Maryland football shows up

Maryland needed a perfect game to beat No. 8 West Virginia on Saturday. While the Terps played their hearts out, they made just enough mistakes to come up short in Morgantown.

Many viewers expected Maryland’s newest jersey style to be the only highlight in the Terps’ trip to West Virginia, especially when the Mountaineers opened the game with a 14-0 lead. The Terps’ battled back however, with two touchdown passes from a surprisingly efficient Perry Hills.

West Virginia would regain momentum with a field goal and then take advantage of a simple Maryland mistake. As West Virginia was driving before halftime, the Terps left star wide receiver Tavon Austin wide open in the end zone to give the Mountaineers a 10 point lead. Coming into the game, Maryland knew that stopping Austin was paramount to their success, and not paying attention to him in a 2-minute drill situation cost the Terps.

The next avoidable Maryland mistake occurred on the following possession. After an impressive drive with under a minute remaining in the half led by Hills, Maryland was set up at West Virginia’s 24-yard line. A great opportunity to seize momentum before half time was thwarted, however, when Brad Craddock missed a 42-yard field goal attempt, leaving the score at 24-14.

After a scoreless third quarter, Maryland made yet another crucial error in their attempts to come back. After a 25-yard completion from Hills, receiver Marcus Leak fumbled in West Virginia territory, halting a potential scoring drive. The Mountaineers would take the ensuing possession down the field for a touchdown, yet again to Austin. This deficit would be too great for Maryland to come back from, and the final score would read 31-21.

The fact that Maryland came up short after being in contention for almost the entire game might sting for some Terps fans. An upset over a top-ranked opponent on the road would have been an incredible achievement for this particular squad. However, when put into perspective, the Terps have a lot of positives to take away from this contest.

Hills’ performance has steadily improved with every game, and he played his best football to date Saturday, completing 69 percent of his passes for 305 yards and three scores. He looked as comfortable as he has all season, which bodes well for ACC play.

Hills was helped by Saturday’s other breakout performer, Stefon Diggs. The explosive receiver finally was able to demonstrate why he was so highly recruited, catching two touchdown passes for 113 total yards. His 56-yard catch and run in the fourth quarter was as impressive as any play made by West Virginia’s star studded offense.

Finally, the Terps’ run defense was stout, allowing only 25 total rushing yards to the Mountaineers bevy of backs.

Late in the competition, one announcer spoke of how a game like this would look good for a rebuilding Maryland program. While teams don’t get any points for moral victories, this game might have opened a small window towards a promising future for Maryland football. And, for once, not because of their shiny new uniforms.

Young shells in the big sea

Remember the days when freshmen athletes were exciting for what they were going to become? When one of a coach’s main responsibilities was developing a young player in the four years he or she had to become great before moving on?

Now it seems that freshmen are all the rage, in this case at Maryland, ranging from the big money sports such as football and men’s basketball, to smaller teams such as women’s soccer.

Perry Hills leads the football team on Saturdays as a true freshman. While this is mostly out of necessity, look around him. One of his top receivers is Stefon Diggs, and his best running back is Wes Brown. Both skill players are freshmen as well.

The basketball team has had a very well-documented renaissance this off-season, signing five freshmen, (not including the recently departed Sam Cassell, Jr.) four of which will play immediately and receive significant playing time. And with the departure of Terrell Stoglin, Mychal Parker and Ashton Pankey, top recruits Shaquille Cleare and Jake Layman may establish themselves as the Terps’ best players in their first season.

Meanwhile, even women’s soccer is undergoing a youth movement. The roster is currently comprised of 16 freshmen, four of which started in their 2-1 victory over No. 6 North Carolina. Redshirt freshman goalie Rachelle Beanlands has started in eight of the team’s first nine games, giving up less than one goal per game thus far.

Should Maryland be alarmed at this freshman trend, or is it simply a general shift in college athletics? The boom of “one-and-done” freshman in college basketball is a well-known phenomenon, thanks to the NBA’s mandate for a high school player to attend college for at least one year. But what about other sports, in particular teams with athletes who don’t have a professional league to look to?

Perhaps freshmen are simply getting better, and having “experience” is no longer a top priority for coaches. Maybe older players tend to transfer out of competitive teams once they realize they are more interested in greater playing time. Whatever the reason, there is no doubt that all eyes are on the youngsters at Maryland. It is yet to be determined just how well they will handle the scrutiny and demands of playing at a top institution.

What to expect when you're not expecting

The Terrapins football team entered this season with little to no expectations after a disastrous 2-10 season last year. After two games, it’s safe to say no one really know what the Terps’ record will be in November. While the team has won its first two games, their actual performance has at times pleasantly surprised but often left much to be desired.

In his first college football game, quarterback Perry Hills threw for only 145 yards and three interceptions against an FCS opponent in William & Mary. In his next start he turned in a week two performance worthy of being named the ACC Freshman of the Week. However, he only threw for 190 yards in that game, contributing three touchdowns.

Meanwhile, Justus Pickett, who was possibly the only player to receive positive accolades following the Terps’ win over the Tribe, averaged only 3.3 yards per carry against Temple. The Terps’ defense, which gave up only six points in week one, gave up 27 points to the Owls in week two.

What can we possibly make of these statistics? Maybe Maryland doesn’t win an ACC game and finishes with two wins. Maybe they win just enough games to earn a bowl. Would either of those two scenarios surprise anyone at this point in the year? Perhaps this team will be completely unpredictable, which would make for a much more enjoyable season than what was previously projected, regardless of where they finish.

This week Maryland plays Connecticut at Byrd Stadium. What are the odds that coach Randy Edsall facing his old team will bring out more surprises after an already strange start for the Terps?

Most fans who follow Maryland football have immense expectations for highly touted freshman wide receiver Stefon Diggs. After a quiet first game, Diggs seemed more comfortable against Temple and broke out with a 38-yard completion late in the game. Expect a breakout performance from the flashy freshman receiver who seems ready to burst onto the stage. Then again, it may take Diggs weeks before he truly settles in, considering his inexperience.

Whatever happens, I can’t say I’ll be surprised.

In covering Penn State, ESPN goes too far

The Penn State scandal was one of the most severe, and heavily covered, outrages in history of collegiate athletics. In order to maintain transparency in any field, incisive, investigating journalism is paramount to proper reporting. However, at times news agencies involuntarily or not lose track of why and what they are covering for the sake of personal achievement. The happenings and coverage of the Penn State debacle is a perfect example of this exploitation.

When this story first began to take shape in the media, Sara Ganim of The Patriot-News was leading the pack in the pursuit of answers surrounding what exactly had happened, and who had concealed information. Aside from the arrest of Jerry Sandusky, these questions eventually also dragged down head coach Joe Paterno, school president Graham Spanier and athletic director Tim Curley as secondary responsible parties.

The story blew up and gained widespread national media attention. ESPN, Yahoo! and other grand sports news agencies began to take prominent roles covering every detail of the scandal. And this is where news became tabloid.

While ESPN is already famous for beating stories into the ground (see Tebow, Tim), their coverage of Penn State went from all-encompassing to excessive for the sake of ratings.

Fast forward to late August of 2012, after the allegations, after the punishment and after most of the dust settled. As a new season of college football was underway, many eyes were on how Penn State would do in the face of arguably their most challenging season to date. However, ESPN took their news coverage a step further and decided to nationally televise Penn State’s pep rally the day before their first game.

While sweeping coverage is necessary and effective in journalism, ESPN went from reporting on a story to taking advantage of a situation where profit could be gained. To my knowledge, ESPN did not televise any other college pep rally this season.

By televising, and thus advertising, the Penn State rally, they took advantage of an event that would attract viewers, and thus ignored the victims and negativity of a situation for their own benefit.

While modern journalism entities are struggling to gain enough profit to stay afloat, a line must be drawn between integrity and entertainment. ESPN, in their constant efforts to squeeze ratings and money out of a story, crossed that line and became an entertainment entity while posing as a journalistic one. By broadcasting Penn State’s understandably positive rally, ESPN became directly involved with a story they themselves were covering rather than acting as an impartial observer, which could be seen as an ethical violation, at least by the standards of their own field.

Too soon to think about the hardwood?

As most of Terrapin Nation is stewing over what to take from Maryland’s 7-6 victory over FCS member William & Mary, this fan has his eyes on recent developments with the basketball program.

After losing last year’s ACC leading scorer Terrell Stoglin for violating University policy, the team is looking to rebound from a second consecutive season without so much as an NIT berth. With a freshman class led by Shaquille Cleare, Jake Layman and Sam Cassell, Jr., they appear to have a significantly more talented roster than the previous two seasons, and there is a possibility the Terrapins may add an immediate extra contributor.

Dez Wells, the expelled sophomore forward from Xavier University, is preparing to decide whether to transfer to Oregon, Memphis or Maryland in the next couple days. The news of Wells’ expulsion amid sexual assault allegations gained publicity recently when an Ohio grand jury declined to follow up on the case, according to The Washington Post. While the case was not seen as worthy of a trial, Xavier administrators refused to reexamine their own decision. On Saturday, Wells visited Maryland, attending the football game against the Tribe (hopefully not paying too much attention to the action) and was reportedly pleased with the trip, according to The Post.

“I credit Maryland, they really got his spirits up,” the source told The Post. “It was a blessing to me to hear. It started out a rough week for him. He went through Kentucky, Memphis, but Maryland was the first time I heard the excitement back in his voice.”

Adding Wells this late would be an underrated coup for the Terps, who could likely add him to the roster this season. Wells averaged 9.8 points and 4.9 rebounds as a freshman for the Musketeers, making the Atlantic 10’s all-rookie team.

Wells would bring immediate depth to an untested front line, and would be another source for a Terps team currently devoid of proven scoring options. With the football program staring at another less than inspiring season, this news has demonstrated basketball Head Coach Mark Turgeon’s will to constantly improve his roster. While Wells’ decision is by no means guaranteed, Maryland’s opportunistic attempts to woo him to College Park are inspiring. This move shows students, alumni and fans the team is looking not only to build for the future, but to also win right away. And with the NBA prospect Harrison twins’ recruitment attempts on the horizon, it is a promising sign that Maryland has the ability to still put its name in the mix after two subpar seasons.

At least we don’t have to think about only football for the next three months.