In each of the last two seasons, Virginia has represented a crucial turning point for the Terrapin football team.
The Terps were 4-2 when the Cavaliers came to town last year and coming off big wins against Rutgers and Georgia Tech the previous two games.
Then Chris Long sacked Chris Turner in the endzone, Kevin Barnes got called for a questionable pass interference penalty and Cavaliers running back Mikell Simpson scored a controversial touchdown after gaining a debatable first down. And the Cavaliers won 18-17.
The Terps lost three of their next four games, sputtering to a 6-6 finish before they lost to Oregon State in the Emerald Bowl.
“We lost a close game and then struggled for the rest of the season,” Barnes said.
In 2006, the Terps were 3-2 when they headed to Charlottesville, but they were coming off a tough loss to Georgia Tech the week before, and they trailed the Cavaliers 20-0 at halftime.
Then Keon Lattimore broke off a long touchdown run, Erin Henderson returned an interception 45 yards for a touchdown and the Terps came back to win, 28-26.
That win was the first of five straight for the Terps, who ended up 8-4 before a satisfying win against Purdue in the Champs Sports Bowl.
At 4-1 and coming off a big win at Clemson, the Terps are in a similar place heading into tomorrow’s game in Charlottesville. Whatever the outcome is, tomorrow is going to be huge for the Terps’ season.
“This is an important time for us,” coach Ralph Friedgen said. “If we’re able to win this game on the road – and I know it’s going to be very, very difficult for us to do – I think it would give us some momentum going into the rest of the year.”
A win tomorrow would also keep the Terps very much in the hunt for the ACC Atlantic Division title.
Four of their next five games after tomorrow will be at home, and there is nobody the Terps can’t conceivably beat.
If the Terps lose tomorrow, it will effectively cancel out the win last week against the Tigers and cast the rest of the season in doubt.
The Terps are still walking a fine line right now between being thought of as a contender and being thought of as the team that lost to Middle Tennessee.
Another bad loss tomorrow and things will look a lot less hopeful than they do now.
“We really got to be on our A-game and play to the best of our ability,” center Edwin Williams said.
And just because the Cavaliers don’t look as good on paper as they were last season doesn’t mean they can’t give the Terps a game.
Long is gone – “[That’s] very nice,” Turner said – and so is last year’s starting quarterback Jameel Sewell, but Simpson and fellow running back Cedric Peerman still play, and the Cavaliers’ massive offensive line is still intact.
Their 31-3 loss at Duke last weekend wasn’t as bad as the score indicated, as late turnovers allowed things to get out of hand.
Throw in the rivalry factor, and tomorrow could be the third straight game between the schools decided by single digits.
“Virginia’s having a tough year right now,” Friedgen said. “But this is going to be a tough football game.”
For the sake of the rest of their season, then, let’s hope the Terps come ready to play.
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