Finally.
It took nine games and a losing record, but the Terrapin football team finally opened up the playbook on offense. The result? Five touchdowns, 42 points, 472 yards and a passing game resembling the New England Patriots more than the Terps of the past month.
“I felt like I was at the point where we didn’t have anything to lose,” coach Ralph Friedgen said. “Let’s go for it.”
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Chris Turner was given a chance to air the ball out, and he left it up to his wide receivers to make plays. Darrius Heyward-Bey, Isaiah Williams and Emani Lee-Odai all had catches of at least 40 yards, and a couple of those were underthrown.
“That was the thing that we were missing the past weeks, the big plays by our receivers,” running back Lance Ball said. “[When] they stack the box and we have to throw downfield, receivers need to make plays. That’s what they did tonight.”
All week, Friedgen said the Terps had no choice but to air it out in order to win. The coach wasn’t lying.
“I said we needed to throw to beat ’em and I knew that,” Friedgen said. “With what we had right now and with what they had, I think it was extremely hard to line up and run on this team. The question was, ‘Can we make enough plays with our passing game?’ And we did that, and that was the difference.”
Friedgen also pulled out the bag of tricks. Leading 27-21, the Terps forced a three-and-out. On the ensuing drive’s first play, Friedgen inserted little-used speedster Da’Rel Scott into the lineup. Scott patiently waited for a screen pass and took it 57 yards to the house.
On the Terps’ next possession, Turner pitched it to Ball, who handed off to Heyward-Bey. The receiver took the reverse, followed his blocking and seconds later, it was a 37-yard touchdown run and three-possession lead.
“Contrary to the belief, coach Friedgen knows what he’s doing,” Turner said. “He knows how to call plays. We just gotta do what he coaches us to do; [Saturday night] we did. We put up 42 points, and it coulda been more than that.”
Even tight end Jason Goode got into the mix – he had six catches, which matched his season total, for 56 yards and two touchdowns.
Friedgen, Turner and the Terps exposed the Boston College defense, as it struggled to keep up with the aerial attack. As the game went on, fans cheered in anticipation every time Turner faked a hand off and looked to throw deep.
“I loved it, he just let me throw the ball up,” Turner said. “And he didn’t let up; he didn’t let up all night. Maybe Boston College wasn’t ready for it; I don’t know.”
The 42 points scored were the most since Oct. 1, 2005, against Virginia. So, now that the playbook has officially been opened, is it fair to expect to see a similar gameplan against Florida State and N.C. State?
“Sure,” Turner said. “As long as I keep doing this, I don’t see why he won’t keep calling these plays.”
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