SB Nation DC - Maryland Vs. Florida State: C.J. Brown Injured As Seminoles Run All Over Terps, 41-16

BCS Rankings, Week 9: Clemson Tigers Climb Two Spots, Now Ranked No. 5

2011-10-24T01:26:58Z

Clemson continued their high-scoring ways Saturday, blowing out the North Carolina Tar Heels 59-38, and the undefeated Tigers are now ranked No. 5 in the latest BCS Standings, two spots higher than last week. Clemson is one of only two ACC teams to make the Week 9 BCS Top 25 rankings. Virginia Tech, 30-14 victors over Boston College on Saturday, check in at No. 12, the same slot they a week ago.

The LSU Tigers and Alabama Crimson Tide maintained the first and second positions, with Oklahoma State, Boise State and Clemson rounding out the Top 5.

Here are the complete Week 9 BCS Standings:

1 LSU
2 Alabama
3 Oklahoma State
4 Boise State
5 Clemson
6 Stanford
7 Oregon
8 Kansas State
9 Oklahoma
10 Arkansas
11 Michigan State
12 Virginia Tech
13 South Carolina
14 Nebraska
15 Wisconsin
16 Texas A&M
17 Houston
18 Michigan
19 Penn State
20 Texas Tech
21 Arizona State
22 Georgia
23 Auburn
24 Texas
25 West Virginia

For more on the Week 9 college football rankings, check out SB Nation's comprehensive StoryStream.

Maryland Football Is Rebuilding A Year Early, But Whose Fault Is That?

2011-10-23T13:00:12Z

The 2010 ACC Rookie of the Year began the game against Florida State with a headset, a shadow of the player he was last season. The 2011 preseason all-ACC defender was on the bench for a different reason, but when he played, he looked lost in a new position, like a young kid on his first day at a new school. The depth chart was littered with names nobody knew coming into the season. The scoreboard? Let's just say it reflected the talent disparity between the two teams.

The Maryland football team that lost 41-16 on Saturday to fall to 2-5 on the season didn't come close to resembling the one we all expected to see coming into the season. The Terps we expected to see in Randy Edsall's first season should have exceeded -- or at least resembled -- the 9-4 team we saw in Ralph Friedgen's final year. Enough key players returned to the point where big things should have been expected. Instead, everything, from the players down to the attire, is unrecognizable.

What happened? Who is to blame? The answer to the first question is simple. The answer to the second one is not, despite what many frustrated supporters might think.

There are a couple reasons why the 2011 Maryland football team has been so disappointing. Injuries have been a killer. When names like Kenny Tate, Kevin Dorsey, Demetrius Hartsfield, Darin Drakeford, Andrew Gonnella and Andre Monroe are on the sidelines, it eventually has an effect. Don't underestimate the effect of the self-imposed sanctions that limited practice time either. The amount of hours lost wasn't much, but it was a competitive disadvantage against their opponents.

Mostly, though, the 2011 Terps have suffered because the program was rebuilt a year too early. With all the returning players on both sides of the ball, this was a year where the new system should have been phased in slowly, with Edsall riding his returning talent the way Friedgen did when he took over the program. Instead, the entire fabric of the program has been change. Don't let Edsall's denial on this subject fool you. If it walks like a rebuild and quacks like a rebuild, then it is a rebuild.

How was it a rebuild? For one, there's the way Edsall has come in as the new sheriff in town, disciplining players and running what some have described as a "militaristic atmosphere." Before the season began, he ordered the removal of player names from the backs of jerseys, and he's suspended several players for misconduct. No matter how you feel about these actions, it's a clear sign that Edsall believes the team culture needs to be rebuilt. Edsall himself inadvertently revealed this when giving this quote.

"If you want to be who we want to be, and if you want to be who you want to be as a person, you’ve got to want that accountability. We have made a lot of progress, but when you instill a philosophy it does take time. It is not one of those things that happens overnight, but we are a lot better now than where we were."

For another, the team's offensive and defensive systems are completely different. Under new offensive coordinator Gary Crowton, the Terps have become more of a short-passing and hurry-up team. All throughout the spring and summer, Crowton drilled the players to pick up the tempo. As we've found out this season, that's not something Danny O'Brien and many of his teammates do well.

Then, there's the defense. With the help of new defensive coordinator Todd Bradford, Edsall decided it would be smart to take his best defensive player and change his position. Tate was an all-ACC caliber safety last year, but that didn't stop Edsall and Bradford from moving him to the STAR linebacker position. The logic at the time was that it played to Tate's strength to be closer to the line of scrimmage. Instead, before getting hurt, Tate was getting blocked more easily and the secondary was a disaster without his guidance.

New culture, new offensive system, new defensive system ... is there any denying that the rebuilding has begun? There was too much talent to rebuild this year, and yet, Edsall and Maryland has rebuilt. So the only logical conclusion is to direct our ire towards Edsall, right?

Well, hold on a second. Let's remember the timeline of events from last December until now.

Offensive coordinator and coach-in-waiting James Franklin leaves for Vanderbilt.
Stuck in a tough situation and unwilling to give him a long-term contract, Kevin Anderson fires Friedgen. A month of hurt feelings follow, with Maryland looking in disarray even though one could argue Franklin's departure forced Anderson's hand.
A clumsy national search is conducted. Fans seem to want Mike Leach, and some reports even indicate Leach gets hired. Instead, Edsall comes aboard just days (hours?) after his Connecticut Huskies got blown out in the Fiesta Bowl.
Edsall hires Crowton to run his offense. This is the one decision you can pin directly on Edsall. Crowton's stock really fell with some ineffective years in LSU, and his system just hasn't worked here.
Edsall hoped to have Don Brown, the incredibly underrated defensive coordinator that shepherded Maryland's strong defense in 2010. Instead, Brown abruptly returned to Connecticut to be closer to his family, a move Edsall said he had "no clue" was coming.
Stuck without a defensive coordinator and with most taken by February, Edsall tries to recruit Randy Shannon, which doesn't work. Eventually, he's forced to promote Bradford.
The news of Maryland's academic woes trickles in during the spring, and Maryland finally imposes sanctions in July that limit its practice time.

Given all of these events, Maryland kind of had to begin rebuilding a year early. When Edsall was hired, he had no offensive coordinator. Soon after he was hired, he lost his defensive coordinator without any time to replace him. His program was hit with self-imposed sanctions that were for things he didn't do. The players may have been held over from the Friedgen era, but the infrastructure in spots where it counted looked completely different by necessity.

This isn't to say Edsall is blameless for where this program has gone. Removing the names from the jerseys seems a bit heavy-handed. Hiring Crowton appears to be a mistake. There are several other ways he could have phased in his culture slower to make his current players a bit more comfortable. But ultimately, Edsall himself didn't shepherd the rebuild. The rebuild was in progress before Edsall even got here and became more pronounced due to several factors beyond Edsall's control.

This is why seven games isn't enough time to judge Edsall. Washington D.C. is no stranger to sports rebuilds, so we all know that the toughest part is the beginning. Make no mistake about it: Edsall is off to a bad start. But as much as it pains us, there's really no way to judge the fruits of Edsall's later until he gets some players who really fit what he is trying to do.

Will Edsall get to where we want him to get? Perhaps yes, perhaps no, but it's a little too soon to say one way or the other. Until then, the uniforms are interesting to talk about at least.

For more on the Terps, visit Testudo Times.

C.J. Brown Injury Update: Terrapins Quarterback Was Medically Cleared To Return, But Held Out By Head Coach

2011-10-23T00:28:50Z

The Maryland Terrapins were manhandled by the Florida State Seminoles Saturday afternoon, losing 41-16 in the Sunshine State. To make matters worse, starting quarterback C.J. Brown was knocked out of the game early in the second half after a vicious hit by Florida State's Nigel Bradham. Brown reappeared on the sideline not too long after the hit, and looked like he was ready to play. And apparently, according to Brown himself, he was medically cleared to come back in, but coach Randy Edsall kept him out of the game and stuck with replacement Danny O'Brien. Via Jeff Barker of the Baltimore Sun:

@sunjeffbarker
Jeff Barker C.J. Brown said he was medically cleared to return to FSU game. But Terps coach Edsall simply decided to stick with Danny O'Brien.
Oct 23 via webFavorite RetweetReply

The problem of course for Brown, now that we know he is healthy (or so are told) is that O'Brien replaced him and played well in relief. OK, as well as you can play when your team gets hammered by 25 points. O'Brien had a five-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter, and finished nine of 18 on the day for 180 yards and a touchdown through the air. It will be interesting to see how the head robot, er, coach handles this budding quarterback "conversation" throughout the week.

What is it about the D.C. metro area and quarterback carousels?

For more on the aftermath of Maryland vs. Florida State, visit this StoryStream. For more on the Terps, head on over to Testudo Times, and for a view from behind enemy lines, try Tomahawk Nation and SB Nation Tampa Bay.

Maryland Vs. Florida State Final Score: C.J. Brown Hurt, Terrapins Fall 41-16

2011-10-22T23:00:11Z

The Maryland Terrapins knew they had an uphill battle in Tallahassee, but I'm not sure they envisioned the game being quite as difficult as it ended up being. The Terrapins ultimately ended up falling 41-16, with six of their points coming on what would prove to be a meaningless touchdown with the clock almost expired in the fourth quarter.

The big news from this game will be the quarterback situation, which figured to be settled heading in to the game but is now as convoluted as ever. C.J. Brown was largely ineffective before getting knocked out of the game with a pretty brutal hit in the third quarter. Danny O'Brien came into the game and didn't play out of his mind, but he did lead the Terps to their only touchdowns of the day. If Brown is healthy for next week, I'm not sure where the coaching staff will go.

The things that doomed the Terps today proved to be exactly what we expected. The Florida State defense had way too much speed and depth and the Maryland offense failed to get anything going. It was a similar story on the other side of the ball as well. The Terps don't have a lot of depth or talent on defense after all the injuries they have suffered this year and the talent disparity was evident when Florida State had the ball. The Terps just don't have the personnel to stop the Seminoles on defense or get anything going on offense, simple as that.

There was one bright spot today, the performance of wide receiver Quintin McCree. He had only ten receptions on the year coming into the game, but he reeled in nine passes for an impressive 177 yards, including two long bombs that came when O'Brien was in the game. Both of the long passes led to touchdowns, but it just wasn't enough.

The Terps' next game is against Boston College next Saturday in College Park.It will be interesting to see who is the starting quarterback for that one.

For more on the Maryland vs. Florida State game, visit this StoryStream. For more on the Terps, head on over to Testudo Times, and for a view from behind enemy lines, try Tomahawk Nation and SB Nation Tampa Bay.

Maryland Vs. Florida State Score Update: Devonta Freeman Rushing Touchdown Extends Lead To 34-10

2011-10-22T22:41:24Z

Whatever hope of a comeback the Maryland Terrapins held in this game was likely just dashed after a long touchdown run by Devonta Freeman with just over five minutes in the fourth quarter. The Florida State Seminoles now lead 34-10.

Freeman has been gashing the Terps in the fourth quarter for big run after big run, but non were bigger than the 41-yard rush that capped off the last drive. It was the longest rush of his young career. The Terps are now down by three touchdowns and change, and the Terps officially have no chance to come back in this game. But they do still have the chance to put more points on the board and at least make this game respectable.

Maryland Vs. Florida State Score Update: Danny O'Brien In, Terps Trail, 24-10

2011-10-22T22:11:06Z

The insertion of Danny O'Brien into the game at quarterback has caused Maryland to show a little bit of life in their game against Florida State. The Terps still trail by two touchdowns at 24-10, but they still have a slight chance heading into the fourth quarter.

O'Brien led the Terps on one scoring drive, completing a 69-yard pass to Quintin McCree on third down, then taking it in himself three plays later to cut the Seminoles lead to two touchdowns. O'Brien is in after starter C.J. Brown was taken out following a vicious hit by Nigel Bradham. Brown is likely out for the rest of the game.

The Terps have just punted it back to Florida State and the defense must step up now.

Maryland Vs. Florida State Score Update: Danny O'Brien Rushing Touchdown Closes Gap To 24-10

2011-10-22T22:02:31Z

We knew that the Maryland quarterback would be running a lot in this game, we just thought it would be C.J. Brown. After Brown's injury took him out of the game, Danny O'Brien came in, organized a long drive, and capped it off with a 5-yard touchdown run to close the gap to 24-10.

The big play on that drive was a completion from Danny O'Brien to Quintin McCree that went for 70 yards on a third and five. McCree went over the top of one of Florida State's best players in Greg Reid, pulled it down, and ran as far as he could before getting caught from behind. After nearly fumbling the ball on the next play but managing to recover, the Terps were in the endzone shortly thereafter. They gave up a huge kick return on the next kickoff, but if they can get a stop and another touchdown right now, things could get interesting.

Maryland Vs. Florida State Score Update: After Jermaine Thomas Touchdown Run Seminoles Now Lead 24-3

2011-10-22T21:53:55Z

For a while there it looked like the Maryland Terrapins were keeping the Florida State Seminoles within striking distance, and they might be able to pull off a little second-half magic to get back in this game. Then C.J. Brown nearly got decapitated and Florida State marched down the field and scored a long rushing touchdown to take an even more commanding 24-3 lead midway through the third quarter.

Danny O'Brien looked a little rusty and the Terps had to give the ball back quickly. Florida State seemed to just put their heads down and run through the Maryland defense on the resulting possession, which was capped off with a 35-yard touchdown by Jermaine Thomas. The Terps haven't been able to get very much going on offense, and with a quarterback under center who probably didn't get a ton of snaps with the first team during the week, a comeback is hard to imagine. v