Beating three small schools wasn’t enough for Maryland fans to believe the Terrapins were any good. Knocking off a couple mediocre Atlantic Coast Conference teams didn’t impress disbelievers, either.
Then Maryland upset nemesis Florida State.
Suddenly, the Terps (6-2, 3-1 ACC) have a chance to win the ACC Atlantic Division title by finishing strong in their final four games starting Saturday at No. 19 Clemson. Maybe now skeptics can believe Maryland is a legitimate team.
“There have been a lot of people kissing [up to us] the last couple weeks with these wins,” punter Adam Podlesh told teammates, “but they were the people calling you out before.”
It has been three years since Maryland bowl bound. Now the Music City Bowl is sending observers to Clemson. Several other bowls have been watching the last two weeks. The question is not if Maryland makes a bowl, but how high is up.
“It has that feeling right now,” Podlesh said. “It makes you want to focus more. We really want the Gator Bowl and Peach Bowl seasons back.”
It seems forever since the Terps dominated during coach Ralph Friedgen’s first three seasons. Maryland won 31 games, two bowls and an ACC title.
Having no experienced quarterbacks then dogged the team during consecutive 5-6 seasons. Then both coordinators left earlier this year while Penn State signed many of the top Maryland prep players.
There were whispers over Friedgen’s future. Struggling against smaller schools and getting blown out by No. 3 West Virginia in September didn’t help. Trailing, 20-0, at halftime to Virginia seemed to signal Maryland’s and Friedgen’s demise.
But, Maryland rallied past Virginia to start a three-game winning streak that has secured its bowl eligibility. Terp Alley was so raucous while the Terps passed through fans en route to the locker room hours before facing Florida State that Podlesh felt his adrenalin gush.
The Terps know they’re on the verge of doing something unexpected — ACC title contention.
“That’s the fun thing about it,” running back Josh Allen said. “We feel we haven’t played our best football.”
The schedule is brutal, though. Clemson (7-2, 4-2) has scored 345 points to Maryland’s 193. Miami (5-3, 2-2) is having a rare down year, but still posts the conference’s No. 2 defense. Sixteenth-ranked Boston College (7-1, 3-1) has a standout run defense and the ACC’s top passer Matt Ryan. Wake Forest (7-1, 3-1) is ranked No. 22 amid its best season since 1979.
“We’re in a four-game playoff to see what happens,” Friedgen said. “Of course, these are four very tough games. Mental toughness is going to play a very big part of it.”
That’s the biggest worry among players over the past week? Distraction. Maybe a young team believes it’s good enough and doesn’t work hard enough. Perhaps they’re not ready for four straight good teams.
Ready or not, they’re about to find out.
Rick Snider has covered local sports for 28 years. Contact him at [email protected].
