Late in last Saturday?s 14-13 win over Miami, Maryland football coach Ralph Friedgen was starting to stress with his team scratching and clawing to hold a one-point lead. But his defensive veterans told him to chill out ? everything was under control.
“We?ve been here before. We?re up by one. We?re used to this,” senior corner Josh Wilson said of the situation. “We know how important it is for us to be on point.”
As the Terps (8-2) prepare for a huge game at Boston College (8-2) Saturday, their margin for error has never been so thin. But of late, the team is playing mistake-free football and has survived a tough stretchagainst Atlantic Coast Conference powerhouses.
Against Miami, the Terps ran just 38 offensive plays versus the Hurricanes? 73. The key with a smaller number of plays is the execution of those plays.
“I don?t think we had that many penalties, dropped balls or turnovers,” said Friedgen, who feels there are fewer plays in a game with new rule changes implemented to speed up contests. “It?s very important; there?s no doubt about it.”
The play of Sam Hollenbach has made a difference, too. Maryland?s senior quarterback has thrown 12 touchdowns and six interceptions this year. In the last four games, he has thrown seven touchdowns to just one interception. Not coincidentally, Maryland has won each of those four games during a five-game win streak.
“I think our kids are playing tremendous,” Friedgen said. “They are just playing with everything they?ve got, and we are playing good teams. I was just told we have the seventh-toughest schedule in the country and we are 8-2. That speaks a lot for our players and what kind of kids they are.”
Defensively, the Terps are tackling better than they did early in the season. Junior linebacker Wesley Jefferson attributes that to a young defense becoming more accustomed to the speed of the game. He pointed to the 20-point comeback victory over Virginia (Oct. 14) as the turning point.
“We?re kind of used to being in tight games and pulling away with the victory,” Jefferson said. “And hopefully, it?s a habit we can continue.”
