The demand for curly blonde wigs just skyrocketed in College Park.
With three touchdowns and 337 yards passing in a 42-35 upset of No. 8 Boston College, sophomore Chris Turner progressed from third-string quarterback to student body cult hero in just five starts.
The laid-back, curly-haired Californian has led the Terrapins (5-5 overall, 2-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) to a pair of wins over top-10 opponents ?the latest against Boston College (8-2 overall, 4-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) and preseason conference player of the year, quarterback Matt Ryan to end a three-game losing streak.
“I’m a fan. I’ll admit it. It was just awesome to see [Ryan] play and to be around him,” Turner said. “It does feel good to beat a top-10 team again and get another tombstone.”
The “tombstone” Turner speaks of is a commemorative marker the Terripans will add to a “graveyard” of defeated top-10 opponents at the team’s practice facility. Turner has become this season’s gravedigger, as he preceded the victory over Boston College with a dominating, 34-24 victory at then-No. 10 Rutgers on Sept. 29.
“I told him that he wasn’t doing some of the things he had done earlier,” Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen said. “He hadn’t played like this in the last game or so. I asked him if the pressure was getting to him. I said, ‘You’ve got the talent and I’ve seen you do it. You need to relax and you need to make decisions.’ I think he made some good third down decisions tonight.”
Turner was given the autonomy to open up the offense Saturday, which he utilized by repeatedly throwing the ball downfield. Turner completed a 10-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Jason Goode to open the scoring in the first quarter before finding Goode for a seven-yard score midway through the third quarter. Turner?s most impressive throw of the game was a 57-yard touchdown pass to Da?Rel Scott.
“We felt something before the game,” Turner said. “Something kind of felt right, maybe because everyone counted us out. We had nothing to lose by going out and playing hard. I never thought we were down and out.”
The Terrapinsmust win one of their final two games ? at Florida State (6-4, 3-4) on Saturday and at North Carolina State (5-5, 3-3) on Nov. 24 ? to reach the NCAA-required six victories to be eligible to play in a bowl game. But Maryland likely will have to win both games to be assured of a postseason game, since the ACC could have as many as 10 bowl-eligble teams, but the league only has contracts with seven bowl games. However, the ACC champion is guaranteed a berth in a Bowl Championship Series game.
Without starting tailback Keon Lattimore (hamstring), the Terrapins outrushed Boston College, 135-45. Senior Lance Ball led the way, rushing 32 times for 109 yards and a touchdown, as he benefited from an efficient passing game.
“We had this inside of us all along and we knew we could do it,” Goode said. “People had to step up and had to make plays. It just came from within the team.”
