The University of Maryland Terrapins have fallen to 2-8 overall, with Notre Dame winning tonight in Landover. The ‘Maryland Pride’ uniforms were not able to overcome a lack of depth, and domination at the line of scrimmage from the Fighting Irish.
The Terps have now lost 6 consecutive games.
The Good:
1) Nice block from Pete White to spring Meggett for 14 yards, giving Maryland their first 1st down of the night. White would later have another quality block on the initial Terps touchdown.
2) On the same series where he had a sack, Alex Twine made a second hit on Rees in the open field. On the next Irish possession, Twine again made a tackle in space, dropping Cierre Wood for a 7 yard loss.
3) After ND took the 17-0 lead, Maryland got back into the game with a good looking drive. The Terps would go 61 yards over 9 plays for the TD, with McCree reaching the end zone on a 13 yard catch and run off of a bubble screen. During this series, DJ Adams touched the ball 5 times. Adams picked up a crucial 3rd and 1 from the MD 48.
3a) Adams finished with 16 carries, for 57 yards and a TD. He also had 2 receptions. Was good to see him being utilized again.
4) There were several good individual defensive plays. With ND near the MD goal-line at the end of the 1st half, Andre Monroe came up with his 3rd sack of the year. AJ Hendy had a big hit on Tyler Eifert, early in the 3rd. Marcus Whitfield gave the Terps their 3rd sack of the game. Keith Bowers had a nice play in run-support in the 3rd.
5) With O’Brien out of the game, Brown engineered a 10 play, 97 yard scoring drive. Brown would provide the score himself, when he scampered in from 24 yards out.
6) McCree had 5 catches for 76 yards, and a score. Boykins, Dorsey, and Furstenburg each had 3 grabs.
7) With the final minutes ticking down, Tyler created something out of nothing for a 14 yard gain, on what should have been a significant loss.
The Bad:
1) O’Brien missed his first pass of the game, throwing short and wide to an open McCree. O’Brien’s footwork on that pass was poor.
2) On the third Notre Dame series, Maryland allowed the Irish to pick up both 3rd and 10, and 3rd and 9. Instead of the Terps getting the ball back in good field position, Notre Dame was able to hit a 52 yard FG for the 10-0 lead.
3) The Terps were 0 of 4 on 3rd down in the 1st Quarter, and finished 3 of 12 for the game.
4) Bowers was called for a penalty in the 2nd Quarter. Instead of facing 3rd and 9, the Irish faced the much more manageable 3rd and 4 which they picked up. Notre Dame would score on that possession to take the 17-0 lead.
5) Following the Terps initial TD, ND went right back down the field. Starting from their own 30, the Irish would score 13 plays later. This gave ND the 24-7 lead, and stopped any momentum Maryland had started to build.
6) Whitfield’s sack on ND’s first series of the 2nd half, put the Irish into 3rd and 17. Notre Dame would pick that up with a 19 yard rush from Gary.
7) Notre Dame rolled to over 500 yards of offense, and had two RB’s with at-least 99 yards. The Irish were 10 of 16 on 3rd down.
The Ugly:
1) After MD’s 3 and out to start the game, the Irish needed just 8 plays, to move 67 yards and grab the 7-0 lead. Notre Dame used an aggressive tempo, and the Terps were able to do nothing effectively on defense.
2) Poor play from Eric Franklin picking up the helmet-to-helmet personal foul.
3) The Terps punted on their first 5 possessions, going 3 and out three times.
4) Coming out from half-time, ND took total control of the game with a 14 play, 84 yard TD drive. The TD came on a 4 yard rush from Wood, with the ball coming loose right past the goal-line. It was pretty clear that the play was going to stand, there was no reason for Edsall to spend the challenge.
5) O’Brien was picked and taken to the house in the middle of the 3rd quarter, to give the Irish the 38-7 lead. The 57 yard interception and return from Wood was tough to watch. O’Brien and his WR on the play were clearly not on the same page.
5a) On the next series, O’Brien would be driven into the turf, and be knocked out of the game. Edsall would say afterwards that O’Brien broke a bone in his arm and is done for the year.
Owner
Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.