Eaglebank Bowl

Maryland football coach Ralph Friedgen and a top Military Bowl official said Tuesday that Terps fans need to attend the Dec. 29 game here to demonstrate to high-level bowl games that they are committed to their team. "The dilemma we're in right now is our fans really need to come out and support us because I think we've got a chance to send a message to these people that turned us down that we do support the program," Friedgen said. Friedgen appeared at a Military Bowl event in a downtown Washington hotel as another of his players — cornerback Dexter McDougle — was about to undergo surgery for a motor scooter accident.

Spot in Humanitarian, another possibility for UM A spot and a likely opponent emerged for Maryland yesterday in the Humanitarian Bowl on Dec. 30, but the Terrapins might have another bowl possibility. The Humanitarian Bowl opening was created when undefeated Ball State opted not to play in the game in Boise, Idaho. Bowl organizers had been intrigued at the prospect of matching undefeated Ball State against undefeated Boise State. Ball State had expressed concerns about playing on Boise State's home field.

Maurice E. "Mo" Clark did not see himself as a pioneer. And apparently, neither did anyone who chronicled the history of football at the U.S. Naval Academy. Darryl Hill, a standout running back and receiver who went on to integrate Atlantic Coast Conference football for Maryland, had always been told by coaches and administrators that he was the academy's first black football player. It was reported that way in dozens of articles and historical accounts. But as it turns out, Hill, who debuted in 1961, was merely the first black Midshipman to play a down.

Navy came into the 2008 season hoping its defense could catch up with its offense. After closing the regular season Saturday with a 34-0 victory over Army at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, the Midshipmen apparently have come full circle - their offense has finally caught up with the team's much-improved defense. Navy (8-4) was dominant on both sides of the ball. The defense held the Black Knights to 154 yards of offense and secured its second straight shutout, the first time that has happened since 1986.

Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo calls linebacker Ross Pospisil "a meek person, a humble person." First-year inside linebackers coach Steve Johns says of Pospisil, "He's a nice kid." But Johns is quick to qualify his remark by separating Pospisil's personality from his on-field persona. "He's a tough kid," Johns said earlier this week. "He's not a pushover. Don't mistake his kindness for being soft or anything like that." Wake Forest certainly won't when the Demon Deacons play the Midshipmen tomorrow in the inaugural EagleBank Bowl at RFK Stadium in Washington.

Every college football team has a turning point in its season, and for Navy, it came after the Midshipmen lost at Duke on Sept. 13. Along with the typical concerns about the team's injury-hampered offense and its mistake-prone defense, there were legitimate questions about the readiness of first-year head coach Ken Niumatalolo. "I was fortunate to have been here with Paul [Johnson], but I knew that I was stepping into a pressure cooker and people were doubting that we could get it done," Niumatalolo said.

The premonition came last week. With the local media focused on stirring another Navy quarterback debate, this time between senior Jarod Bryant and sophomore Ricky Dobbs, offensive coordinator Ivin Jasper told his wife he envisioned something dramatic happening in Saturday's game against Southern Methodist. "With all that's going on, I told her, 'It wouldn't surprise me if Jarod gets hurt, Ricky comes in and has a great game,' " Jasper recalled after that exact scenario played out in Navy's 34-7 victory in Annapolis.

COLLEGE PARK - Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen has been calling all season for more Terrapins fans to come to Byrd and make noise. It looks like Friedgen will get his wish against Florida State tomorrow night at Byrd Stadium. Maryland athletic officials expect a sellout. There were about 1,000 tickets remaining yesterday afternoon, and tickets have been selling at a rate of about 300 to 400 per day. Florida State fans have purchased about 2,800 tickets, a strong showing for a visiting team.

Washington - Buddy Green's mind was still on Navy's last game, which had ended less than an hour before. As the team's defensive coordinator stood in the bowels of RFK Stadium after Saturday's 29-19 loss to Wake Forest in the inaugural EagleBank Bowl, Green acknowledged that he was already starting to think about next season. "I was thinking about it as soon as the game was over," Green said. Unlike the 2007 season, when the Midshipmen finished with an identical 8-5 record, the defense carried this year's team for much of the season.

Ken Niumatalolo has had several memorable moments with a remarkably resilient group of Midshipmen in his first season as Navy head coach. Unbelievably, yesterday at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium turned into the most memorable of all. Playing without senior quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada, who was knocked out of the game in the third quarter after reinjuring his hamstring, Navy came from 20 points down against Temple in the fourth quarter and...