Good teams take advantage of mistakes. And when No. 20 Wake Forest responded to Sam Hollenbach?s third interception of the game with a 49-yard touchdown pass on the ensuing play, it was clear which team deserved to go to the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game.
While the Terps were still within two scores late in the contest Saturday, they simply made too many critical mistakes to survive such a big game.
Wake Forest clinched a berth in Saturday?s conference championship with a 38-24 win in front of a sold-out crowd of 51,500 at Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium.
“They deserved to win tonight,” Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen said. “They just outplayed us. You can?t turn the ball over three times the way we did and expect to win. It?s the same old story ? when we do that, we lose.”
Maryland, which, at 8-4 overall, 5-3 ACC, will now hope for the best bowl bid possible, jumped out to a seven-point lead on its first offensive series and didn?t surrender the lead for the entire first quarter. But Wake Forest (10-2, 6-2), on the power of a Riley Skinner to Willie Idlette 49-yard scoring pass, went into halftime with a 21-14 lead.
“They really played well defensively,” said Hollenbach, who was 14 for 26 for 182 yards. “They got me off my rhythm.”
Maryland?s turnovers led to 14 Wake Forest points, continuing a disturbing recent trend. In its last two games ? both losses ? Maryland has allowed 35 points off turnovers.
“You can?t win games having three turnovers,” receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey said. “You just can?t do it.”
The mood in Saturday?s post-game locker room was dejection. Friedgen thought his team came out of the gates emotionless.
“We didn?t show up tonight,” Friedgen said. “It wasn?t like we wanted to be there.”
Meanwhile, Hollenbach, who was playing in his final game at Byrd Stadium, felt everything was aligned for a big win.
“The atmosphere was great. It was a perfect setting,” Hollenbach said. “Everything outside of the game was perfect.”
