Terps Drop the Ball

Oregon State 21, Maryland 14

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 28 -- At the end of the second quarter on Friday night, the Maryland Terrapins looked as if they had taken an important step toward capping their roller-coaster season with a victory. The Terrapins' offense had just unleashed a quick explosion, racking up 164 yards in the first 15 minutes, good enough for a one-touchdown lead.

Maryland's defense, meanwhile, had already knocked Oregon State starting quarterback Lyle Moevao from the game once, and would later do it again.

But from there, as the rain started falling and the field became even more water-logged, the Terrapins fell victim to a familiar culprit during this most unusual season. Maryland showed the inconsistency issues that has dogged it all season, adding just 60 more offensive yards over the next three quarters on the way to falling to Oregon State, 21-14, at the Emerald Bowl.

"I don't think we played as well as we could play," Maryland Coach Ralph Friedgen said. "It's still a consistency thing I see happening."

While the Terrapins' ground game languished against the nation's second-ranked rush defense, Oregon State running back Yvenson Bernard set Emerald Bowl records -- rushing for 177 yards on 38 carries -- while wide receiver James Rodgers added a career-high 115 rushing yards to pace the Beavers, who won a sloppily played game before 32,517, the second-largest crowd in the six-year history of the event.

"My emotions are like a roller coaster right now," said Maryland senior safety Christian Varner, who Friday night became part of the first Terps team in history to reach a bowl game but finish with a losing record (6-7). "I'm kind of sad, I'm kind of happy because I've had a good career. But at the same time, I didn't want to end my career like this."

Friedgen spoke all week of the importance of closing out this injury-riddled season with a victory. Instead, the Terrapins dropped five passes and quarterback Chris Turner threw a pair of interceptions. The most glaring shortcoming was Maryland's ground attack. Oregon State -- which boasts the nation's second-best rush defense -- limited Maryland to just 19 rushing yards.

The Terrapins lost a bowl game for the first time since the 2002 Orange Bowl.

"It was kind of deja vu for some of the games we've had against Virginia and Georgia Tech," said Turner, who finished 17 of 29 for 205 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. "We started off fast and for whatever reason we slowed down after that."

Oregon State's ability to limit the run translated into favorable field position. Those factors were enough to offset Maryland's relentless pass rush, which racked up a season-high five sacks and forced Oregon State to play most of the game with backup Sean Canfield at quarterback.

The Beavers were just as guilty of sloppiness. An offside penalty negated what would have been a Keon Lattimore fumble. Beavers kicker Alexis Serna, one of the best in the country, bounced a 48-yard field goal attempt short and off the crossbar. Canfield, benched three games ago after injuring his shoulder, fumbled one possession away then threw an interception in the end zone. Two of Oregon State's three turnovers came inside the Terrapins 30-yard line.

But Oregon State played well enough to push ahead 21-14 after Rodgers recovered Bernard's fumble in the end zone.

Terrapins wide receiver Isaiah caught a nine-yard touchdown strike from Turner to cap an 80 yard opening drive and give Maryland a 7-0 lead. After Canfield led the Beavers down the field for a game-tying touchdown, Maryland pulled ahead 14-7 when Turner hit Darrius Heyward-Bey for a 63-yard touchdown pass. The play was the longest scoring play in Maryland bowl history, behind only Walter White's 68-yard touchdown pass to Louis Carter in the 1973 Peach Bowl.

But Friedgen called for more running plays after the first quarter, a move that surprised several players.

"I guess we were going a new direction as far as play calling I don't know if it was the best way to go or a bad way to go," Williams said. "Things weren't going well. I think defense played really well but offense, if you look at it, we couldn't move the ball. It was only a matter of time before our defense let up."

Said Lattimore: "We probably should have stuck to passing a little more but I'm not a coach, I'm a player. And what we did is what we did. We win together, we lose together and we lost so I don't point fingers."

After Oregon State tied the score with 16 seconds left before halftime behind Bernard's two-yard touchdown run, the Beavers' run defense took care of the rest.

"It's devastating," Lattimore said.