For Sam Hollenbach, everything else in life is on hold. His eyes are focused on only one thing: tonight’s game in Morgantown, W.Va.
Building a 2-0 record with home wins over William & Mary and Middle Tennessee is nice, but those victories pale in comparison to what tonight’s game at West Virginia means to him – and to the Terrapin football team.
This is the spotlight. This is the game that will indicate where the Terps stand, and it could be a preview of what’s to come.
“This is the biggest game for any of us that we’ve all played in,” Hollenbach said. “It’s pretty much the culmination of everything.”
On national television, in front of what players expect to be a raucous crowd of 60,000 at Milan Puskar Stadium, the Terps will try to prove themselves against the No. 5-ranked Mountaineers. And even though coach Ralph Friedgen wouldn’t say the game determines his team’s season, it’s an opportunity for the Terps to break through in an area where they’ve been unsuccessful before.
“As a team, we know that we can compete with a lot of teams,” senior cornerback Josh Wilson said. “The problem we’ve had the past two years is we’ve been able to compete with a lot of teams, we just haven’t been able to beat them.”
Asked if this game can be considered a referendum on the Terp football program, junior running back Keon Lattimore confidently recalled Friedgen’s words about how rare an opportunity this is – the equivalent of playing on Monday Night Football in the NFL.
“It’s ESPN. It’s Thursday night. The whole world’s watching,” Lattimore said. “Why wait? If you’re gonna do something, you gotta do it on Thursday night.”
Making an impression on the college football world tonight will mean overcoming one of the nation’s top offenses and a hostile atmosphere. Sophomore running back Steve Slaton, who originally committed to play for the Terps before Friedgen rescinded his scholarship offer, and sophomore quarterback Patrick White lead a powerful Mountaineer attack that has averaged 47 points per game this season.
But stopping that attack isn’t the only challenge the Terps must overcome. The atmosphere itself – from the national attention to the fans – will be an additional challenge.
Wilson remembered the earsplitting crowd noise from the Terps’ 19-16 overtime loss at West Virginia two years ago, calling Milan Puskar Stadium one of the three loudest stadiums he’s ever played in.
“They’re gonna yell, I can guarantee you. If we’re winning, they’re gonna yell. If we’re losing, they’re gonna yell. The stadium’s gonna be shaking,” Wilson said. “You gotta be able to zone out the crowd and just play like we’re at home.”
As for Hollenbach, who fumbled four times against West Virginia last season, he is drawing on what he experienced two years ago at Virginia Tech on a Thursday night to prepare himself for tonight’s game.
“We were standing in the tunnel, and they had the fireworks going off and there was a lot going on,” Hollenbach said. “And I remember thinking this is what college football is all about.”
Since before the season started, Friedgen has talked about the difficulty of gauging what his team will do at game time. That uncertainty going into tonight, he said, is part of coaching.
“It’ll be interesting to see how our team reacts to Thursday night,” Friedgen said. “All the coaches in the ACC wanted to know why I took this game on Thursday night up in Morgantown. It’ll be good for our players. We’ll see.”
Friedgen, who is 4-2 in his career against West Virginia, recalled how last year’s 31-19 Mountaineer win sent the teams in opposite directions. West Virginia propelled itself to a spot in the Sugar Bowl, and the Terps fell one game short of bowl eligibility. Getting this win, Friedgen said, would be the kind of breakthrough moment his team needs.
“This team is gonna have to win a game like this to develop,” Friedgen said. “We’re gonna push through one of these days, and when that happens, you’re gonna see a team that’s gonna mature and gain confidence and really reach their potential.”
Anxious to see that happen, Friedgen doesn’t know what to expect out of his team. Still, no matter the outcome, he said it will be an important preparation for future ACC games and that his team will get plenty more chances to test its mettle on the road.
Tonight is an opportunity for the Terps to measure themselves, to make dust out of last year’s unpleasant memories and to establish a precedent for the rest of the season.
It’s especially important for Hollenbach, the leader and symbol of the Terps’ growth, who dreamed of this spotlight. And he knows what needs to happen to shine in that spotlight.
“This is where leadership really needs to show itself,” Hollenbach said. “We can’t play anything less than the best to have a chance against West Virginia.”
Contact reporter Stephen Whyno at whynodbk@gmail.com.
