Campus Connection

The Maryland Terrapins football team suffered a 21-14 loss to Oregon State in the Emerald Bowl on December 28. The Terrapins won a bowl bid in the final game of the regular season by defeating conference rival University of North Carolina. It was their first bowl loss since the Orange Bowl of 2002.

The Terps began strongly, gaining 164 yards and taking a seven-point lead in the first quarter. Quarterback Chris Turner threw a 63-yard touchdown pass to Darrius Heyward-Bey--the longest in Maryland bowl history. However, the inconsistency that plagued the team over the course of the regular season returned in force: the Terps gained just 60 yards in the final three quarters of the game.

Turner finished just 17 of 29 for 205 yards with two interceptions. Five dropped passes account for a portion of his poor completion rate.

The Beavers failed to capitalize on Maryland’s sloppiness, squeaking by with a single touchdown lead. An offside penalty negated what would have been a Maryland turnover, and Oregon turned the ball over three times themselves--twice inside Maryland’s 30-yard line.

Head coach Ralph Friedgen has been criticized for largely running the ball rather than allowing his quarterback to make passing plays.

The loss means that Maryland ended the season 6-7, the first time the school has won a bowl bid and ended the season with a losing record.

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