Maryland puts on offensive show in Friedgen’s last game
Ralph Friedgen’s tenure as Maryland’s head football coach ended the way it began 10 seasons ago.
In 2001 he led the Terrapins to a victory over North Carolina in his first game in College Park – the start of a magic season that ended with an ACC title and a berth in the Orange Bowl.
On Wednesday afternoon at RFK Stadium, Friedgen earned one final victory as Maryland’s head coach, a dominating 51-20 win for his Terps over East Carolina in the Military Bowl.
| Military Bowl notes |
| » East Carolina and Maryland drew a record crowd of 38,062 to RFK Stadium for the Military Bowl on Wednesday afternoon. That is the largest attendance in the event’s three years of existence. |
| » Ralph Friedgen‘s 75 wins in 10 seasons at Maryland are more than the Terps recorded in their previous 15 years before his arrival (60). |
| » With 200 rushing yards on 13 carries, Da’Rel Scott broke his own record for a running back in a Maryland bowl game. His previous high was 174 yards in the 2008 Humanitarian Bowl. Scott was named Military Bowl MVP. |
| » Scott’s 200 rushing yards was a personal best and the most by a Maryland running back in any game since Bruce Perry ran for 237 yards against Wake Forest on Nov. 29, 2003. |
| » The 91-yard rushing touchdown by Scott also set a school record. Perry had an 80-yard touchdown run seven years ago against Wake Forest. |
Freshman running back D.J. Adams scored four touchdowns and Maryland took advantage of four East Carolina turnovers and 15 penalties. The Terps, who won just two games last season, finished with a 9-4 record. That makes Friedgen 75-50 during his career and marks the fifth time his teams have won at least nine games in a season. The school has already announced the 1970 Maryland alumnus will not return to finish the final year of his contract and has begun its search for a successor.
“I can tell you this – it’s not an easy job,” Friedgen said about being the head football coach at Maryland. “There are a lot of things that really have to change…and to be honest with you, I don’t know if the University is willing to do that. You kind of have to know that going in.”
Friedgen’s players were determined to send him out a winner. Sophomore Kevin Dorsey caught a 45-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Danny O’Brien just 4 minutes, 25 seconds into the game for a 6-0 Maryland lead. The Pirates (6-7) blocked the extra point.
The two teams traded field goals in the second quarter and the Terps answered East Carolina’s with a six-play, 66-yard drive punctuated by Adam’s first touchdown. A key play during that drive was a 44-yard run by junior Davin Meggett. Maryland’s three primary running backs – Meggett, Adams and senior Da’Rel Scott – combined for a season-high 297 rushing yards on 33 carries.
Scott put the game out of reach with a touchdown run of 61 yards late in the third quarter to make the score 37-13 and added a 91-yarder on his very next touch early in the fourth. Adams finished one last scoring drive with 4:41 left, punching his way into the end zone for a four-yard touchdown and a 51-13 lead. It had been eight years since a Terps running back recorded four touchdowns in a single game (Chris Downs, 2002).
“At least we got a chance to play in the postseason,” said Scott, whose team had the third-best record in the ACC, but was passed over by every bowl that could have chosen the Terps until the eighth-place Military Bowl selected them. “Being 2-10 last year this was a huge chance for us…[And] we wanted to make sure we sent Coach Friedgen out with a bang.”
After the game, star junior wide receiver Torrey Smith announced via his Twitter account that he would forego his senior season and enter the NFL draft. Smith caught two passes for 10 yards in his final college game. He ranks first all time in both school and ACC history in kick return yardage (2,983). Smith is also No. 1 in Maryland history in all-purpose yardage (5,264) and ranks second in touchdown receptions (19). He and Friedgen leave Maryland together.
“I wanted to savor being in the locker room with the kids,” Friedgen said. “Wish them all the best and tell them I’ll always be there for them. That was probably the hardest thing I had too do all day.”
