Shortly after upsetting No. 21 Wake Forest last week, Ralph Friedgen had a question of his own for the media gathered in the Terrapins’ Gossett Team House.
Having defeated a fifth consecutive ranked opponent, Friedgen asked the poll voters to give him a hand the coming week against North Carolina State: “Is there any way you guys could vote them into the Top 25?”
Maryland (5-2 overall, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) has defeated three Top 25 teams this season – No. 23 California, No. 20 Clemson and Wake Forest. But the Terrapins have struggled against lesser opponents.
North Carolina State (2-5 overall, 0-3 ACC) enters Saturday’s game having lost three straight games, including a 26-17 setback last week against Florida State. The all-time series between the Wolfpack and Terrapins is eerily close: 30-30-4. But Maryland toppled NC State 37-0 last season to clinch a bowl bid. Maryland can clinch a bowl berth again Saturday with a series-tilting win.
Friedgen has fought throughout the first half of the season to motivate his players. He unveiled the team’s black jerseys for the first time this season against Wake Forest.
“I’m going to be very positive with them. I’m going to be very energetic with them. I’m going to encourage them and just make practice as enjoyable as possible,” Friedgen said. “But ultimately, they’ve got to decide to keep the same work ethic they’ve had the last two weeks and the same attitude as far as working to get better instead of working to put in the time. It’s like anything in life, if you’re enjoying what you’re doing, you don’t seem to mind how hard you’re working.”
Maryland has shown flashes of potential, but until shutting out Wake Forest, 26-0, the Terrapins hadn’t come close to putting together a complete performance.
“I think we are getting closer to it,” senior linebacker Moise Fokou said. “We’re clicking together as a whole team, a whole unit. We are starting to trust each other, starting to play full games. I think before we were sometimes just playing quarters or halves, and I think coming out after that loss at [Virginia] and showing what we can do against a ranked opponent in Wake Forest and putting a complete game together. That showed we have something special here.”
With just five games left in their careers in College Park, Maryland seniors hope to use their final Homecoming as the springboard to a memorable finish.
“You can’t take things for granted, this being our last real shot to make some noise in the ACC, and maybe finish our careers with an ACC Championship,” senior wide receiver Danny Oquendo said. “That’s a big thing for a lot of us, especially a senior heavy team. We are going to do everything we can to make sure we do that.”
