BOISE, Idaho- Da’Rel Scott could have been on a bus making the cross country trip back to Maryland as the Terrapin football team took on Nevada in the Humanitarian Bowl today.
The sophomore was one of seven players to break curfew in the days leading up to the game who learned they would be benched to start the game after a meeting with coach Ralph Friedgen, who favored sending the players home, and Athletics Director Debbie Yow.
Scott acknowledged his frustration as he stood on the sidelines into the second half.
Finally he got the call to play on the third possession after halftime. After a scrappy Wolfpack team tied the score, Scott used his fresh legs to make sure the Terps a happy trek home.
Scott stole the show during the game’s final quarter and a half, rushing for 174 yards and two touchdowns to earn team MVP honors in the Terps’ 42-35 win.
“I felt I had to run with a purpose,” Scott said. “When they called my number on the phone, I had to show my team I could be a leader.”
Scott and the Terps (8-5) bounced back from the benchings, which also included senior wide receiver Danny Oquendo and linebackers Trey Covington and Moise Fokou, to triumph on Bronco Stadium’s blue turf. They held off Nevada (7-6) for their fourth win in six bowl games during the Friedgen era.
The Terps benefitted from offense from unexpected places. Reserve wide receivers Adrian Cannon and Ronnie Tyler notched touchdown catches, and running back Morgan Green, who had not carried the ball since a two-touchdown performance against Eastern Michigan on Sept. 20, added a 53-yard touchdown run from before Oquendo and Scott entered the game. Wide receiver Torrey Smith returned a first-quarter kick-off 99 yards for a touchdown.
“I think it sheds light on the kind of depth we have,” said quarterback Chris Turner, who tossed a pair of touchdown passes. “Da’Rel wasn’t playing. Danny wasn’t playing, and we didn’t miss a beat.”
The Terp defense limited Nevada’s high-powered rushing attack to just 114 yards, well below their 290.1 yard-per-game average. Led by interim defensive coordinator Al Seamonson, the Terps forced WAC Offensive Player of the Year Colin Kaepernick to beat them with his arm, which he almost did, throwing for a Humanitarian Bowl-record 370 yards and three touchdowns. Kaepernick battled an ankle injury that caused him to miss a series in the third quarter, but he got his team within a touchdown with 2:10 remaining. But Oquendo recovered an onside kick and Scott picked up a first down, allowing the Terps to take a knee and escape with the win.
“There’s a lot of good things that come from this,” Turner said. “It’s a really good win for us. One of our best this season.”
The win took away the sting of the last few days for the Terps. Friedgen would not go into specifics but said several players snuck out after the initial midnight bed checks on the Terps’ first few nights in Boise. Friedgen was inclined to send the players home, but after meeting with Yow, they decided to bench the players, a group that also included reserve linebackers Antwine Perez and Derek Drummond and cornerback Jamari McCollough.
“There’s certain things that I expect my players to do, and when they violate that trust, it disappoints me because I hold them in such high regard,” Friedgen said. “I don’t want to be a Gestapo agency, but sometimes, you’re forced to do it.”
Friedgen said the players could have appeared after the first quarter. Fokou and McCollough entered the game in the second quarter. Offensive coordinator James Franklin finally inserted Oquendo and Scott in the second half.
“Our main thing as a team is staying together,” said defensive tackle Jeremy Navarre, one of 30 Terp seniors to end his career with a victory. “We can’t worry about that stuff. It’s out of our control.”
But when Scott, who became the first Terp back since 2002 to top the 1,000 yard rushing mark for the season, touched the field, it changed the dynamic of the game.
The speedster came in fresh against a tiring defense and tore through the gaping holes carved out by the offensive line. His 49-yard run with 12:21 remaining in the game put the Terps up 35-28. He pushed into the endzone from 2-yards out on their next possesion to cap a 4-play, 66-yard drive. All four plays were Scott carries on the Terps’ final scoring drive of the season.
“He ran through us like weren’t even there,” said Nevada’s Hall of Fame coach Chris Ault, who called Scott “the best back on the field.”
In reality, it was Scott who almost wasn’t there.
Scott, who met with Friedgen Monday night and assured him he would be ready to play if and when given the opportunity, said he was disappointed in himself and knows how close he was to making an early exit from the Gem State.
But Scott made the most of his opportunity to give the Terps the boost they needed to prevail before the pro-Nevada crowd in Boise.
“He didn’t do it,” Scott said. “I got a chance, and I just wanted to help the team out.”
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