A little yellow flag causes a lot of commotion. It triggers loud boos, halts drives and deflates enthusiasm.
It also makes life a lot more difficult for Terrapin football players. And that’s not just because flags mark off yards during games.
The Terps are the least penalized team in the nation this season, and players say it’s because coaches forbid penalties in practice.
“In practice, you get a penalty, you’re gonna pay for it,” junior running back Lance Ball said. “You’re gonna do some extra running, so you just wanna go out there and focus and minimize those mistakes.”
Ball said the idea is to “practice perfect,” and so far, it’s working and the numbers bear that out. The Terps are best in the nation overall in penalties, having committed only 25. Over the span of seven games, they’ve averaged 3.57 penalties per game, which is good for No. 2 in the country. Only Northwestern (2-6) has a lower average of penalties per game.
The Terps are best in the ACC and No. 14 in the nation in average yards penalized per game (38.14 yards). It’s a far cry from the statistics of future opponents. Miami has been flagged for 73.3 yards per game, while the Terps’ opponent Saturday, Florida State, has averaged 57.4 penalty yards per game.
Coach Ralph Friedgen said the Terps work very hard to eliminate penalties just as they do with turnovers.
“We put a lot of emphasis on it; that’s the main thing,” Friedgen said. “We just think it’s an area of the game we can gain an advantage on.”
Unlike their performance in the turnover department, in which the Terps are near the bottom of Division I-A, Friedgen’s team has been able to keep the flags in referees’ pockets. How have coaches tried preventing penalties?
“By yelling at us in practice,” senior defensive tackle Conrad Bolston said.
Friedgen said he’s done it by bringing referees to practice so players can go through game motions with the real experience of flags. Junior guard Donnie Woods said there are consequences whenever someone commits a penalty.
“We’ll run after practice if we [false start], and anytime we get a penalty during a game, we also run after practice,” Woods said. “You never want to get a penalty.”
But rather than causing more grief and aggravation, whistles and flying yellow flags in practice have allowed players to focus on doing the right things.
“When you go out there and have fun and don’t really think too much, you minimize penalties,” Ball said. “[We] just go out there and try to fine-tune everything that we do in practice and go out there and execute our offense.”
Not committing many penalties has been a positive note for the Terps, but Friedgen said he’s still complaining when they do happen. Late in the game against Georgia Tech, an intentional grounding call against quarterback Sam Hollenbach forced the Terps back to the 19-yard line. Having to make up extra yards, the Terps failed to convert on fourth down and let the game slip away.
Friedgen pointed to Saturday’s game against N.C. State as an example of how penalties hurt the Terps. Driving and in the red zone, offensive linemen Jared Gaither and Edwin Williams were whistled for penalties – holding and a late hit, respectively. The Terps were forced to settle for a Dan Ennis field goal, instead of the touchdown Friedgen obviously wanted.
“That’s an area where they know I don’t want any penalties,” Friedgen said. “They didn’t make me very happy on those.”
Friedgen’s tough approach to penalties has allowed the Terps to overcome problems, including turnovers and blown coverage. Senior linebacker David Holloway said reducing flags was part of a larger effort to reverse the negative trend of the last two seasons.
But yesterday, Friedgen wondered if the hard work was worth it after seeing what other teams’ players get away with. Yet he concluded penalties were in the same vein as turnovers, echoing a famous Larry Brown line about doing things “the right way.” And, one game away from bowl eligibility, the Terps are trying to do everything possible to reach that goal.
“If you don’t penalize yourself and you don’t commit turnovers, you give yourself a chance to win the football game,” Friedgen said. “You don’t beat yourself.”
Contact reporter Stephen Whyno at whynodbk@gmail.com.
