KEY TO THE GAME

Even after allowing the Mountaineer running game to have its way, the Terps kept themselves out of the game by turning the ball over five times, including a muffed kickoff exchange that jumpstarted the West Virginia offense.

WHEN IT WAS OVER

West Virginia sophomore running back Steve Slaton ripped off 37 yards on a Reggie Bush-like run to put his team up 21-0. He reversed fields after it looked like he would be stopped for a minimal gain. The already limpid energy was completely drained out of the Terps at that point.

TERP HIGHLIGHT

After the Mountaineers virtually put the game away in the first quarter, the Terp offense efficiently worked down the field on long drives and built up some confidence in the passing game. The Terps went 80 yards in 15 plays on a drive capped off by Hollenbach’s first passing TD of the season.

TERP LOWLIGHT

The Terps never even had a chance to put points on the board before the Mountaineers took a commanding lead. After winning the coin toss and choosing to defer, West Virginia jumped out to an insurmountable lead that they never relinquished.

PLAY OF THE GAME

Slaton began running the ball to his left, cut smoothly back to the right, broke a tackle and zipped down the sideline for a touchdown. What looked like a short gain turned into a highlight-reel play.

STAR OF THE GAME

Slaton wanted to show Ralph Friedgen and the Terps what they missed out on. He didn’t quite take every carry to the house, but certainly accomplished his goal by finishing with 194 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries. Slaton increased his chances to become a Heisman Trophy candidate at the season’s end.

KEY QUOTE

“It’s not the greatest way to start the game off. Everything that went wrong, could go wrong, did go wrong. A lot of them were star struck, but we gotta start getting over that if we wanna be the team we wanna be.”

-Ralph Friedgen on the Terps’ first quarter performance.

WHAT THIS GAME MEANS

The Terps have a lot of work to do. With the national spotlight shining on them, they collapsed under the pressure. Friedgen and the Terps must fix their mistakes and regroup before starting ACC play Oct. 7 at Georgia Tech.