Senior quarterback Sam Hollenbach put the Terrapin football team’s situation into clear perspective last week. The September schedule is over, and flipping the calendar to October means conference play is here.

While making mistakes, the Terps took care of William & Mary, Middle Tennessee and Florida International. West Virginia embarrassed the Terps on national television, but few outside Gossett Team House were surprised by the result.

Record-wise, the Terps are 3-1 and on pace to return to a bowl game. But struggles early in the season and a tough conference schedule ahead leave players, coaches and fans with a head-scratching question.

Where is this team at right now?

The 3-1 record is the kind of start the Terps envisioned to eventually reach bowl eligibility, but they understand they can’t play the next two months like they did in September. Players and coaches said they’re not where they want to be at this point in the season.

“No coach is ever really happy where you’re at, but we’ve made some progress,” defensive coordinator Chris Cosh said. “Rome wasn’t built in a day, but we’re always in a hurry as coaches.”

In their first four games, mistakes plagued the Terps on offense, defense and special teams. The most troubling errors – turnovers, penalties and tackling – have hurt the Terps in all three phases.

The Terps’ 11 turnovers have them tied for most in the conference in that category. Unable to force many turnovers, the Terps are ranked No. 115 out of 119 Division I-A teams in turnover margin.

Hollenbach, who has thrown three interceptions, said mistakes like turnovers are correctable ones.

“You can never panic in any sense,” Hollenbach said. “We’re not just gonna go out and have a mindset like ‘If we don’t change, we’re gonna be in trouble.’ … We have the right plays and we have the right players to do it.”

Statistically, the Terps haven’t committed many penalties (14 flags for 149 yards), but coach Ralph Friedgen and players lamented how those slip-ups have cut drives short.

Tackling has been an issue for the defense, which has allowed 331 yards per game. Without a game-changing force like D’Qwell Jackson, the Terps have relied on a group of defenders led by junior linebacker Wesley Jefferson. Jefferson has paced the defense, but 13 players have double-digit tackles.

Special teams has been a strong point during the Friedgen era, but the unit faltered several times in the Terps’ loss to West Virginia. A couple of fumbles and a 96-yard Mountaineer kick return touchdown made it a long night for the Terps. The group seemed to recover from that night, putting in a solid performance against Florida International.

Even with a laundry list of problems to fix, junior safety Christian Varner pointed to the only number that means anything to the Terps in the grand scheme of the season as a reason to be optimistic.

“The ideal goal is to be undefeated, but 3-1 is still a decent record,” Varner said. “That’s really the end of that. We’re 3-1, so all smiles there.”

Led by junior Lance Ball and his five touchdowns, the Terp running game has given Friedgen and his staff reasons to smile. Along with Ball, running backs Keon Lattimore and Josh Allen have been sharp on the ground and added depth to an offense that is still trying to find its rhythm.

The Terps are the last team to begin conference play in a topsy-turvy ACC where Wake Forest is undefeated and Miami is stuck at .500 – barely.

Crazy games and crazier results have been the norm, and Hollenbach knows the Terps won’t be judged by what they’ve done so far. They’ll be judged by how they weather the final eight games of the season.

“Every single week, any team can beat any other team,” Hollenbach said. “We’ve had some penalties and made some mistakes that end up killing drives. Those kinds of things you can’t do against ACC teams.”

Allen said the team will use the next few days trying to erase those errors and sharpen positive elements. He and sophomore tackle Jared Gaither agreed the Terps aren’t where they want to be, but Gaither said improvement is on the horizon.

“Even if we were undefeated, we would need to improve,” Gaither said. “We’re getting there. We’re working really hard and I think it’s just a matter of time for that switch to flip and it won’t go off again.”

Contact reporter Stephen Whyno at whynodbk@gmail.com.