COLLEGE PARK - - Oh, did the Maryland Terrapins need this one.
An 0-2 start would have been unthinkable. Another loss on the heels of the 52-13 spanking California gave them in their season-opener would have been devastating to this young team.
The big man, coach Ralph Friedgen, would not have handled it well. And the rest of the coaches would have made life miserable for the Terps in practice this week. Running stairs? These Terps would have been running mountains.
So the Terps went out Saturday night and took out their frustrations on James Madison, the Colonial Athletic Association power that went 12-2 last season and was ranked sixth in the Football Championship Subdivision preseason poll.
Behind freshman Nick Ferrara's 26-yard field goal in overtime, the Terps turned in a gritty performance and beat the Dukes, 38-35, at Byrd Stadium, where they showed off their new Tyser Tower, the upgraded grandstand that cost $50.8 million and includes 64 suites and mezzanine seating for more than 400.
"Just another day at the office," an obviously relieved Friedgen said when it was over.
Yep. But as Friedgen knows, it would have been real tough selling any more of those luxury suites if the Terps had tanked in this one.
"I'm very proud of our players," he added. "Our kids hung in there and found a way to win, and that's a positive."
So instead of a loss, the Terps picked up a gut-check win that could go a long way toward helping this team believe in itself the rest of the way.
Starting the season 0-2? Oh, that would have seemed like the end of the world for this young team.
The loss to Cal alone was so demoralizing the Terps held a "players-only" meeting two days later to remind themselves not to be demoralized. Sure, teams don't normally hold players-only meetings after the first game of the season. Usually they wait for a true Defcon 4 moment later in the year before kicking the coaches out of the room and delivering fiery pep talks about the need to stay together and not panic.
But that's how unnerving the Cal loss was for Maryland.
The theme of the players' meeting was simple: No sulking. No whining. No pointing fingers at one another.
The meeting was called by safety Terrell Skinner and cornerback and captain Nolan Carroll. (Ironically, Carroll suffered a serious leg injury against James Madison and is probably out for the season.)
