Futile Terps drive away faithful

Homecoming felt like a farewell party for Maryland’s bowl hopes.

The Terrapins’ 13-3 loss to N.C. State yesterday before an announced 52,179 at Byrd Stadium represented an offensive collapse. Even fans showed little faith, with more than half not returning after halftime despite only a 10-0 deficit. Byrd was virtually empty in the final minutes as cheers of “let’s go, Wolfpack” from visiting fans rang through the stadium.

“It’s very embarrassing to not play better than that offensively,” Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen said. “Another poor showing. We’ve got a lot of problems that haven’t been solved. … We’re just kind of out there running through the motions [offensively].”

After three years of success under Friedgen, Maryland quickly has fallen from the ACC race. The Terps lost their second straight home game for the first time in the Friedgen era. A third defeat in four games sends Maryland (3-3, 1-2 ACC) to Clemson (2-4, 1-3) on Saturday desperate to survive Death Valley.

Even the chances for a fourth straight winning season and bowl bid under Friedgen appear slim. Solid defensive and special-teams play are no longer enough to compensate for a stagnant offense that gained less than 100 yards for the second straight week. The Terps scored just 10 points in the two games, their worst stretch ever in Friedgen’s once-unstoppable offense.

Friedgen said little in the postgame locker room before he led a team prayer and seemed drained at the press conference that followed. Maryland plays three road games and two top-10 opponents in the next four weeks, a schedule that could sustain the slide.

“I don’t know,” Friedgen replied when asked how the Terps might regroup. “Got any suggestions? I don’t know. [The players] have to decide what they want to do.”

Maryland converted just two of 18 third- and fourth-down plays, with an offside penalty needed to help end eight straight three-and-outs. The Terps passed for just 24 yards, averaging 1.3 yards a pass. Maryland ran for 67 yards on 37 carries behind an offensive line with four injured players. Left tackle Stephon Heyer returned after dislocating his kneecap in the first quarter, and right tackle Lou Lombardo played with a cracked kneecap.

The Terps quarterback woes appear to be unsolvable. Joel Statham was six of 11 for 18 yards before he was pulled — for the second straight week — after the opening series of the third quarter.

Jordan Steffy completed one of seven for 6 yards and was sacked three times after he held the ball too long while trying to decipher the nation’s leading pass defense.

“When things go bad, it’s easy to get off the main point — we didn’t execute,” Steffy said. “It seemed like [the defense] guessed right a lot.”

Friedgen wouldn’t commit to his quarterback starter against Clemson. He said he had to review game film and probably will continue playing both, hoping one creates a spark.

“Obviously, it’s not all the quarterback,” Friedgen said. “We’ll see which guy is progressing.”

Maryland couldn’t even capitalize on N.C. State (4-2, 3-1) losing ACC rushing leader T.A. McLendon with a pulled hamstring on his first carry. The Terps’ defense permitted seven third-down conversions but turned in a sharp overall outing led by end Shawne Merriman (16 tackles), safety Chris Kelley (11) and linebacker D’Qwell Jackson (8).

Punter Adam Podlesh delivered another standout performance, averaging 45.2 yards on 11 punts. Podlesh could earn his second straight conference specialist of the week honor after uncorking a career-best 70-yarder.

The Terps missed several chances to grab momentum early on. Maryland’s first drive ended with a missed field goal after kicker Nick Novak’s earlier 32-yarder was negated by an illegal formation penalty.

“We’ve been lining up like that all year,” Friedgen said. “The calls definitely didn’t go our way this week.”

Instead, N.C. State converted a 32-yarder after its previous kick was offset by an offside penalty for a 3-0 lead. The Wolfpack got a face mask penalty on their next drive that negated a Terps sack and turned it into a 10-0 edge two plays later on running back Reggie Davis’ 1-yard run.

N.C. State’s John Deraney’s 49-yarder gave the Wolfpack a 13-0 lead with 7:39 remaining in the third quarter. Maryland avoided a shutout on Novak’s 40-yarder with 10:07 left after the Terps recovered a fumbled punt on N.C. State’s 28.