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| Image Credit: ABC2 News Baltimore |
I think that I speak for Terps fans everywhere when I say “what the fu…naki?!” Now, we all knew that the Terps football team was great last year. However, they exceeded expectations. This year, they were slated to be somewhat below expectations this year. I mean, when you’ve got this sort of thing happening, all bets are off.
But, I don’t think anyone anticipated what happened yesterday at Byrd Stadium. Not only did the Terps lose, they were dissected by Bowling Green. It was like the Appalachian State-Michigan game from 2007. While I expect Maryland to rebound from this…upset (and upsetting) performance, here are three things Terps fans should take away from the game.
- People will likely still kick to Will Likely — Late-game fumble aside, Terps return man Will Likely had a pretty decent day. He was one of the bright spots during the stormy Saturday afternoon game, returning a punt for a touchdown. However, that late-game fumble potentially exposed a slight flaw in Likely’s game. While Will Likely will likely (had to do it again) always be a safe bet to change a game, he may likely also still try to make plays that aren’t there out of the mindset that he’s doing it for the team. That’s not a bad thing, but Terps fans can only hope he doesn’t try to force too many plays, or we could see less touchdowns and more fumbles.
- Perry Hills is probably a nice guy — However, as a quarterback for the Terps, his last two games have been underwhelming. Against Richmond, he wasn’t all that steller (against a team far worse off than BG) and against BG, he kind of got wrecked. His replacement, Caleb Rowe, wasn’t much better, throwing two picks in about half a quarter’s work. So, it may be time to see what transfer journeyman Daxx Garman can do.
- You cannot discount anyone. Ever. — Terps fans, we tend to have (at times) an elevated sense of self-worth. It comes with the territory, as the Terps are known for being great at a lot of things, sports-wise. However, as seen during Maryland’s 2009 basketball shocker against Morgan State, you can never discount a team just because they’re not in a big conference. Every game, from a player and a fan standpoint, should be viewed as Maryland versus Duke or Maryland versus Ohio State. Now, I’m not saying “hey Terps fans, go burn crap on Route One after you demolish Hampton in Field Hockey.” However, the same intensity fans and players bring to those “big games,” it should be there all the time. I’m not in the Terps’ locker room, so I can’t vouch either way. But, it felt like Maryland just rolled over a bit yesterday. That simply can’t happen.
speedonthebeat.com 