Maryland football coach Ralph Friedgen appeared resigned Thursday to another long night against West Virginia after quarterback Jordan Steffy fumbled the ball away on the first play from scrimmage.
The Mountaineers scored a touchdown two plays later en route to a 31-14 win at Byrd Stadium, but Friedgen walked away from the game proud of how his team stayed close for three quarters against the fourth-ranked team in the country.
But he is also confident the Terrapins will continue to improve with Steffy under center, beginning next Saturday when Maryland (2-1) opens its Atlantic Coast Conference schedule at defending league champion Wake Forest.
“I think there were a lot of positives in this game,” said Friedgen, whose team has lost four straight against West Virginia. “Things weren?t going too well early in the game, but I thought our kids were able to get back in the game.”
Friedgen said he was pleased with Maryland?s ability to run the ball well at times. But he also wants to see more consistency in all facets of the offense, including the passing game and in an offensive line that allowed West Virginia to record five sacks.
“We?ll look at the tape, and I thought our kids were fighting until the very end, “Friedgen said. “We lost a good football game and we probably could have played better. I?m not discouraged at all.”
Maryland only trailed 14-7 at halftime, but West Virginia?s vaunted rushing attack led by junior Steve Slaton (137 yards, 3 TDs) and freshman Noel Devine (125 yards) powered an offense that scored 17 unanswered points in the second half to secure the victory.
Slaton and Devine?s performance marked the first time two running backs rushed for at least 100 yards against Maryland in the same game since Virginia?s Alvin Pearman (170 yards) and Wali Lundy (107) did it in a 16-0 win on Nov. 6, 2004.
“They have good team speed and it caught our defense a couple times,” Maryland junior linebacker Moise Fokou said. “I think we learned a lot about our team today. We can?t get down on ourselves. We still have a really good team.
“We?ve got to get back on the field and keep working hard. I think we stuck together. We could have given up, but we stuck together and kept fighting.”
Steffy said there were positives in the loss, including when he found wide receiver Danny Oquendo in the end zone late in the fourth quarter for the first touchdown pass of his career.
Now, Maryland will focus on Wake Forest, which last season defeated the Terrapins, 38-24, dashing its hopes of winning an ACC title.
“We?re encouraged because we felt we could move the ball and our defense played a great game again,” Steffy said. “No one is hanging their heads at this point. It?s a long season and all of our goals are still intact. We just have to come out, learn from this and continue to get better.”
