By Geoff Burgan and Chris Grady

Two weeks ago many Terp fans were baffled by Ralph Friedgen’s decision to name senior Jordan Steffy as his starting quarterback. Steffy drew the ire of fans last season as he struggled in his first five starts. He had difficulty making good decisions in the actual games which lead to many costly turnovers early in the season. Very few people have forgotten the fact that he fumbled the opening snap against West Virginia, or that he threw the interception on the goal line against Wake Forest that was returned for a touchdown, which sparked a comeback win for the Demon Deacons. Yet he was still chosen over Chris Turner, who did a decent job replacing Steffy last season, leading the Terps to wins over two Top 10 teams.

Friedgen and new offensive coordinator James Franklin, who returned to the Terps after a brief stint at Kansas State, justified their controversial decision with Steffy’s practice statistics compared to Turner’s. However, yesterday proved that performance in practice does not always translate into success on the field. As Steffy failed to lead the Terps deep into Delaware territory, the fans’ patience wore thin. The first two drives were decent, but fruitless as Obi Egekeze missed field goals from forty-four and forty-eight yards out. Sophomore Da’Rel Scott was impressive early but the Terps offense sputtered and failed to set up more manageable scoring opportunities.

As expected, Delaware did not get much going offensively which left the Terps with a bevy of opportunities to open up a lead. However, it was not until Darrius Heyward-Bey made an outstanding grab at Delaware’s twelve yard line and followed it up with a rushing touchdown on an end around that the Terps were able to get on the scoreboard.

After blocking a Delaware field goal, the Terps had an opportunity to extend their lead before halftime. It could have been Steffy’s first step towards proving that he could lead this team. But due to his inability to throw the ball downfield, the Terps had to settle for a forty-one yard field goal attempt which Obi Egekeze missed.

Freshman Davin Meggett looked impressive in the first half,as he racked up thirty four yards on three carries. In addition, Josh Portis received scattered cheers made his Maryland debut by running two quarterback draws for eleven yards. Portis, a transfer from Florida who sat out last season because of academic ineligibility, had been touted by Friedgen as someone who is very capable of helping the Terps with athleticism at quarterback.

Normally, halftime is time for coaches to make slight adjustments to jump start their team. Delaware’s first offensive play in the second half demonstrated just that, as Terps cornerback Kevin Barnes intercepted a pass, giving the Terps the ball at the Delaware forty six yard line. Unfortunately, Steffy seemed to miss the memo that went around the water cooler, as he threw an interception on the next play, giving the Blue Hens the ball back at the Maryland forty nine yard line.

The Blue Hens drove deep into Maryland territory on the ensuing possession. With fourth and 1 at the Terps 20 and scoring chances few and far between for the Blue Hens, they opted to go for it, instead of kicking a field goal. Johnathon Smith rumbled ahead, only to fumble the ball forward, where it was seemingly recovered for a first down. However, the referee immediately made the correct ruling that the ball cannot be advanced on a fumble, and following a measurement of the ball’s forward progress at the time of the fumble, the Terps took over on turnover on downs.

A heavy dose of Da’Rel Scott on the following possession took the Terps into Delaware territory. The drive stalled at the twenty two yard line, where Steffy fumbled on a sack. He was bailed out as the Terps recovered the ball on the thirty two yard line, only to watch Steffy throw another interception on fourth-and-eighteen, giving Delaware the ball at their own one yard line.

Following a pair of carries by Scott that took the Terps to the U. Del fourteen yard line, Meggett returned to the game, taking the ball outside for a touchdown.

Johnathon Smith scored on a one yard touchdown run for the Blue Hens with 5:20 remaining in the game, but on the next Blue Hen possession quarterback Rob Schoenhoft threw an interception Terps free safety Terrell Skinner, effectively ending the Hens’ chances of pulling off the upset. Scott finished with 197 yards,the most ever in a season opener for a Maryland player.