Grading Out Maryland's Performance Against Florida State

After two straight heartbreaking losses, Maryland has now gone through three blowout defeats. The latter may be preferred (to the fans at least), but to each their own. This one was inevitable - a top-ten team sporting the best defense in the country against an even more injury-riddled Terps team - and Florida State did not disappoint, winning 41-14 in a game they dominated. Let's hand out our grades.

Quarterback: C. It's always tough grading Shawn Petty, because he's now twice thrown a stat-padding touchdown in the last minute and because he's a linebacker playing quarterback, but if you take out the two long Kevin Dorsey completions, he's at 6/17 for 61 yards. That being said, the Dorsey completions happened, so all credit goes to Petty (at least on the first one. Florida State could not have cared less on the second). Add in nine rushes for 14 yards (not including five sacks that lost him 46), and it's not a great day, but he's still a linebacker playing quarterback.

Running Backs: D. After last week's Brandon Ross break-out, the freshman from Delaware came back to Earth, running 11 times for 30 yards. Albert Reid had two carries for six yards, and Justus Pickett ran twice for one yard. Losing Wes Brown hurts, big time.

Wide Receivers: B+. Stefon Diggs didn't have his usual unbelievable touchdown play, but he still had eight touches for 74 yards, including a 23-yard rush and a 23-yard reception. The star, of course, was Dorsey, who caught two passes, both for touchdowns. Nigel King was the only other receiver with a catch on the day.

Offensive Line: F. It's hard to expect really anything against the Panzer Tank combo at end for Florida State, but Petty was sacked five times (fumbling once) and the aforementioned running backs averaged around 2.5 yards per carry. The line was unable to push or hold tight when the situation called for either.

Defensive Line: D-. How the mighty have fallen. No one on the line got a sack in the game, and what was once Maryland's best unit on the field had a poor game, combining for 14 tackles. That includes a combined eight from Isaiah Ross and Quinton Jefferson, and only three total from Joe Vellano and A.J. Francis.

Linebackers: B. Kenneth Tate had a game reminiscent of his Florida State performance of two years ago, with seven tackles and all of Maryland's three sacks, but it was L.A. Goree who had a breakout game. Filling in for the injured Demetrius Hartsfield, he had a game-high 13 tackles, with Cole Farrand right behind him at eight. The two middle linebackers played well throughout the game, and Farrand was able to force a fumble.

Secondary: C. Matt Robinson got an interception and the two safeties combined for 13 tackles, but E.J. Manuel toasted the Terps all day, completing 17 of 23 passes.

Special Teams: B. Nate Renfro finally shows up when it doesn't matter, averaging 43.3 yards per punt on seven attempts, but Levern Jacobs is subpar on kick returns (17.0 yards per return plus a fumble lost). No field goal attempts for Brad Craddock or Brendan Magistro.

Now, three things Maryland can do instead of going to Chapel Hill to face North Carolina on Saturday.

1. Study. Finals are coming up! Don't want the student-athletes to slack off on the first part of that designation.

2. Watch a movie. Always a fun activity. The players could get a party together, with popcorn and big chairs and maybe watch Remember the Titans or something.

3. Go Hiking. Hiking is fun! You get to see nature, and it's physical activity, if the players find themselves missing that aspect of football. It's not a contact sport, unless you count contact with the Earth! jk lol