11/29: Terps vs. Boston College predictions

[OregonBird]

It's Wednesday and with some good games on the slate for Friday it got me thinking towards the Terps big game versus BC on Saturday.

The Terps are a 7 point underdog on the road. However, BC is ranked and starting their backup QB. Will the Terps pick up the intensity this week and will Cosh's defense try to feast on a young QB? BC lost to Clemson and GaTech in Chestnut Hill so they aren't exactly dominant at home.

On the other hand, BC is a well coached team and had solid road wins at Wake and FSU. They tend to show up for every game and haven't had any "clunkers" this year. I would expect them to prepare their backup accordingly and play hard.

These teams look very similar to me except BC doesn't do the "Jekyll and Hyde" thing.

Now for my "Negative Nelly" portion of the post. I think this team will be content with simply getting to a bowl so knowing they have one locked up tells me we'll see another uninspired performance this week. Also, some of Fridge's comments in the Washington Post talking about too many "introverts" on the defense disturb me (i.e more of the 'I dont understand these kids' theme). BC wins but doesn't cover.

I'm thinking its off to Boise to play Boise St which will be an interesting experience.

[OregonBird]

Oh and I forgot that BC can win the division and play in the ACC championship with a win vs. the Terps. I think they have all they need to play for.

[EddieO's21]

this is an easy call

MD- 24
BC-21

BC is ranked...enough said

[8istheman]

BC 37 Terps 17

The Terps get blown out and Turner get hit so much he thinks he is the :wedge: for Rat.

I hope I'm wrong.

[OregonBird]

Pretty much what I expected. First BC drive and they outphysical Cosh's defense and the backup QB makes some nice throws. Very impressive by BC.

[BaltimoreTerp]

Yeah! Terps are so good they can score against 12! :laughlol:

[Peace21]

Nice job by Turner for going in for the TD.

[BaltimoreTerp]

Holy crap! Did you see that?

Mike McLaughlin of BC hurdling Meggitt, and Turner practically turtling in disbelief (not that any other quarterback would have done better :laughlol:).

In the holy and sainted name of Nick Novak...WOW!

[BaltimoreTerp]

14-7 BC at the half.

The defense played pretty well after that first drive. They are doing a lot of "bend, but not break", and the one real bad play was the long, wide-open TD pass coming off the Turner interception.

Speaking of the offense...I'd rather not. The line is struggling again, which is killing the ground game while Turner is obviously rattled. He's been sacked three times and threw the bad interception.

I don't think this will end up a blow-out again, though there is always the possibility for the defense to give up another big play or two. However, unless Turner can collect himself enough for a good pass down-field or Scott can break a long run the Terps probably aren't going to be in a position to win the game at the end.

[OregonBird]

I pretty much agree with you BaltimoreTerp.

I've been disappointed in this offense all year. Turner has had a few nice games but he's been pretty erratic for the most part. The WCO takes accuracy to be run effectively.

Personally I wouldn't mind seeing Paul Johnson's triple option offense here. Everybody said it would never work yet he turned that program around with it and they put over 40 pts on the board versus a Georgia defense today.

[BaltimoreTerp]

I pretty much agree with you BaltimoreTerp.

I've been disappointed in this offense all year. Turner has had a few nice games but he's been pretty erratic for the most part. The WCO takes accuracy to be run effectively.

Personally I wouldn't mind seeing Paul Johnson's triple option offense here. Everybody said it would never work yet he turned that program around with it and they put over 40 pts on the board versus a Georgia defense today.

I want to see whatever we were running in 2001 and 2002 :laughlol:

[BaltimoreTerp]

Special teams FTW! :laughlol:

Assuming it holds up, which I don't want to be too confident about...

Still, recovering a muffed punt (I still can't get over that the BC guy ran into his own damn blocker) would be a huge turn-around.

EDIT: Unfortunately, I was right.

No idea how the moro-I mean officials decided who touched the ball first once it made it into the pile and five guys from each side jumped on it at the same time. Awful decision.

[BaltimoreTerp]

21-7 BC.

Fake field goal on fourth down to score the TD.

Had them stopped after all that foolishness, too.

*sigh*

[BaltimoreTerp]

One other thing that has been eating at me. I don't know if it is because of the receivers not being able to get open, or poorly-designed plays, or something with Turner himself, but he seems to be holding on to the ball too long.

[OregonBird]

I want to see whatever we were running in 2001 and 2002 :laughlol:

Back then we ran a lot more triple option so Johnson's offense more closely resembles it.

[BaltimoreTerp]

21-14 Boston College.

Nice play from Turner on fourth down and a couple good passes leads to a touchdown.

Defense still playing BBNB, which is very nerve-wracking. Plus we can't run at all.

[BaltimoreTerp]

Back then we ran a lot more triple option so Johnson's offense more closely resembles it.

Yeah, but it wasn't an every/most-down thing.

That's what was great about that offense; you never really knew what they play would be from the formation or down. They had option plays from all the formations, but still ran a mostly pro-style offense with the option available as a real weapon.

At least that is what I remember. I'm not an offensive guru by any means :laughlol:

[BaltimoreTerp]

Another fourth-down conversion. Throwing on fourth-and-one, too.

Something good is happening...

[BaltimoreTerp]

And I swear, if I hear Pam Ward call our receiver Danny "Oqwendo" one more time...

You're a frickin' Terp, Pam! You should know your alma mater's football team! :laughlol:

[Pedro Cerrano]

I want to see whatever we were running in 2001 and 2002 :laughlol:

Unfortunately the players that ran that offense are long gone...

[BaltimoreTerp]

28-21, Boston College wins.

Terps fought to the very end, but a bad interception returned for a TD right before the final TD drive put it out of reach.

Turner looked much better in the second half, especially late in the game, but he still threw some really questionable passes, especially the aforementioned one.

Defense never really broke other than the long TD pass in the first half. They did allow BC to run time off the clock late, however, which didn't help.

A disappointing loss, but not really a bad loss in my book (after all, it was our first by less than two scores). It just makes me wish we had one or two of the earlier losses back, since some of them were just inexplicable.

[Sailor Jerry]

Even Johnny Holliday calls him Oqwendo sometimes.

I can't wait to hear the predictable calls about how awful Turner is. The fact is his offensive line has self-destructed the last two weeks. The games have been lost at the line of scrimmage because the line couldn't move anyone to get something even resembling a running game going, and they couldn't pass block either. Many of Turner's passes were after he rolled out or stepped up into the pocket because the tackles, especially on the right side, were completely ineffective. The guards didn't do much better, and haven't been very good this year.

Most, not all, but most of Turner's mistakes can be traced back to awful line play. It really caught up to them against some good teams the last two weeks. And last week more so than this week, so did having a small defensive line that has struggled to rush the passer for two years now. Most of the time this year the d-line has also relied on linebackers to mask its deficiencies against the run.

Friedgen has always said you can never have enough big linemen. He's just had trouble either getting, or keeping them.

[skornya]

I'm thinking its off to Boise to play Boise St which will be an interesting experience.

God I hope not. Watching us get our a** kicked on national television by a WAC school is one thing. Watching us get our a** kicked on Smurf Turf on national television is more than I could stomach.