As the final seconds of its 48-point thrashing of Wake Forest ticked off the clock at Byrd Stadium on Saturday, it was clear from the Terrapin football team’s sideline that the celebration had already begun.
Injured linebacker Ben Pooler and reserve safety Titus Till danced to the Mighty Sound of Maryland. Defensive tackle A.J. Francis and running back Davin Meggett bowled their helmets into teammates, and linebacker Adrian Moten playfully doused receiver Torrey Smith with ice.
They had good reason for jubilation.
In securing their sixth win of the season by coasting to a 62-14 win against the Demon Deacons — a tie for the most points against a conference opponent in school history — the Terps attained bowl eligibility and kept pace in an ACC Atlantic Division title race that has suddenly become wide open.
“I asked our kids last night to make a statement, and I think they did,” coach Ralph Friedgen said. “It’s a great bunch of kids we work with, and just to see them so excited and so happy on the sidelines, just thinking about where we were last year, to me, it’s a lesson in perseverance.”
Thursday night, after watching N.C. State eke out a 28-24 win at Florida State that dropped the Seminoles into a three-way tie in the division, Friedgen sent players a text message.
Friedgen wanted his team to realize that, with home games against both the Seminoles and the Wolfpack still left to play, a win over the Demon Deacons (2-6, 1-4 ACC) would mean the Terps (6-2, 3-1) would have the inside track in the Atlantic Division.
“He was just telling us, if we want it, it’s up for grabs for us to have,” linebacker Alex Wujciak said. “I didn’t even know how he did it because he doesn’t really know how to text message.”
However Friedgen managed to get his point across, the motivational tactic worked.
In the team’s most complete victory of the season, the Terp defense held Wake Forest to just 155 total yards and returned two interceptions for touchdowns. That proved more than enough for the Terp offense, which used a balanced attack to rack up 446 total yards.
Quarterback Danny O’Brien threw a career-high four touchdown passes, and three running backs eclipsed 50 yards rushing. Even special teams got in on the action, with Travis Baltz kicking two field goals and the punt-return unit blocking two punts.
After letting Boston College hang around long enough for the Eagles to creep back into the game last weekend, the Terps made sure to put Saturday’s contest out of reach early, outscoring the Demon Deacons 45-0 in the second and third quarters before giving their starters a well-deserved rest in the fourth.
But even with such a decisive margin of victory, some players were content just to continue winning games and ensure themselves a spot in postseason play.
“We’ll take any win,” said Meggett, who led the team with 94 rushing yards on 16 carries. “Close win, big win — a win is a win. They only come far and in between, so you’ve got to take what you can get.”
Now, the Terps face what Friedgen called the “most important four weeks of our players’ lives,” including back-to-back road games against Miami and Virginia before home dates against their top competition for the Atlantic Division crown in the final two weeks.
But the Terps’ coaches understand the unpredictable nature of their conference, and they swore they are not looking any further than next week, when they travel to Florida to play a Miami team that may be without star quarterback Jacory Harris (concussion).
“Miami is our focus,” offensive coordinator James Franklin said. “One game at a time, nothing else matters. We’ve won six, that’s great, but we focus on Miami and nothing else.”
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