What went right on Saturday Night? Not too much if you are a Terp. I thought we were going to win the game. Not a smart prediction in the cold light of Tuesday morning.
Overall
The Terps ran into a buzzsaw on Saturday. The Cal Bears are poised to make a big run in the PAC 10. The boys from Maryland are lacking in experience and it showed. There are a few points that are disturbing, but the Terps should take the next three games. That would give Maryland a 3-1 record and hosting Clemson. It can still be an excellent season.
After letting the loss breath a little, like a find wine, here are some observations.
1) The Terps offensive line was not ready on the right side. In the photo above you see Chris Turner pointing out the keys. You see Costa and Lamar Young (left guard). What you do not see is Mr. Gonnella and Pinegar to the other side of the formation.
The right side of the line is comprised of two walk-on starters. It is not the fault of these two that they are all the Terps have. Later in the game, R.J. Dill got some run on the right side. In fact, the Terps tried all that made the trip.
I believe that offensive line coach Tom Brattan will get the right side of the line calmed down in a few weeks. What the coaching staff has to figure out is, do they burn the redshirts of coveted freshman DeSouza and White?
2) The Terps recruiting of lineman is hurting the team. On both sides of the ball, the Terps had some lost recruiting years. Now we are left with Degee Galt and Harrell as starters on the Dline and point 1 above.
You can blame the players for not performing. You can blame the recruits for not staying eligible and/or you can blame Ralph for not recruiting better. Whomever is to blame, it does not fix the problem that the team has great talent on the edges, but is deficient in both lines.
3) New D Coordinator Don Brown’s complex blitz scheme got blizted. The Terps, under live fire in Berkeley, missed assignments left and right. The defense did not cover well, Anthony Wiseman was out-classed in an athletic sense. All the rest got burned repeatedly.
I was not surprised to see Javid Best have a good day on the ground. He really is that good. It was disheartening to see that our veteran defensive backs could not cover the Cal receivers.