Turtledroppings.com – Maryland Football And Basketball Blog

As many of you know the Maryland football team is bowl bound again this year. They didn’t finish the season like we had hoped but if someone told me that they would be 7-5 at the beginning of the season, I would have been ecstatic. With the quarterback controversy we had and the loss of two senior running backs I was sure this year was going to be challenging for the offense. I had no idea what to expect from the defense. Some games they show up, and some games you wonder if they are even awake. The last two weeks of this regular season were a big disappointment. However, it feels good to be in the hunt so late in the season. Back when we were in school, a winning record was only something you dreamed about.

I’m excited that the Terps are playing in a holiday bowl game again this year. However, who and where they play has some fans a bit turned off. I honestly say I don’t really what bowl game we are in. I’m just happy that I get to watch our Terps suit up one more time this season.

As of today it looks like the Terps will be playing in the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho. I hear it’s actually a nice place but freezing cold this time of year. Originally it looked like we were going to face the hometown Broncos of Boise State. However, it now looks like they will be playing in San Diego and the Terps will be facing Nevada. I don’t know one thing about the Nevada football team. I don’t even know what their mascot is. Is it a poker chip or Siegfried and Roy White Tiger? It’s not a sexy matchup. The game most certainly won’t be sold out and the only folks watching on television will be Terps fans, Nevada fans, and compulsive gamblers.

The players most likely won’t be too thrilled either. They really don’t have much to gain from this matchup. If they win, the sports world will say it was expected. If they lose, then all the writers will talk about how mediocre the ACC is. It’s not really a good situation for the Terps to be in. I would much rather see them play Navy at RFK or West Virginia in Charlotte. That’s just a pipe dream. So let’s face it. The Terps blew their chance at a BCS bowl and ACC Championship. But I’m glad they still have the chance to play in a nationally televised bowl game. Any bowl is better than no bowl at all. Plus it gives us a chance to get together one last time this year and watch the game. It used to be, when December hit, we are talking all basketball all the time.

Coach Friedgen was on the proverbial “hot seat” at the start of the season. I’m not sure who put him there but I think it was the fans on the Terrapin message boards. I don’t think Debbie Yow was going to fire him unless they went 0-12. I think he did an “ok” job this year. I would say great but I seem to remember a game in Murfreesboro, Tennessee back in September. That loss was inexcusable. But, look at the bright side, how often do you beat 4 ranked teams in one season? The Terps are graduating a lot of guys this year so next year’s team won’t be expected to do much. Hey- Bey will most likely be gone. But, we will have Turner back and Scott and Meggett. If Cosh (or his replacement) can get the defense to play like it is capable every week, there is no reason why the football team can’t win 7 or 8 games again. Maybe even give it a late run for the ACC Championship game.

All in all I would say this year was a success. We could have and should have had a better record but it was a fun ride. I’ve never seen a team so up and down every week. Good luck to the Terps in Boise and I will be watching. I hope you will be to. Go Terps!

This entry was posted on Friday, December 5th, 2008 at 10:21 pm and is filed under Maryland Terps Football. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.