COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland Terrapins lost a very close game today to the West Virginia Mountaineers, but it didn't start out that way. The Terps trailed by as much as 24 points in the second half before mounting a furious comeback that ultimately came up just short in the 37-31. Here a summary of quotes from Coach Randy Edsall and some of the players following a disappointing loss to their riva.
Randy Edsall:
On the game: "I'm very disappointed in the outcome of the game. I thought that we made too many errors out there. We had a chance to win the ballgame at the end but we didn't get it done. There are things that we have to work on; every week there are going to be things that we have to work on. I'm very disappointed that we didn't come out on top because that's what we're shooting for."
On Danny O'Brien's performance: "I love Danny O'Brien. Danny played hard. He played his heart out, but he made a few mistakes. The quarterback is always going to get criticized. He is a great young man and he will get better from watching this film. He will make the corrections. He is out there playing as hard as anyone and I love the kid to death. I thought maybe he tried to put a little bit too much on himself. He needs to go out there and just let it happen. Once he did that in the second half, I think you saw a different guy out there compared to the first half. We did a couple of different things in the second half based on what we were seeing from them. Danny will be fine."
On the comeback, and the team's character: "That's what I expect from these kids. I don't expect any quit. On a Randy Edsall-coached football team, there are never going to be any quitters. If there is someone who is going to be a quitter they aren't going to be on this team. If you can't go out there each and every time you play the game and play a full 60 minutes there is no purpose to play this game. I would be very disappointed if that ever happened. I respect the game too much and I know the kids respect the game too much to do anything other than give their very best effort. I guarantee that's what you will see out of Maryland football. We didn't get it done today because West Virginia is a good team and we made some mistakes. I guarantee you every day you will get the best effort out of this program. That's what we should be doing, and that's what the people who support this program deserve."
Danny O'Brien:
On his three interceptions: "You can't turn the ball over three times at the quarterback position and expect to beat a ranked team. That's really what it comes down to. I thought the line did great, we ran the ball well. We just can't turn the ball over."
On the final turnover that sealed the game: "We had a chance to win. The defense held them to three, kept us in it, but I just gotta get on the same page, like we should have been. We get that play we probably win if we get that."
Kevin Dorsey:
On the comeback: "The crowd was into it to, and that played a huge factor. You start scoring over and over and over and you start having definitive drives, the crowd really gets into it. that plays into the other team. We noticed it after a while, we had momentum with each and every drive and each and every series. Like I said, we had the opportunity at the end to put it away. We just have to execute."
Kenny Tate:
On what Edsall said at halftime: "Coach said to have the will to win. We don't like losing at home. We don't like West Virginia. It was just, we had to have that desire in our heart to give it on every play."
On how they handled the early adversity: "We started to feel sorry for ourselves a little bit, but we just had to re-group and keep our composure. At halftime, we just said that we have to come out and give it our all. You can see in the second half that we made a turn around. Just built too big of a hole."
Joe Vellano:
On trying to get after the quarterback, and the comeback in general: "It's tough, you can win clean, then [they have] such quick passes. You can't get frustrated with that. If you win, then you go to get there and the balls already out, you just gotta keep fighting. Definitely frustrates you with that. I think we got after him sometimes. We had to take away their screen passes which were huge. They hurt us on that one play in the fourth quarter they got us on one of them. I thought everybody battled. I think the biggest thing really was that everyone went into the locker room at halftime and coach talked to us; you gota play every play. It was right down to the wire and it could have gone either way."
Andrew Gonnella:
On Danny O'Brien's performance: "I think Danny played great. You know, sometimes people don't know is that an interception could be a mater of many people's mistakes and faults. So I think that Danny played great, and we spread the blame across our entire team. We're ready to ride with Danny until the end."
On the lessons the team can take from this game: "I don't think we really need to be rallied. We beat ourselves, we know that. We know we can hang with top-20 teams, we just showed it. Unfortunately we didn't close, and now we just have to take this feeling, walking off the field hearing our opponent's fans cheering, and not ours. Take that feeling and use it as fuel for the next game."
For more on this game, visit this StoryStream. For more on the Terps, head on over toTestudo Times, and for a view from behind enemy lines, try SB Nation Pittsburgh and The Smoking Musket.