Maryland junior quarterback Chris Turner realizes the significance of his team’s 35-27 victory over No. 23 Cal at Byrd Stadium.
“We knew that if we could get this win, it could change the trajectory of the season,” he said. “Hopefully, we can just capitalize on this victory.”
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But which Terrapin squad will show up against visiting Eastern Michigan (1-2) on Saturday afternoon at 1: the one pummeled by Middle Tennessee or the one that dominated Cal?
This much is clear: Maryland (2-1) desperately needed to beat the Golden Bears, who were coming off a 66-3 victory over Washington State. And just like Turner did against the previous two ranked teams — Rutgers and Boston College — he faced, he led Maryland to victory.
Turner, who was not deemed the team’s best quarterback entering the fall — the Terrapins started Jordan Steffy in the opener — went 15-of-19 passing for 156 yards and two touchdowns against Cal (2-1).
“This was a very, very good win for our program. This was a tough week. We had a tough loss last week, and then we had to come back and play a very, very good football team,” Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen said. “I think this game should do a lot for our confidence and we need to grow from this game. It kind of showed what our kids are made of.”
Maryland needs a similar approach the rest of the season. Maryland rushed for 141 yards, including a team-high 87 by De’Rel Scott. The running game spurred the passing game for Turner, who threw a one-yard touchdown pass to Dan Gronkowski and a 27-yarder to Darrius Heyward-Bey.
“I try and just manage the game and make the throws,” Turner said. “I watch the film from last week and I realized there were so many open plays that could have been made and if I had made the plays we probably would have won, so I just tried to focus on that.”
Eastern Michigan is coming of a 41-17 loss to Toledo in which it allowed 41 points in fewer than 43 minutes. The Eagles run a dual quarterback system of Kyle McMahon (296 yards, 1 INT) and Andy Schmitt (274 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) and feature running back Terrence Blevins (25 1 yards, 4 TDs) and receiver Jacory Stone (13 catches, 163 yards).
Still, the Terrapins are vastly more talented, and are looking to sustain their momentum entering their Atlantic Coast Conference opener at Clemson (2-1) on Sept. 27.
“It’s a long season,” Turner said. “It’s only the third game of the year, and we haven’t played an ACC game yet, but it sort of changes the trajectory of the season and hopefully we can capitalize on it.”
