Murfreesboro, Tenn. — Murfreesboro, Tenn. - Maryland's trip here to play Middle Tennessee State last night was thought to be, in college football parlance, a trap for a team that barely beat Delaware in its season opener.
That might have been giving the beleaguered Terps too much credit and the Blue Raiders not enough.
In a 24-14 defeat that is perhaps the worst defeat in Ralph Friedgen's nine-year tenure as Maryland's coach, the Terps showed that much-maligned quarterback Jordan Steffy was only one of their problems.
Playing for the injured Steffy, junior Chris Turner was just as ineffective. Turner didn't complete a pass until late in the second quarter and threw three interceptions in the second half, the first leading to a Blue Raiders touchdown and the last sealing the biggest win for the home team in the 75-year history of Floyd Stadium.
But another glaring issue for the Terps was their defense, which made senior quarterback Joe Craddock look like Joe Montana. Craddock completed 28 of 40 passes for 256 yards and two touchdowns. The Terps didn't sack Craddock, and Middle Tennessee had possession for nearly 40 of the 60 minutes.
Starting with the opening drive by the Blue Raiders, which was extended by a 30-yard pass on a fake punt and ended with one of Craddock's touchdown passes, the Terps played catch-up the entire night. The score was tied only once, after a 63-yard run in the first quarter by Da'Rel Scott.
Friedgen said he would take the brunt of the blame.
"We didn't do a very good job coaching, playing," Friedgen said. "I didn't do a very good job at all. I was embarrassed by the way we fought tonight. Give credit to Middle Tennessee. I thought they played well. They really outplayed us."
Friedgen pointed to his team's lack of focus in practice late last week as the start of its problems.
"We came and were not focused, and that is what I am concerned about," Friedgen said. "I wasn't able to get our guys to understand, and that is my fault. We need some more consistency in our offense."
Partly because of Middle Tennessee's ball-control offense and partly because of their own difficulty finding the proper rhythm as first-year offensive coordinator James Franklin tried to mix junior Josh Portis in with Turner, the Terps never seemed in sync offensively.
