One of Pennsylvania's top recruits DaRael Scott is officially signing with Maryland for both football and track in the fall. So far, a verbal agreement has been made, and in February he will be officially signing. While attending Plymouth Whitemarsh high school in Plymouth Meeting, PA, DaRael was a star athlete playing both football and basketball, while also running track in the spring. Even though Scott was recruited by schools to play basketball as well as football, he decided he could go further as a football player. His statistics as a running back make him one of the best recruits Maryland has signed for its 06-07 season! Let's hope DaRael Scott can help bring Maryland back to the top of the ACC and to another bowl game!

Posted by Fayne Cohen at 01:24 PM on January 02, 2006
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By Stephen Whyno
Even though the Terrapin football team never came out of its shell last on national television against Virginia Tech, the game set the tone for a whole new idea for fans.
As the Terps ran out of their red tunnel following red flags onto a field with red painted letters, their black uniforms drew deafening cheers from a student section – which itself was a sea of darkness.
What was called “Byrd Blackout 2005” was the best idea students, fans and the athletics department has come up with since Fear the Turtle. The black was menacing, ‘cause turtles are scarier in black at night.
Talk about fearing the turtle.

The game that night turned into a blowout, but he blackout was something that needs to continue—and I’ll even take it to an extreme so Maryland can plant a new tradition where so few ones remain.
There’s a sea of red at Georgia, blue and white at Duke, maroon and gold at USC—why not make black the color for the Terps? It’s original and it’s something that’ll unite students, alumni and fans.
Terp fans should blackout the arenas and stadiums for every night game, turning fans scattered throughout Byrd and Comcast into one solitary group. The red seats and silver bleachers will look so much better behind walls of black.
Now don’t think I’m gothic and against Maryland’s white, red and gold, but there’s something special that can be created at nighttime with black for Terps sports.
I mean, after Rock and Roll Part II was banned and the clock was turned back on Midnight Madness, Maryland is grasping for any thread of tradition it can find.
Don’t let this one get away.

Posted by at 06:22 PM on November 01, 2005
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Posted by Fayne Cohen at 01:18 AM on October 26, 2005
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Posted by Fayne Cohen at 01:12 AM on October 26, 2005
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http://umterps.collegesports.com/fridgetv/video-iframe.html?&url=http://mfile.akamai.com/16410/wmv/mlbcs.download.akamai.com/16410/open/umd/2005/mfb/video/archive10/100605-vernon-davis-all-american.asx

Posted by Fayne Cohen at 02:51 PM on October 24, 2005
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By Matthew S. Ray

Why does it seem that people at this campus are so surprised that the Terps lost last night?

This is the problem and beauty of sports all at once. Each game, hope springs eternal, but more often than not that hope yields to chilly reality.

The somewhat unrestrained, unrealistic hope of the thousands who packed Byrd to see the Terps fall to the Virginia Tech Hokies 28-9 was that the Old Liners would be able to pull off an upset of a top-5 team for the second straight year. That's fine. What do sports fans have if not hope? Why would there be any interest in following a mediocre team if that possibility of victory each week didn't exist?

But let's be fair to ourselves, folks. Those autumnally clad Hokies entered Curley Byrd Stadium with a 6-0 record and a number three ranking. Virginia Tech is the real deal. The Terps aren't. Terrapins supporters may wake themselves up each week thinking they are, and that's fine. But a healthy dose of realism is the necessary tonic to avoiding disappointment.

I'm not trying to say that Maryland is a bad team. Last year's version was a bad team. This year's has some hope. Two more wins and we'll be talking about a bowl game for the Terps. All right, so it won't be Peach, Gator, or Orange, but you've gotta start somewhere.

As the season winds to a close, keep your support level high and your emotional safeguards higher. The Terrapins have a very difficult road to hoe through the final stretch: a top 5 team in FSU, a top 15 team in Boston, and two road games in Carolina. Each week, be a fan. Get up, put on a Terrapins shirt and say confidently into your mirror "I can and I will win today's football game!" Just remember, games aren't played in our fantasies.

Hope springs eternal every Saturday. Let it spring this fall. And if you feel disappointment following a loss, well, there's always next week.

Matt Ray co-hosts two radio shows on WMUC Sports at the University of Maryland. "The Greatest Show on the Radio" with Matt and Mark Butman can be heard at www.wmucsports.com Tuesday nights from 9 to 10:30 pm. "Midweek Mayhem" with Mr. Ray and Nick Verderame is on www.wmucradio.com , wmucsports.com and 88.1 FM in College Park from 2-4pm Wednesdays.

Posted by at 09:41 PM on October 21, 2005
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Check out Terps' football coach Ralph Friedgen's weekly press conference:
Every tuesday at 12:30 pm at http://www.wmucsports.com

Posted by at 08:27 PM on October 16, 2005
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By Nick Verderame

I want to be excited about the Terrapin football team after their two straight ACC wins and victory over D-1 doormat Temple. I really do. I want to feel better about the team now that they have beaten UVA, the number 19 team in the nation. Honestly. I am desperately trying to tell myself that the running game is back, the defense figured it out, and Coach Friedgen finally remembered where he stored that magic potion after the 2003 season. I am trying so hard to believe that this team has found life, a burst of energy, the perfect wave that it will ride to a bowl game. But I can't.
Not yet at least. I am still skeptical, and I think all Terp fans need to be as well. There are a few vital facts that must be remembered. I've narrowed it down to four for your referencing pleasure:

1) The Terps have not won a normal, difficult game yet this season.
They beat Navy and Wake Forest by a combined 13 points. They should have
won each by at least 14. Their emotional win vs. UVA was attributed to the
black jerseys giving the players the extra fire to get ready for the game. Josh Wilson said that, “when we saw those jerseys, we knew it was time to play.” What is going to tell them it is time to play when they aren't wearing special get-ups? Before we get excited, let's see them play a good team, in red or white, on a normal Saturday.

2) The Terps are cursed.
The Terps still haven't won a game this season in which the opposing band did not play “Rock and Roll Part II”. The Terps clearly took over the game against Navy in the 4th quarter. Coincidentally, it was IMMIDIATELY after the Navy band played the song. The UVA Band played the song in the 1st quarter. Last year went sour when the song was banned, and it was mentioned in some circles that this could be the demise of the program. The fans' favorite tradition was taken away. When did this become okay??? The lack of this tradition is a Billy-Goat-esque curse for this team, and they won't have a winning record at home games until the song comes back. Until then, they can't hope for black jerseys or every opposing band to play the song in order to win games. (Yes, I do expect “Reverse the Curse” signs at the VT game.)

3) The Best Is Yet To Come
The #3 and #4 teams in the nation are still left on the Terps' schedule, in Virginia Tech and Florida State. The Va. Tech QB, Marcus Vick (yes, Vick) is better than anyone realizes. I know the Terps beat FSU last year. That just makes me even more worried about this game. An elite team that has a chip on their shoulder is playing on their home field. That's scarier than College Park at 3 a.m. Add Boston College (who almost beat FSU) and N.C. State (Chuck Amato always has his team ready to play) to the mix, and this honeymoon could be over for the Terps before any of us make plans to go home for Thanksgiving.

I hope I'm wrong. I swear, I do. And I've seen the positives. The play calling was undoubtedly better against UVA. The team is confident now. Three straight wins (assuming the Terps beat Temple, see #3) going into another emotional home game against Va. Tech (ESPN Thursday Night Game) could be what it takes to equal the excitement of the now revered black jerseys. This team may have turned the proverbial corner, or it may not have. Call me a pessimist. I call myself a realist. I'm just saying, be careful about getting too excited, because Terps' sports have a recent history of getting hopes up before helping them crash to the ground. And no one wants to be wishing they had bit their tongue while their team bites the dust.

Posted by at 04:32 PM on October 12, 2005
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Continue reading... »

Posted by Fayne Cohen at 10:13 AM on October 10, 2005
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Posted by Fayne Cohen at 10:30 PM on October 03, 2005
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Posted by Fayne Cohen at 10:15 PM on October 03, 2005
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By Nick Verderame

It has been exceedingly warm in College Park, Md. recently, especially for football coach Ralph Friedgen. The Terps’ football team seems to have turned the 2005 season into nothing more than an extension of 2004, and no one in Terrapin Country is happy about it.

After a disappointing 5-6 finish last season, the Terps have started their 2005 campaign with a 1-2 record, with their only victory coming against the Navy. Meanwhile, Maryland has lost both of their home games thus far, first blowing a 10 point lead against Clemson with eight minutes left, and then being thoroughly outplayed by West Virginia.

The team has one of the toughest schedules in the nation, with games against Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Florida State coming up, and they couldn’t afford to lose games during the easy start to their season.

But they’ve lost two straight games – in a frustrating manner. They’re a more talented team than last year, led by a solid quarterback in Sam Hollenbach. Vernon Davis has secured his spot as the best tight end in the ACC with his play this year too.

As a result, the “who do we blame?” questions have picked up right where they left off last season. Every aspect of the team is mentioned, from questionable quarterbacks last season, to the defensive and offensive lines and inexperience at all positions.

Thirteen months into the blame game, all fingers now seem to be pointing in the same direction: towards a large presence on the sideline that is nothing if not a figure that demands attention—Ralph Friedgen. After a painful loss to West Virginia in which the play calling was horrendous, “The Fridge”, as Friedgen has been nicknamed, will be under the microscope while at Wake Forest this Saturday.

Friedgen’s play calling has been criticized by campus radio personalities and newspaper writers, the Washington Post, and in classrooms and dormitories around College Park since the final snap was taken on Saturday.

People have suggested everything from simply giving Vernon Davis more touches, to making an effort to change up the calls to avoid Friedgen’s patented predictability, to making significant coaching changes at the end of the season.
And coach Friedgen is clearly aware of the pressure. Last season, after an embarrassing 55-6 loss at Virginia Tech, Friedgen was quoted as saying, “if next season is this bad, they won’t have to fire me, I’ll quit.”

Within the last five days, some Terrapin fans have started talking about holding him to those words, while others say it is still too early to make any drastic decisions.

Either way, if the Terps don’t start winning before the winter comes, the temperature will undoubtedly keep rising, and it may become too hot for a Fridge to be kept around College Park any longer.

Nick Verderame is on the air for two radio shows on WMUC Sports at the University of Maryland. "The Main Event” can be heard at www.wmucsports.com Wednesday nights from 10 p.m. to 12 a.m. Eastern Time. "Midweek Mayhem" with Nick and Matt Ray is on www.wmucradio.com , wmucsports.com and 88.1 FM in College Park from 2-4 p.m. Wednesdays.

Posted by at 04:18 PM on September 22, 2005
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By Matthew S. Ray

Only a month in and already it’s do-or-die time for the Terrapin football team.

Even though it’s only the fourth week of the season, the Terps are facing dire circumstances regarding their returns to bowl eligibility and respectability when they take on Wake Forest Saturday. A loss to Wake effectively seals the Terps’ 2005 fate.

Last week I said on the air on WMUCSports.com that a win over West Virginia was a must. The Terps were 1-1. Their one win was a classic last minute victory over Navy in front of 70,000 in Baltimore. Their loss was a less-than-memorable last quarter meltdown to Clemson in front of 50,000 in College Park. We saw the best and the worst of the Terps. With another home game - out of conference no less - against an opponent the Terrapins have manhandled in the Ralph Friedgen era, a 2-1 record to start 2005 was possible and expected.

But Maryland came out flat from an offensive standpoint, not scoring until 55 seconds left in the first half. Five 3-and-outs insured the defense would not be rested for the long haul in the 90 degree heat. Result: two inspired drives by the Terps late in the game and a West Virginia running game that went through the Terps' defense like a hot knife through butter. West Virginia played better early on and it showed in the final score.

Now at 1-2, the Terrapins are at a crossroads. A win at Wake Forest should be a gimme since the Terps are 39-13-1 all-time against the Demon Deacons, but Wake is favored anyway. But this team should’ve won at home against West Virginia and against Clemson, since they were winning throughout. Where is this team going? Nowhere on the ground, that's for sure. Something needs to click, and soon. A loss Saturday drops the Terrapins to 1-3, deflates any remaining confidence (what self-respecting team loses to Wake?), and continues a snowball effect that will end in an avalanche. After Wake, the Terps welcome in Virginia (should win it) and travel to Temple (better win it). Then the insanity begins, as the season’s second half brings games with Virginia Tech at home (55-6 loss last year, and now the Terps have to deal with Marcus Vick, ESPN, and the bright lights of Thursday night), Florida State on the road (the Terrapins' house of horrors), North Carolina on the road (the game Maryland has the best shot of winning on the road after Wake and Temple), Boston College at home (a chance, but not much), and N.C. State on the road (always tough, but doable). That's a gauntlet of teams to finish up against.

Unless the Terps win out leading into Virginia Tech, the only bowl they’ll be seeing in December is a cereal bowl. The road back to respectability must commence in Winston-Salem. If the Terps are able to exorcise the Demon Deacons, the towel remains in the manager’s hand for another week. But if Wake pulls off the upset, throw it in the ring and remember, basketball season is just around the corner.

Matt Ray co-hosts two radio shows on WMUC Sports at the University of Maryland. "The Greatest Show on the Radio" with Matt and Mark Butman can be heard at www.wmucsports.com Tuesday nights from 9 to 10:30 pm. "Midweek Mayhem" with Mr. Ray and Nick Verderame is on www.wmucradio.com , wmucsports.com and 88.1 FM in College Park from 2-4pm Wednesdays.

Posted by at 01:12 AM on September 22, 2005
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Posted by Fayne Cohen at 08:38 PM on September 20, 2005
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Posted by Fayne Cohen at 08:34 PM on September 20, 2005
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Posted by Fayne Cohen at 08:30 PM on September 20, 2005
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Posted by Fayne Cohen at 08:27 PM on September 20, 2005
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Posted by Fayne Cohen at 08:25 PM on September 20, 2005
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Posted by Fayne Cohen at 08:17 PM on September 20, 2005
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Check out this article on the Terps' struggles at Byrd Stadium in The Diamondback, by David Selig:
http://www.diamondbackonline.com

Posted by at 08:52 PM on September 19, 2005
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Just when you think it's turning around, the game blows up in your face. That's the feeling from Byrd stadium for everyone in red, white and black after witnessing the Terrapins lose to West Virginia for the 2nd year in a row, 31-19. West Virginia led 21-6 and the game was over, until the Terps turned to star TE Vernon Davis and capitalized on a kickoff fumble to get within two points. A missed 2-pt conversion meant the end of Maryland's scoring, and Mountaineer backup QB Pat White turned it on and iced the victory with 2 TD drives in the 4th quarter.

At 21-19, fans in College Park began to feel another comeback win like the Navy game to open the season, but the defense showed its lack of focus and fatigue, allowing White to march down the field to the tune of 14 plays, 80 yards and 5 plays, 57 yards- for a TD and a FG to end the game. Coach Ralph Friedgen has now lost more home games in the last two weeks than he did his first three seasons as head coach.

Posted by at 04:24 PM on September 17, 2005
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When West Virginia QB Rasheed Marshall connected with receiver Chris Henry on a TD to beat the Terps in overtime last year, fans lamented a loss to a rival. What was even worse was the consequence of that loss- the utter collapse of Ralph Friedgen's team, who went 3-5 the rest of the season and did not qualify for a bowl game.
With Friedgen and his young team trying to claw back into respectability in the tough ACC, winning Saturday at home against West Virginia is crucial. It's a you-better-win-this-one-or-clean-out-the-lockers-in-December game because the schedule is just that difficult after this week. A loss to WVU would be devastating to a team that just blew the opporunity to close out a decent Clemson team, but made too many mental errors.
Looking ahead and seeing games at Florida State and NC State and matchups against Va Tech, Virginia and Boston College, it's clear that the Terps will need to win one of those games to make it to a bowl game. But if they fall to West Virginia, QB Sam Hollenbach will have the pressure of providing two big upset performances.
Win now, keep thinking about bowling later. It's that simple.

Posted by at 01:30 PM on September 15, 2005
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