Postgame interviews from Sept 22nd at WVA
| randy_edsall_postgame_9-22-12.mp3 |
| stefon_diggs_9-22-12.mp3 |
Mountaineers Outlast Terps 31-21
By: Euan McCreath
September 23, 2012
Morgantown West Virginia- The 2-1 Maryland Terrapins headed to West Virginia to face the undefeated and number eight ranked West Virginia Mountaineers on Saturday afternoon hoping to pull a huge upset. The Mountaineers entered the game as a 24-point favorite and rightly so after averaging over 55 points per game in earning their top ten ranking and their 2-0 record.
While most of the praise around the country regarding the West Virginia program is attributed to their quick strike potent offense it was the Mountaineer defense that struck first. In the first quarter on a second a four from the West Virginia 30 yard line the Mountaineers blitzed and just as Maryland quarterback Perry Hills was about to hand the ball off he was tackled by safety Darwin Cook that lead to a fumble. The ball was then scooped up by linebacker Doug Red who sprinted 51-yards for a touchdown to put the Mountaineers up 7-0. With just over four minutes to go in the first quarter the Mountaineers had the ball on the Terrapin 44-yard line when quarterback Gino Smith hit wide receiver Tevon Austin on a seven yard slant but poor tackling and bad angles by the secondary lead Austin into the open field and down the sidelines for a touchdown, his third touchdown of the season and Geno’s tenth of the year. The touchdown pass increased the lead to 14-0.
In this situation, in my opinion you can find out a lot about your quarterback, on the road, down two touchdowns and in a hostile environment with a true freshman under center. In a seemingly must score situation quarterback Perry Hills came through. With the ball on the Mountaineer 42-yard line Hills executed a beautiful play action fake then he hit wide open receiver Stephon Diggs for a touchdown to cut the lead in half. The Terps quickly got the ball back and began to march down the field again. It was Hills again making a big play this time hitting Marcus Leak on a 12-yard slant capping a nine play 64-yard drive that would tie the game. “When you get around Perry and see his demeanor and see his passion you know a guy like that is going to rebound from his setbacks,” commented head coach Randy Edsall. “He did a good job executing the game plan but we have to do a better job protecting him.”
West Virginia would then add a field goal before Smith went to work again hooking up with Tavon Austin for another touchdown, this one from 24 yards out. The Mountaineers took a 24-14 lead into halftime.
Defense would reign supreme in the third quarter with both teams being held scoreless. Early in the fourth quarter on a second down and 19 from the Maryland 39 yard line Hills found Marcus Leak on a short pass and Leak made some nifty moves and scampered up field and was close to the first down when he fumbled the ball and West Virginia recovered. “I’m disappointed that we made some of the errors that we committed. The thing that we have to do is to do a better job securing the ball,” added Edsall after the game.
As any good team will do they will capitalize on their opponent’s mistakes and that’s exactly what the Mountaineers did driving to the Maryland 34 yard line where they faced a third down and 15. Smith went back to work and again he found his favorite receiver Tavon Austin again for a huge touchdown increasing to increase the West Virginia lead to 31-14 with eight minutes left. Hills then answered with a 56-yard touchdown to Stephon Diggs whose explosive speed and illusiveness were one again on display for the Terrapin offense get ting Maryland back in the game 31-21. Then the Terrapin defense forced a three and out so Maryland got the ball back with just under six minutes left to play down by ten and with all three timeouts remaining. From midfield the Terrapins were driving when Hills was sacked by an unblocked defender and then threw the ball. The in the grasp call was compounded by an intentional grounding call to seal the game for West Virginia.
If anything you could say that the Terps played right with the number eight ranked team in the country. Their freshman quarterback played very well under the gun as the future looks bright for the Maryland program. “There are no moral victories in this game. We’re learning things each week but we have some things that happen from one week to the next that you just shake your head at,” added Edsall after the ten point loss.
Wide receiver Stephon Diggs played great, although he caught only three passes he made them all count amassing 113 yards and two touchdowns. “You can always do better, I just try and do my job and make big plays. We have a young team and we will continue to do better,” commented Diggs after his stellar performance. I really believe to get to the next level the Terrapins must develop a running game. Starting running back Brandon Ross carried the ball 20 times for a mere 52 yards, averaging less than three yards per carry. “At this level you have to be able to run the football. We are going to run the football and we will get better at it,” commented Edsall.
Once again turnovers played a key role in the outcome of the game. Marcus Leak’s fumble could have been a 14 or ten point turnaround and playing such a talented explosive team like West Virginia it was just too much to overcome. Quarterback Perry Hills had a very efficient day passing completing 20 of 29 passes for three touchdowns as he plays continues to improve. “Things are definitely starting to slow down for me, but there is so much we have to improve on. I will be watching a lot of film during the bye week to get better,” remarked Hills after the game.
Mountaineer quarterback Geno Smith showed why his name has been mentioned in the same sentence as the Heisman Trophy as he completed 30-of-43 passes for 338 yards and three touchdowns.
The Mountaineers will stay at home to face Baylor next week while the Terrapins have an extra week to prepare for a home game against ACC rival Wake Forest on October 6th.
By: Euan McCreath
September 23, 2012
Morgantown West Virginia- The 2-1 Maryland Terrapins headed to West Virginia to face the undefeated and number eight ranked West Virginia Mountaineers on Saturday afternoon hoping to pull a huge upset. The Mountaineers entered the game as a 24-point favorite and rightly so after averaging over 55 points per game in earning their top ten ranking and their 2-0 record.
While most of the praise around the country regarding the West Virginia program is attributed to their quick strike potent offense it was the Mountaineer defense that struck first. In the first quarter on a second a four from the West Virginia 30 yard line the Mountaineers blitzed and just as Maryland quarterback Perry Hills was about to hand the ball off he was tackled by safety Darwin Cook that lead to a fumble. The ball was then scooped up by linebacker Doug Red who sprinted 51-yards for a touchdown to put the Mountaineers up 7-0. With just over four minutes to go in the first quarter the Mountaineers had the ball on the Terrapin 44-yard line when quarterback Gino Smith hit wide receiver Tevon Austin on a seven yard slant but poor tackling and bad angles by the secondary lead Austin into the open field and down the sidelines for a touchdown, his third touchdown of the season and Geno’s tenth of the year. The touchdown pass increased the lead to 14-0.
In this situation, in my opinion you can find out a lot about your quarterback, on the road, down two touchdowns and in a hostile environment with a true freshman under center. In a seemingly must score situation quarterback Perry Hills came through. With the ball on the Mountaineer 42-yard line Hills executed a beautiful play action fake then he hit wide open receiver Stephon Diggs for a touchdown to cut the lead in half. The Terps quickly got the ball back and began to march down the field again. It was Hills again making a big play this time hitting Marcus Leak on a 12-yard slant capping a nine play 64-yard drive that would tie the game. “When you get around Perry and see his demeanor and see his passion you know a guy like that is going to rebound from his setbacks,” commented head coach Randy Edsall. “He did a good job executing the game plan but we have to do a better job protecting him.”
West Virginia would then add a field goal before Smith went to work again hooking up with Tavon Austin for another touchdown, this one from 24 yards out. The Mountaineers took a 24-14 lead into halftime.
Defense would reign supreme in the third quarter with both teams being held scoreless. Early in the fourth quarter on a second down and 19 from the Maryland 39 yard line Hills found Marcus Leak on a short pass and Leak made some nifty moves and scampered up field and was close to the first down when he fumbled the ball and West Virginia recovered. “I’m disappointed that we made some of the errors that we committed. The thing that we have to do is to do a better job securing the ball,” added Edsall after the game.
As any good team will do they will capitalize on their opponent’s mistakes and that’s exactly what the Mountaineers did driving to the Maryland 34 yard line where they faced a third down and 15. Smith went back to work and again he found his favorite receiver Tavon Austin again for a huge touchdown increasing to increase the West Virginia lead to 31-14 with eight minutes left. Hills then answered with a 56-yard touchdown to Stephon Diggs whose explosive speed and illusiveness were one again on display for the Terrapin offense get ting Maryland back in the game 31-21. Then the Terrapin defense forced a three and out so Maryland got the ball back with just under six minutes left to play down by ten and with all three timeouts remaining. From midfield the Terrapins were driving when Hills was sacked by an unblocked defender and then threw the ball. The in the grasp call was compounded by an intentional grounding call to seal the game for West Virginia.
If anything you could say that the Terps played right with the number eight ranked team in the country. Their freshman quarterback played very well under the gun as the future looks bright for the Maryland program. “There are no moral victories in this game. We’re learning things each week but we have some things that happen from one week to the next that you just shake your head at,” added Edsall after the ten point loss.
Wide receiver Stephon Diggs played great, although he caught only three passes he made them all count amassing 113 yards and two touchdowns. “You can always do better, I just try and do my job and make big plays. We have a young team and we will continue to do better,” commented Diggs after his stellar performance. I really believe to get to the next level the Terrapins must develop a running game. Starting running back Brandon Ross carried the ball 20 times for a mere 52 yards, averaging less than three yards per carry. “At this level you have to be able to run the football. We are going to run the football and we will get better at it,” commented Edsall.
Once again turnovers played a key role in the outcome of the game. Marcus Leak’s fumble could have been a 14 or ten point turnaround and playing such a talented explosive team like West Virginia it was just too much to overcome. Quarterback Perry Hills had a very efficient day passing completing 20 of 29 passes for three touchdowns as he plays continues to improve. “Things are definitely starting to slow down for me, but there is so much we have to improve on. I will be watching a lot of film during the bye week to get better,” remarked Hills after the game.
Mountaineer quarterback Geno Smith showed why his name has been mentioned in the same sentence as the Heisman Trophy as he completed 30-of-43 passes for 338 yards and three touchdowns.
The Mountaineers will stay at home to face Baylor next week while the Terrapins have an extra week to prepare for a home game against ACC rival Wake Forest on October 6th.
