Did anyone else feel like they were watching the National Geographic Channel on Saturday night? The documentary where the bear is in the stream and just going crazy smacking salmon around, because that was how it felt sitting in the stands at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley. We obviously were the salmon trying to make it up stream, and Cal was…well you can probably figure the rest of the analogy out by yourself.
Anyway, after the game Maryland had against Cal, all you can do is hope to move on. With a veteran team it usually gets a little easier, with a team full of underclassmen, well you hope for the best. As we were riding the B.A.R.T. Train out of Berkeley, a Cal fan standing next to us said “Well at least next week you get to play James Madison, that should get you guys in the win column.”.
Though that was coming from a Cal fan with good intentions, the message could not be any more wrong. Maryland has a huge game against JMU coming up. As of now, the Terps have two guys that played well on Saturday, Da’Rel Scott, and Nick Ferrara. Maryland can not take a “Hey lets show up and get our win” attitude this weekend.
They need to have a great game from the offensive line to establish their confidence and they need to play penalty and turnover free football. It needs to be a game that empties the stadium in the third quarter, where Jamar Robinson is getting mop up time because the game is in hand, not because Chris Turner has already been sacked half a dozen times. And if they think they can show up and expect James Madison to allow this to happen, they are going to be mistaken.
These types of games are always tough. On paper, it is hard to get excited for JMU, but on the other side of the football, it is really easy for JMU to get excited for us. They are going to have their adrenaline running, and they are going to be ready. That means Maryland is going to have to be ready too. With a veteran team, that isn’t a problem. Look at how we felt after Middle Tennessee State last year. We fans all thought it was the end of an era, and we were back in the 90’s. But that team bounced back beating Cal, Eastern Michigan, and Clemson in Death Valley to set the tone for the season.
So don’t go into this Saturday thinking it is Maryland’s right to win this game. The Terps have to prepare hard all week, and then execute on Saturday. If they can do that, then yes we could get that easy win that the Cal fan on the subway was expecting, but if we don’t, then getting blown out in Berkeley could just be the beginning of larger problems to come. Let’s hope this game is a springboard to something better, and not another rock for us to stumble over. Because if I learned anything this weekend, it’s much better to be the bear than the fish.
Tags: Cal, Chris Turner, Da'Rel Scott, Jamar Robinson, JMU, Nick Ferrara, Terps
Penalties and the early turnover killed MD against Cal, it was over before it started. If they can eliminate the penalties against JMU it should be an easy victory for the Terps which will lead them into their revenge game with Middle Tennessee State.