Maryland vs. North Carolina 2012: Terps had an up-and-down day

The Maryland Terrapins football team ended its season Saturday with a narrow 45-38 loss to the University of North Carolina.

Dave Tucker of Testudo Times saw flashes of greatness from the Terrapins on Saturday, but it wasn't enough to earn a season-ending victory:

So that brings an end to the 2012 football season. It was clear that this team was light years better than the one we saw in 2011. Had they not been ravaged by injuries, they'd probably have won seven or eight games this season and be in position to go to a decent bowl game. But alas, Maryland fans are going to have to settle on the fact that this team has the talent to compete, will return a lot of experienced players next season, and might have one of the best receiving corps in the country next year, between Stefon Diggs, Nigel King, Deon Long, and Marcus Leak. Add that to what should be a very interesting quarterback battle in the spring and Maryland could have a very prolific offense in 2013.

At one point during Maryland's brief streak of excellence Saturday, Tucker wrote, you forgot "how decimated this team had been by injuries. You didn't remember that we'd only won 6 games over the last two seasons. You could be proud of Maryland football."

Maryland finished the 2012 season with a 4-8 record. In the ACC, the Terps finished 2-6.

The Terrapins started the year 2-0 and won four of their first six games. But the last half of the season was where it all went wrong. Maryland ended the year on a six-game losing streak, with losses against powerhouses Clemson and Florida State.

There weren't many bright spots for Maryland this season. One was freshman wide receiver Stefon Diggs. Diggs played in 11 games and caught 54 passes for 848 yards and six touchdowns.