BLACKSBURG, Va. — BLACKSBURG, Va. - Intense investigative work isn't usually required: College bowl officials, it turns out, are pretty easy to spot. They're usually wearing a grateful grin and a colorful jacket, something you would imagine Craig Sager donated to charity.
Eight of them were in the press box at Lane Stadium last night, witnessing firsthand the mystery of the Maryland Terrapins, a group that fears no ranked team yet stumbles against lesser foes.
"We have to decide what we want to be," coach Ralph Friedgen said after the game.
There has never been more urgency attached to such a challenge, not this season and perhaps never before in Friedgen's tenure.
The Terps' 23-13 loss to Virginia Tech wasn't always pretty and was hardly definitive, so let's not think some bowl official is the ultimate judge or jury of these Terps. And especially not of their coach.
Four years had passed since the Terps last visited Blacksburg. (In case you've blocked out that memory, the Hokies won, 55-6.) Maryland fans reasonably expect the Terps to have made serious strides since then. In 2004, the Hokies were the ranked team; this time around, it was Maryland in the polls. So what did we learn?
No, the score was nothing like that prior visit (and winning in Blacksburg certainly hasn't become any easier), but where exactly was the Terps fan supposed to take solace? Certainly not in an offensive line that couldn't open a hole or a defensive line that couldn't close one.
(Figure this one out: Quarterback Chris Turner threw for 240 yards, yet the Terps netted only 228 yards of offense. Meanwhile, against a veteran Maryland defensive line, Hokies freshman tailback Darren Evans ran for 253 yards.)
As important as last night's game seemed, it's difficult to overstate what is on the line these next two games. The stakes are high. The Atlantic Coast Conference title game is still possible, but if Maryland fails to recover from last night, the entire program could soon face an uncomfortable judgment day. And no, the judge won't be wearing a fancy bowl patch on the breast of a lime-green jacket.
Friedgen entered the season fully aware that his program needed to show signs of progress. Despite bowl appearances each of the past two seasons, fans rightly expect more. A mid-tier bowl game is no longer enough.
