The University of Maryland dismantled Wake Forest 62-14 yesterday, and may have dramatically raised the expectations for the remainder of their season.

QB Danny O’Brien did not throw for a lot of yardage during his 3 Quarters of play, but he did toss for 4 more TD’s, and did not turn the ball over. The telecasters yesterday were making the same point you hear over and over about O’Brien, that he spends countless time studying his craft and looking to improve. The young QB now has 13 TD’s to just 3 picks for the year.

Maryland demolished the Demon Deacons across the board, and impressively received contributions from numerous members of their roster.

Some of the notable contributions included:

1) The running game had success, with Meggett, Scott, and Adams each having at-least 50 yards rushing.

2) O’Brien’s 4 TD passes went to 4 different receivers. McCree had his first college TD, with a great diving catch in the end-zone. FB Haroon Brown also had his first TD, and Dorsey had two more catches.

3) Baltz again knocked-in two more FG attempts, and has done a very good job in replace of Nick Ferrara.

4) The pressure-defense and schemes of Don Brown are starting to influence games. 5 sacks yesterday, and plenty of confused looks from Wake Forest about exactly what defense they were looking at.

5) DT A.J. Francis was disrupting the line of scrimmage, and having his way with the interior Wake blockers.

6) Obviously have to point out LB Ryan Donohue, and S Kenny Tate for their interceptions which they took back to the house. Tate and Perez are causing a lot of havoc at Safety, with Brown moving them all over the field.

7) Wake’s RB Josh Harris had rushed for over 240 yards against Virginia Tech, but was held to just 27 yards by MD. This was the 4th consecutive ACC game where the Terps held their opponent to under 100 yards rushing.

8) As the game was over by the time the 4th Quarter started, the Coaching staff made the correct decision to get the starters out of the game and get the reserves some-time. That actual game experience is huge for those back-ups. One player who made the most of that playing time was OG Pete White. White (a former 4star recruit) had a great pulling-block to spring D.J. Adams for a TD run.

When this season started, I picked Maryland to finish 7-5, 4-4 in the ACC, and 2-3 in the Atlantic Division. Last Sunday I stated that if the Terps beat Wake as expected, things would start to get intriguing. How MD won yesterday makes the next 4 games extremely interesting.

Up-Next:

The Terps are 6-2 overall, and 3-1 in the ACC. They will head to Miami to face the Hurricanes. Yesterday Miami lost at Virginia, and lost their starting QB Jacory Harris to a vicious hit early in the 1st-half.

Last-week I wrote that the road-map to 8-4 was beating Wake, splitting the road games at Miami and UVA, and splitting the home games vs. FSU, and NCST to end the year. I said you would have to expect a loss at Miami. After yesterday, I want to see the Terps get greedy. Maryland had known they have plenty of athletic talent, but they have not played with a tremendous amount of confidence. You have to have success on the field, and learn to believe you are capable. If the Terps were still doubting what they were capable of prior to yesterday, they are not doubting themselves any more.

After a 2 win season last-year, this would be a very good turn-around season if the Terps finish with 8 wins, and a bowl appearance. The goal now though has to winning the Atlantic Division, and getting to the ACC Championship Game in Charlotte.

ACC Atlantic Standings (and remaining schedules for leaders):

Florida State: 6-2 overall, 4-1 ACC (UNC, Clemson, @UMD, Florida)
NCST: 6-2, 3-1 (@Clemson, Wake, @UNC, @UMD)
MD: 6-2, 3-1 (@Miami, @UVA, FSU, NCST)
Clemson: 4-4, 2-3
Boston College: 3-5, 1-4
Wake Forest: 2-6, 1-4

Chris Stoner
Chris Stoner

Owner

Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.

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