Look West for the Stars

Friedgen was convinced the 45-24 rout the Terps suffered last year in Morgantown actually gave him a clue as to how resilient his team would become. Down 28-0 in a humiliating first quarter, they regrouped at halftime and outscored West Virginia in the final two quarters. A surreal comeback in Charlottesville and five riveting wins later, Maryland was bowl-bound for the first time in three years.

But voters had a hard time shaking that Thursday night national-television meltdown. The Terps weren't ranked until after beating Clemson in early November. With no other college football viewing options, how Maryland fell apart on ESPN against West Virginia early is what people outside greater Washington remembered about Friedgen's program. Don't think potential five-star recruits weren't watching, either.

If any of those same players watched last night, they saw Friedgen's team reinvigorated, holding its own against a bona fide national title contender. West Virginia had a first and goal from the Maryland 2 and could not come away with points. Take away the fumbled snap on the first play from scrimmage, and the Terps were successfully trading punches with the Mountaineers. "I thought, 'Here we go again,' " Friedgen said, referring to the fumble. "But our kids didn't do that."

Defensive end Jeremy Navarre and Erin Henderson were hurting people. Steffy couldn't miss early, connecting on his first five passes. The way in which the Terps marched down the field 4 minutes 22 seconds after West Virginia took a gift fumble and scored gave the impression that the Mountaineers were in for a decent fight.

The stadium was rocking those first two quarters: the students in their black T-shirts, the boosters in their candy-apple red and an almost-in-shock athletic department, the same people who buried their heads in Morgantown a year ago and shuffled back to College Park in a state of depression.

There was no such crestfallen feeling this year. But there was another West Virginia victory by more than two touchdowns. And just when you thought the Terps had seen the last of players such as Slaton and White, both seniors, along comes some freshman to put the game away with a demoralizing run out of that same damn spread option.

Lucky for Friedgen, Devine and his team aren't on Maryland's schedule for the next two seasons.

Do the Terps come away feeling good they stayed with West Virginia early and didn't buckle until late? Or is this looked back upon as a referendum on a rivalry tilting in the Mountaineers' favor four years running?

Either way, a year later, Maryland gave its fans a few good reasons to get off the couch against West Virginia -- but still not enough to sprinkle lighter fluid on it.