The highlights that you can take away from the 2008 Maryland Terrapin football campaign are about as numerous as the low points, and the fact that they are fairly middlin’ will save them from extra scrutiny this year.
But not in 2009.
A look at the 2008 all-ACC football teams will give you insight into what kind of season, and what kind of program is in College Park. Two offensive first teamers in running back Da’Rel Scott and center Edwin Williams, a second-team linebacker in Alex Wujciak, and a first team punter in Travis Baltz.
Five more Terps made honorable mention, including receiver Darius Heyward-Bey, tight end Dan Gronkowski, offensive linemen Scott Burley and Jaimie Thomas, and defensive lineman Jeremy Navarre.
They’ll never contend for a national championship, and the luxury is that the university doesn’t have those expectations. Maryland is about as close to being a football breeding ground as Gary Williams is to landing a top-five basketball recruit from the area. But this year, Ralph Friedgen hit the marks that they missed in 2007; the ability to compete for an ACC championship, and the ability to be nationally ranked.
They can always make a bowl game, but Maryland only needs its football team to be mentioned with the upper crust of ACC football. If they are in the discussion with Virginia Tech, Florida State Boston College and Georgia Tech, they maintain their fan base and minimal recruiting pipeline.
And should the Terps earn the right be crushed by by the Big Ten champion in the FedEx Orange Bowl every now and then, it’s a bonus for the program.
It’s well documented that the Terps can beat the teams they have no business beating, and are like myspace jumpoffs for the teams that have no business beating them. Many internal and external factors will keep the Terps from being more than a Saturday afternoon enigma in the next few years, but give them credit for a season that exceeded expectations and set the bar high for next year.
Again.
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