Right Off Russell

The Maryland Terrapins visited Bloomington on Tuesday night to face the Hoosiers in their piece of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. It looked to be a long night for the Terps as Indiana was up to the challenge, but the Terps took control late in the second half and came away with a 80 – 68 win. Read More at BSR….

In this week’s edition of Birds On The Wire, Jeff Pilson and Zach break down the Ravens OT Win against the hated Steelers, predict the AFC Wild Card Race, and preview the upcoming game against the Pack. Also, you get to here Jeff talk Terps hoops with Matt Bracken of the Baltimore Sun .

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The University of Maryland announced today that it will retain the services of head football coach Ralph Friedgen.  Friedgen was believed to be on the way out after leading the Terps to their first 10 loss season ever.  Friedgen is under contract at Maryland through the 2011 season and is 66-48 in his 9 seasons at Maryland.  The question is was keeping Friedgen around the right decision for Maryland football, or was this move more about money that it was about winning football games?

Friedgen believes that the future of Terps football is bright.  Maryland was young in many areas this year and they return a lot of players that saw significant time on the offensive line, at running back and wide receiver.  But the fact remains that after his first 3 years on the job, seasons played with numerous players he did not recruit, Friedgen has not been able to establish Maryland as a consistent top 25 program.  In fact, there has been a steady decline in the level of talent in College Park and Friedgen is losing recruiting battles for in state talent with greater frequency. Read more »

It might be too early to start talking NCAA tournament time but the 2 recent losses in the Maui Invitational have been the Terps in a hole. I’m not the only one worried here. This is a thought from Jeremy over at Turtle Soup

The schedule works against them from here on out. If they lose to Villanova (likely), then they will need to be 10-6 in the ACC to make the Tourney. If they lose to Indiana also (not out of the question by any means), or heaven forbid, any other non-conference opponent, and there may not be a way back into the Dance regardless of their ACC record. They won’t have the RPI to get in. The ACC is not as good as in years past and they won’t have as many opportunities for signature wins. The season is in dire straits whether you choose to believe it or not. It’s not even Thanksgiving!

Granted, they have one of the most prolific players in the college game. He has the ability to put the team on his shoulders and give the team the lift it needs. He just doesn’t seem to be able to do it consistently.

What should be the short term goals of this team in order to get back on track?

Maryland played their second game of the Maui Invitational and it wasn’t as pretty as the first. The Terps took on Cincy last night and the results weren’t that good. Maryland lost this one by the score of 69 – 57 and the game wasn’t even that close. Read More at Baltimore Sports Report…

Strong words were uttered this week by John Turner about University of Maryland Athletic Director Debbie yow.  Turner, former drummer for the band Ratt and father of current Maryland starting QB Chris Turner posted the following on a Inside MD Sports message board:+

“Get rid of Yow. And you might have a chance on being decent in football and basketball. Shes [sic] the absolute worst and will destroy your program! TRUST ME!”

Strong words coming from a passionate supporter of Maryland football, but he is not just any fan.  Being the father of the starting QB, Turner obviously has insight into how things are run in the athletic department in College Park.  So what is it that has John Turner calling for the head of Debbie Yow?

Read more »

Jeff Wolfson gives us his thoughts from the Cal debacle.

Turtle Soup gives their Top 10 Things Learned from Last Week

Testudo Times spotlights Special Teams Matchup with JMU

TerpTalk.com says it’s time to Focus on the Dukes

JC at StetSports says that the Terps should Avoid the West Coast

Courtesy dcsportsbox.com

The University of Maryland had many struggles in an uneven season of 2008. Perhaps the area of greatest struggles was on the defensive side of the ball. The thing that frustrated Terp fans so much was the feeling that former defensive coordinator Chris Cosh ran a scheme that put little pressure on opposing offenses and was wiling to sit back in a “bend but don’t break” defense. The problem is that all the bending led to many breaks. Enter new coordinator Don Brown and the prevailing thought is that the 2009 Terps D will be one that attacks with blitz pressure and pressures opposing attacks with an in your face style. I for one welcome the philosophy shift, but wonder if the problem was as much scheme related as talent.

One change the Terps will make on defense is switching from a 3-4 look to a 4-3 look. In recent years Maryland has recruited a number of defensive line prospects including 6 players who are either red-shirt or true freshman. Needless to say the line will be younger. Not all the frosh will be pressed into action, but freshman AJ Francis, Masenga Kabongo and Zach Kerr will see significant time. The unit does need big years from veterans Travis Ivey, Deege Galt and Jared Harrell. Read more »

With media day behind us and camp in full swing the University of Maryland football season is less than a month away. The Terps open the 2009 campaign against he Cal Bears in Berkeley, CA on September, 5th. Both teams squared off last year and the Terps scored an upset against the nationally ranked Bears, 35-27. Right now Cal is heavily favored in the rematch and no doubt has last years game on their minds, as well as Maryland defeat of Cal in the 1st round of the NCAA tourney. As the season approaches, let’s take a look at what Coach Ralph Friedgen brings back on offense.

The good news is that Maryland returns a lot of experience at skill positions. The offense is led by senior QB Chris Turner, who enters his third season as the primary starter. This is the first season where Turner is not expected to be a back-up. Turner has shown the ability to perform well against top opponents, but has yet to consistently produce the type of results that the Terps need. This is Turner’s last chance to step up his game. The opportunity and play-makers are there, and I expect that Turner will put it together for the Terps in his final year. The question is does he have it within him to lead Maryland to a 9 or 10 win season? Read more »

Behind a big game from Greivis Vasquez, the Terps pulled away from the Cal Bears in the second half en route to a convincing 84-71 win.  Vazquez led all scorers with 27.  He also added 5 boars and 4 assists.  Maryland held a slim 3 point lead at halftime.  The game was close until midway through the 2nd half when the Terps put on a decisive 18-5 run to build a lead that California never made closer than 7 points.

Adrian Bowie, Dave Neal and Eric Hayes also added double figures for the Terps.  The key stat of the game, however, was Maryland’s ability to hold Cal to 7-24 from three point range.  Cal came into the tournament shooting an NCAA best 43% from three.  Today they were help under 30%.

Up next the Terps take on the Memphis Tigers on Saturday.  The Terps will again struggle to keep up with the size and quickness tha tMemphis will throw at them.  Expect the Terps to throw a zone at the Tigers in the hopes of slowing them down the way Maryland slowed down Wake Forest in the ACC tourney.

Maryland fans might also remember the last time a 10th seeded Terps team took on a 2nd seeded team coached by John Calipari.  In the 1994 NCAA tournament the Joe Smith led Terps pushed past the Marcus Camby led University of Massachusettes squad.  That was of course the first NCAA tournament appearance by a Gary Williams led team.  In light of all the criticism Coach Williams has endured this year, perhaps this match-up bodes well for the Terps and the direction of the program.

Let me hear you Terp fans.