ATLANTA – Aching from the effects of five sacks and a devastating loss, senior quarterback Sam Hollenbach understood just how close his team came to knocking off then-No. 18 Georgia Tech.
It seemed as if the Terrapin football team was one play away. One game winning, ultimately season-making play could’ve saved it from the crushing blow that pulsated throughout the visiting sideline Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
But, reflecting on the 27-23 loss, Hollenbach and his teammates saw plenty of chances to put the game away or pull out a win in the closing minutes.
“It’s so frustrating to come out of this with the loss, ’cause we really felt good about what was going on,” Hollenbach said. “We just missed some opportunities.”
Those opportunities ranged from Yellow Jacket drives the defense couldn’t stop to field goals the Terps settled for when they were unable to make it into the end zone. But the game was on the line late in the fourth quarter, when the Terp offense couldn’t follow a 57-yard catch by Darrius Heyward-Bey with a touchdown.
A couple of plays later, inside the redzone with victory in plain sight, Hollenbach – who had made smart decisions for most of the game – threw the ball to the ground as he was sacked and was whistled for intentional grounding.
“On the intentional grounding, it was a three-step drop. You can’t hold the ball – you’ve got to throw it away,” coach Ralph Friedgen said. “You can’t take a sack – you’ve got to throw the ball away.”
Backed up to the 19-yard line, Hollenbach went down again on fourth down after tight end Joey Haynos and left tackle Stephon Heyer got beat.
As the Yellow Jackets celebrated with the crowd roaring in the background, the sobering fact seeped in that some of the Terps’ most experienced players broke down with the opportunity to complete what could’ve been a season-making win.
“You’ve got to take advantage of plays when they’re there,” Friedgen said.
But the game shouldn’t have come down to the final minutes.
In the first quarter after senior Josh Wilson returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, the Terps had a first-and-goal from the Yellow Jacket three-yard line with a chance to take control. After a trio of runs got the ball down to the one-yard line, the Terps settled for a field goal.
“I just felt early in the game it’s better to come out with points and momentum,” Friedgen said yesterday. “At the end of the game, I was thinking I should’ve gone for it. … I always second-guess myself.”
Leading by nine points at the beginning of the fourth quarter, both the defense and offense botched opportunities. The Yellow Jackets – in two minutes, 25 seconds – marched 62 yards on seven plays, gashing the defense on the strength of quarterback Reggie Ball, who finished the drive with a rushing touchdown.
Trying to respond to a second Georgia Tech touchdown, Hollenbach looked to Heyward-Bey on a fourth-and-two and instead the ball ended up in the hands of Yellow Jacket cornerback Avery Roberson. It exemplified the problem of missed opportunities Friedgen said the Terps have been unable to solve.
“When we had fourth down and two yards to go, we had Danny [Oquendo] open in the flat and threw the interception,” Friedgen said. “We’re probably leading the country in turnovers. If we don’t stop doing that … it doesn’t matter, you’re gonna get beat. That’s the bottom line.
“I don’t know what the hell I gotta do to get it across to them.”
Contact reporter Stephen Whyno at whynodbk@gmail.com.
