Terp quarterback Sam Hollenbach ran 10 times for 30 yards, but lost 28 yards in sacks for a net of two yards. Friedgen suggested the quarterback run more, but Hollenbach’s fourth-quarter fumble all but sealed a Terp loss.
It has become customary for Terrapin football fans to tell West Virginia jokes during the week leading up to the annual game against the Mountaineers.
But after two straight losses in the series – including Saturday’s 31-19 kick in the gut – the Terps have become the punch line.
What do you call 11 Terps trying to keep a pack of Mountaineers out of the end zone?
Ralph Friedgen calls it his worst defense.
“We have never played this poorly on defense in the time I’ve been here,” the fifth-year coach said after his team surrendered 301 rushing yards, their highest total in two years. “We didn’t play with the enthusiasm that I thought we’d play with.”
As poorly as the defense performed throughout the afternoon, it was the way the unit prevented its own team from a chance at victory in the fourth quarter that most discouraged the players.
Since the first day the team began practice in August, the defense has maintained the mentality that it wants to be on the field when the game is decided.
And after several players admitted the offense had outplayed them in the first two games of the season, the defense had a chance to make amends Saturday.
In a span of two minutes and two seconds, the Terps (1-2) rallied from 15 points behind to pull within two. Tight end Vernon Davis turned a routine slant route into a 73-yard jaunt into the end zone, and then the special teams made a play by recovering a fumble on the ensuing kickoff.
After quarterback Sam Hollenbach connected with wide receiver Jo Jo Walker for a 12-yard touchdown pass with 8 minutes, 24 seconds remaining, the Terps asked for just one stop to get the ball back with a chance of completing an improbable comeback.
“I thought we were going to be like Clemson last week,” Friedgen said. “I thought we were right in position to do the same thing they did. We might have if we got a stop or two.”
Instead, the unit safety Chris Varner refers to as “the bad boys of the ACC” surrendered its fourth rushing touchdown as the West Virginia (3-0) offense opponents with a stable of powerful backs.
“We’ve got the talent; it’s just that the mental is hurting right now,” Terp cornerback Josh Wilson said. “We’ve just got to get the mentality that every play we can blow our guy off the line and stop the ball from going anywhere. Our mentality right now is starting to let the pain and the tiredness overcome us.”
For the offense, the loss was similarly frustrating. The Terps failed to amass 60 rushing yards for the second straight week after compiling 210 in the opener against Navy. They also struggled on third downs (2-for-13) and settled for Dan Ennis field goals in their only two constructive drives of the first three quarters.
Still, the Terps’ offense had a feeling the game – and potentially season – could turn around if they had another chance trailing by just two points.
“It’s frustrating just because I wanted to be back out there right away,” said Hollenbach, who threw for 291 yards and two touchdowns. “I felt like we had the momentum. At that point, I think the offense, if we took the ball, we just felt like we could score.”
After running back Jason Gwaltney helped the Mountaineers stretch their lead to nine points with a 15-yard touchdown run at the 4:56 mark, Hollenbach finally got back on the field, but he fumbled for the fourth time and the Terps lost possession to seal the game.
Along with all the yards it allowed, the defense also continued a habit of extending drives with penalties. On a third-down play in the first quarter, defensive tackle Conrad Bolston was flagged for a 15-yard penalty for grabbing West Virginia quarterback Adam Bednarik’s facemask.
Bolston put the defense back on the field in the third quarter when he jumped off-sides on a fourth-and-2 punt.
“We had control of the line of scrimmage a lot of the time, but we had breakdowns,” Bolston said. “The defense has a lot of pride, and it hurts.”
While Bolston suggests the defense had control up front, Friedgen emphatically disagreed. (As did linebacker D’Qwell Jackson, who admitted the Terps had the ball “pounded down our throats.”) In fact, the coach may as well have brought a grocery list into his postgame press conference Saturday afternoon with the defensive blemishes he explained.
“I saw guys come free today on a blitz and they didn’t make a play – We’re not getting off blocks up front – I don’t think we’re tackling well either – We’re not playing as recklessly as we need to.”
Friedgen has held lengthy practices the past few weeks, insisting that his team run a play correctly before moving on to the next, but come game time, the Terps haven’t been able to convert when they have just one opportunity to change the outcome.
“I tried to simulate what it was going to be like [in the game], and we struggled during the week,” Friedgen said. “So, I’m sitting here thinking, is this the right approach to take?
“How do I get this team to be stronger and tougher and more physical at the point of attack?”
This one has no punch line. For the Terps, it’s hardly a joke.
Contact reporter David Selig at dseligdbk@gmail.com.
