Senior Moments

Players called Navarre's halftime address "raw emotion," a much-needed outburst by a senior who rarely offers one. Senior offensive lineman Dane Randolph said the message to younger players was, "If the seniors who don't say much are saying something, that means we really need to listen to that person."

The defense made subtle tweaks, and Navarre galvanized the team with his energy. In the second half, Clemson ran for just 26 yards, and Maryland rallied to win one of the more memorable comebacks in Friedgen's career.

'A Vital Meeting'

Jaimie Thomas had seen enough uneven performances by October's first weekend, so he grabbed his cellphone and started text messaging seniors. Maryland had just suffered an inexplicable 31-0 pounding at the hands of then-struggling Virginia, and Thomas was intent on preventing the season from further fraying.

Fellow seniors were not surprised when Thomas scheduled a seniors-only meeting in the offensive line room on the afternoon of Monday, Oct. 6.

"There was starting to be a disconnect," Muhtadi said. "It was a vital meeting. As you will have with any football team, there is a lot of resistance with the younger players. We felt they really did not know the opportunity that we have this year."

Players moved 30 desks in a circle so players could see one another. There were disagreements, but no arguments. Some players felt coaches needed to change. Others said players were at fault. And still others pointed to themselves for being selfish.

The hour-long meeting produced two important conclusions. When players broke the team huddle in practice, they would shout something about the next opponent and never again holler "ACC champs!" as they had been doing all season. Seniors also vowed to hold younger players accountable, even if that meant getting in their faces after miscues.

"Don't be afraid to say something to a guy," Thomas said. "This is our team, and we're only going to go as far as we lead us."

'A Pivotal Moment'

All season, center Edwin Williams had answered questions about the struggles of the offensive line. For nine days, he had listened to critics remind him of Maryland's minus-12 rushing yards at Virginia Tech.

Williams and fellow linemen decided last Saturday's game against North Carolina was a now-or-never opportunity for his unit. And trailing by one point with less than two minutes left, Maryland appeared to face fourth and goal inside the Tar Heels 1.

Williams flared his arms, thumped his chest and implored Friedgen to lean on the line so the Terrapins could pound the ball across the goal line.

"Heck, yeah, everybody wanted to go for it," Williams said. "You can trust the offensive line for 200 yards and not give me six inches? Who wouldn't want to go for it? Six inches."

Replay overturned the previous play, which meant Maryland settled for a 26-yard field goal and Friedgen never had to make the fourth-down decision. But Williams's histrionics reflected the confidence he had in the line, which played its best game of the season and helped Maryland's running backs amass 215 yards.

"It was a pivotal moment," Randolph said. "Emotions can take over; emotions can win games. It showed the confidence the line had. It was our personal challenge."