving the ball right back to the Huskies.

2) The 2nd Terps series started within their 5 yard line, and Maryland quickly went 3 and out. The 47 yard punt from Renfro was returned to the house, giving UConn a 7-0 lead.

3) During the 1st Quarter, the Terps had 4 offensive series. Interception, Punt (3 and out), Punt (3 and out), Punt (3 and out). Maryland was being overwhelmed by the pressure from Don Brown's defense.

4) Hills was forced into a 3rd Quarter fumble, when an unblocked UConn defender delivered a smash on Maryland's QB. This gave the Huskies a 1st and 10 from the Terps 23.

5) Following Maryland's 4th Quarter TD - which pulled the Terps within 3 at 17-14 - the Huskies picked up a 3rd and 7 on a 11 yard pass to Smith, another 3rd and 7 on a 18 yard pass to Delahunt, and were gashed by McCummings for 20 yards on the ground. Several plays later they found the end-zone, pushing the lead back out to 10. (24-14.) The Terrapin defense did a lot of good things today, but allowing a 10 play, 76 yard TD drive, covering 6 minutes in that situation negated many of the positives.

[JeremyStrain]

Am I a bad alumni for chuckling at this? There were chants all game long of "Let's go Huskies" because people know it's really hard to defend his job after losing this game. Saw a sign today that said bring back Fridge.

[BSLChrisStoner]

Am I a bad alumni for chuckling at this? There were chants all game long of "Let's go Huskies" because people know it's really hard to defend his job after losing this game. Saw a sign today that said bring back Fridge.

The timeout usage (or lack thereof) on the last drive is hard to defend. Losing to UConn is not. Maryland and UConn are basically equal programs, and that would be true if Edsall was the Coach of MD or not.

The Maryland fans (and I'll include myself), that 1/2 filled the stadium, and failed to create a true home-field environment; can share in the blame.

Stewart has greatly helped the defense. There is obvious young offensive talent particularly that is gaining a lot of experience, and you will be able to build around for several years.

The Terps will lose at WVU. They will beat Wake at home. That will have MD at 3-2, 1-0 going into the game 10/13 at Virgina. The games vs. Clemson and FSU are obvious losses. At Virgina, home vs. NCST, at BC, Georgia Tech, and at UNC are all winnable games.

Terps probably go 2-3 in that stretch, finish 5-7, 3-5.

[JeremyStrain]

The timeout usage (or lack thereof) on the last drive is hard to defend. Losing to UConn is not. Maryland and UConn are basically equal programs, and that would be true if Edsall was the Coach of MD or not.

The Maryland fans (and I'll include myself), that 1/2 filled the stadium, and failed to create a true home-field environment; can share in the blame.

Stewart has greatly helped the defense. There is obvious young offensive talent particularly that is gaining a lot of experience, and you will be able to build around for several years.

The Terps will lose at WVU. They will beat Wake at home. That will have MD at 3-2, 1-0 going into the game 10/13 at Virgina. The games vs. Clemson and FSU are obvious losses. At Virgina, home vs. NCST, at BC, Georgia Tech, and at UNC are all winnable games.

Terps probably go 2-3 in that stretch, finish 5-7, 3-5.

I don't care if 3 people showed up, the "home field advantage" thing is more of a cop out than a reason for good or bad play.

This was a statement game. With all of the criticism, he needed to win this game at home, and he didn't. The players don't respond to him, he should never ever open his mouth to the media, and I don't think he's a very good coach.

Dead horse and all, this team is worse off with him than without him. UCONN seems to be doing just fine without him, after 2 years of recruiting classes, which tells me he wasn't as much of an influence there as people like to make it out to be. Coaches in college get too much credit and not enough credit depending on the person, I think he's the former. Can't wait until he's gone, and Anderson with him.

[bnickle]

By winning the game UCONN won the rights to Edsall. Wasn't that the stipulation.

[glenn__davis]

Offense just got it going too late.

It's really a shame CJB got hurt. Diggs and Wes Brown look like the real deal, and there are other playmakers on offense. This game would have been an easy MD win with Brown, IMO.

Hills is trying his best and looked pretty darn good at the end of the game. Just has to keep trying to get better.

The youngsters are playing well. Another good recruiting class coming in next year, and the coordinator situation this year is light years improved. Good to see the program moving in the right direction, even if it takes another year or so to get there.

[BSLChrisStoner]

I don't care if 3 people showed up, the "home field advantage" thing is more of a cop out than a reason for good or bad play.

This was a statement game. With all of the criticism, he needed to win this game at home, and he didn't. The players don't respond to him, he should never ever open his mouth to the media, and I don't think he's a very good coach.

Dead horse and all, this team is worse off with him than without him. UCONN seems to be doing just fine without him, after 2 years of recruiting classes, which tells me he wasn't as much of an influence there as people like to make it out to be. Coaches in college get too much credit and not enough credit depending on the person, I think he's the former. Can't wait until he's gone, and Anderson with him.

The lack of a crowd can not be blamed as the reason the Terps lost, but not having as hostile environment for opposing teams as possible; is not a cop out.

Saying the current players do not respond to him is based on what? Since the exodus,there have been numerous stories in multiple forums of the current roster rallying around each other and him.

Dead horse and all, Edsall is going no where. The only possible way he potentially gets forced out, is if MD fails to win again this year, and that is not going to happen.

You are going to be waiting for his removal for quite some time.

[Oriole85]

I was at the game yesterday, I was appalled at how many people were leaving early on such a nice day when the game wasn't in as much doubt as some thought. Terps were in this one til the end.