Byrd Stadium

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - When it came down to it, it was mind over matter for the Maryland football team. And in the end on Saturday, the Terrapins proved they didn't mind when it mattered the most. In 14 previous attempts, Maryland had failed to beat Florida State. The Seminoles were the toothache that came after biting in a jawbreaker when it came to the Terps' program. It only took 14 times, but coach Ralph Friedgen finally said, "Enough is enough. " "I challenged the team all the way back during the team banquet last February," an emotional Friedgen said Saturday.

keller@herald-mail.com COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland Terrapins football team under coach Ralph Friedgen is now traveling in uncharted territory. Since returning to his alma mater in 2001, Friedgen's program has enjoyed a series of highs - an Atlantic Coast Conference title, a BCS bowl bid, three straight 10-win seasons and back-to-back bowl game victories. But now, Friedgen and the Terrapins are finding out what it's like to see more teams in front of them than behind them.

bobp@herald-mail.com COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The University of Maryland endured something worse than an embarrassing loss last Saturday. While Georgia Tech taught the Terrapins' struggling offense a painful lesson, Maryland also received a vocabulary lesson. Unfortunately, the word of the day was "Booooooo. " For the first time in the Ralph Friedgen era, the Maryland natives became restless with the play of the Terrapins. Fans sitting in Byrd Stadium unleashed an opera in boo flat as quarterback Joel Statham failed to move the offense and Maryland lost some of its magic touch that suddenly came with a winning record.

bobp@herald-mail.com COLLEGE PARK, Md. - University of Maryland football coach Ralph Friedgen went on the offense Tuesday. He can only hope his Terrapins will do the same on Saturday. After a weekend where the Terps turned in their worst performance in Friedgen's three-plus years at the helm, the coach was stern, strapped in and ready for action. There is one question that he has been asked constantly since the lethargic 20-7 loss to Georgia Tech and it was the obvious first question of his weekly media conference on Tuesday.

bobp@herald-mail.com COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Maryland football coach Ralph Friedgen is about ready to adopt a Donald Trump attitude. It's getting to the point where the Terrapins must perform, or be ready to hear "You're fired. " It became obvious that the apprenticeships are over on the Maryland football team as Georgia Tech did everything but force Maryland's offense to claim Chapter 11. The No. 23 Terps looked bankrupt in a 20-7 pounding by Georgia Tech on Saturday before the fifth-largest crowd ever at Byrd Stadium.

bobp@herald-mail.com COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Joel Statham plays for the Fridge but thinks like the Bear. Saturday's game was the next step in the University of Maryland quarterback's maturation process as the leader of the Terrapins offense. Saturday was a time to get comfortable, improve on his skills and do what it would take to get the Terps headed in the right direction. The sophomore quarterback did all that while listening to coach Ralph Friedgen's advice and remembering an old Paul "Bear" Bryant quote about success.

bobp@herald-mail.com COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Byrd Stadium will host either a college football game or a butterfly collectors' convention on Saturday. The University of Maryland is scheduled to play Northern Illinois in its season opener on that day. But there is some uneasiness about the game, especially on the Terps' sideline. "I think I have more butterflies this year than I did for my first game," said Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen. "I really don't know how this team is going to react because it's so young.

bobp@herald-mail.com COLLEGE PARK, Md. - University of Maryland football coach Ralph Friedgen likes to keep his teams feeling young at heart. During his first three seasons with the Terrapins, Friedgen did his level best to keep a lot of pressure off his team so the players would perform well and have fun. In 2004, though, it won't be difficult for Friedgen to grasp that feeling. The Terps are not only young at heart, they are young at quarterback, young at lineman, young at defensive back ... Face it, the Terps are young all over.

Many moons ago, I got a lesson that has become my motto. It's simple. "It's not what you say, it's how you say it. " Not exactly the Golden Rule, but those 10 words have become a way of life and a loose-fitting guide to my professional and personal life. Words are great if you learn how to use them. There's fat and portly. Or ditzy and colorful. Even bald and folliclely challenged. The first terms are blunt; the latter softly gets to the point. Suddenly, the world of sports is realizing that all participation straddles that thin line between what's being said and how it's being said.

bobp@herald-mail.com MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Grant Wiley isn't looking to have any tearful, fuzzy moments on Thursday. In fact, West Virginia University's All-American linebacker isn't planning any warm handshakes for Maryland quarterback Scott McBrien. "I'm still friends with him but that's old news," Wiley said of McBrien, a former teammate who transferred to Maryland. "The only thing I plan to do when I see him is to hit him. " So much for friendship. So much for holiday cheer.