Sam Hollenbach

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The battle with Wake Forest for the Atlantic Coast Conference Atlantic Division title Saturday became a wake for the Maryland football team's league title hopes. In a classic battle of college football "can you top this?" the Demon Deacons found a way to trump every Maryland score to take a 38-24 victory and earn a berth against Georgia Tech in next weekend's ACC Championship Game in Jacksonville, Fla. Wake Forest, the only ACC team that's been more of a shocking upstart than Maryland this season, beat the Terps more times to the perimeter and got some clutch play from freshman quarterback Riley Skinner to become the king of the hill in the Atlantic.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Coach Ralph Friedgen's wishes were the University of Maryland's command on Saturday. For six years, Florida State was a huge nemesis for the Terrapins. Maryland would come close, but would fall short in overcoming the Seminoles speed and mystique. Friedgen wondered out loud during his Tuesday media conference. "We have played them tight since I've been here until late in the game," he said. "Last year, we were leading until we turned the ball over a couple of times late in the game.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Jordan Steffy is all about time. His life, his future and his success have come down to his ability to manage it. Time has been of the essence of Steffy's life since he stepped on the University of Maryland campus with the intent to be the quarterback of the Terrapins. He's had to take his time, bide his time, let time pass and work on his timing - all pointing to when his time would come. And that time seems to be now ... in due time. Steffy is precariously sitting atop Maryland's depth chart for quarterbacks as training camp opens for the 2007 season.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - To Josh Portis, practice is a necessary evil. In fact, it is both necessary and evil at the same time. That's the world Portis is living in during the University of Maryland's football training camp. He is a player in the competition for the Terrapins' starting quarterback positions with Jordan Steffy and Chris Turner. By the same token, he is limited to what he can show. Portis, a cousin to the Washington Redskins' Clinton Portis, transferred from the University of Florida for a chance to be the Terps' quarterback.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Ralph Friedgen put the NFL Draft on a personal level. He put himself on the clock, but it's not to select in the first round. It's a self-imposed deadline the University of Maryland football coach has set to pick his starting quarterback for the 2007 season. "I'm not going to take long ... at least a week, maybe a little bit more," Friedgen warned during his news conference Monday at the annual Maryland media day at Byrd Stadium. "I'm anxious to see them practice and see how they did during the summer.

PHILADELPHIA A few days off were enough motivation for Maryland. Mario Merrills ran for three touchdowns, leading the Terrapins to a 38-7 victory over winless Temple on Saturday. Sam Hollenbach passed for 228 yards and ran for a score as Maryland (4-2) overcame a sluggish start and handed Temple (0-6) its fifth loss of more than 25 points. Umar Ferguson scored Temple's only TD. The Terrapins' next game against Virginia Tech isn't until Oct. 20, so coach Ralph Friedgen made sure that his players had plenty of incentive to bounce back after a lackluster first half.

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.

bobp@herald-mail.com COLLEGE PARK, Md. - All that's left of the University of Maryland football season resembles the leftovers from Thursday's turkey. There is very little left on the bones, but with a little creativity you can make something fulfilling out of the scraps. The most appetizing thing left for the Terps is Saturday's finale against Wake Forest at Byrd Stadium. Maryland has been starving for positive feedback for most of the season, which makes this formality of a game into a seven-course meal of possibilities.

bobp@herald-mail.com COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Sam Hollenbach decided to give Maryland one more chance. On Saturday, he was rewarded for his patience and perseverance when the Terrapins decided to give the sophomore quarterback his first chance. Both sides made out for it in the long run. Hollenbach got his first start of the season in the final game of the year and gave Maryland a methodical lift to finish the season on a high note with a 13-7 win over Wake Forest at Byrd Stadium in a game which had more pride than prosperity at stake.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Jordan Steffy was sure of one thing when it came to becoming the University of Maryland's starting quarterback. He wasn't going to be an Indian giver. The redshirt junior entered spring practice and summer training camp as the top candidate to replace Sam Hollenbach as Maryland's quarterback. And as unofficial as it was, the last thing he was going to do was give the job back. "To be honest, I came into camp as the starter and approached it like it was my job," Steffy said calmly Tuesday during Maryland's weekly media conference, before he starts as the Terrapins' quarterback in Saturday's home and season opener against Villanova.