COLLEGE PARK, Md. - I've been rehearsing these words all weekend, ever since Terp running back Bruce Perry broke through Virginia's defensive line to drive a 38-21 stake through the Cavaliers' hearts, and it is still hard to say them: Maryland owns first place in the ACC.
Ugh. The very idea is repulsive to a Cav fan from Northern Virginia, who counts herself lucky to live in picturesque Charlottesville instead of penitentiary-like College Park. Most painful of all is the fact that it didn't have to happen. Virginia practically gift-wrapped the win with its own mistakes, left it on the field and ran for the locker room.
To Maryland's credit (be still, my aching stomach), the Terps played solid, hard-nosed football. Bruce Perry should get plenty of respect on campus for rushing for 143 yards, more than twice what the entire Virginia team put up on Saturday. Their offensive line outweighs Virginia's defensive line by about 290 pounds, and please believe that they used every pound to their advantage. Maryland coach Ralph "The Fridge" Friegden is the hero of his alma mater this week and knows how to use that confidence against the last team he coached, Georgia Tech, on Thursday night.
The Cavaliers, on the other hand, have little to boast about, and Virginia coach Al Groh knows it.
"We were a dumb team today," he said. "We did a lot of things that bad teams do."
I refuse to believe that a team that can pull out a last-second miracle like what we saw at Clemson is merely a "bad team." But Groh is right, Virginia just played stupidly.
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Dumb teams rush for only 64 yards and fail to compensate in the air. Dumb teams see two of their kicks blocked, one resulting in a Maryland touchdown. Dumb teams hit the skids when it counts, converting only three of 14 third downs and, as Groh has emphasized so many times in the past, only getting into the end zone three times while the opponent dances in five times.
Where did this challenged team come from? Were they soft after a mediocre win against a less-than-formidable Duke team? Or did the bad karma from all those penalties earlier this season finally catch up with them?
I wish I knew - I would be far wealthier than I am now. But the Cavaliers will have to figure something out soon or the rest of the season will be something more painful than descendants of the Welsh era are used to.
It could very well be a question of heart. The only compliment Groh had to dole out after the game was for junior wide receiver Billy McMullen who was Virginia's only bright spot with 11 receptions for 175 yards, including a 63-yard reception and a touchdown.
"Billy's one of those guys who is the same guy every week," Groh said. "We need to get more Billy McMullens."
Unless the Cavs can follow McMullen's lead and find some consistency - in their quarterbacks, in their defensive and offensive lines, and in their overall desire to win - even North Carolina next weekend may be a problem, much less the rest of the ACC.
Maybe Virginia was lucky to have Maryland expose their weaknesses this early on, early enough to climb back up the ranks of the ACC.
For now Maryland gets to enjoy that first-place view high above the ACC pack - at least until they play Georgia Tech on Thursday. You can bet I'll be vigorously waving a Yellow Jackets pennant.
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