Baltimore Sports Post

The Terps traveled to Middle Tennessee expecting a win while tuning up to play Cal next week.  Things started off great for the Terps when Da’Rel Scott ran 63 yards for a score, but there was only one other Terps highlight the rest of the game when Darrius Heyward-Bey took a wide receiver screen 80 yards for a TD in the second half.  The first half ended with Middle Tennessee winning 10-7, and three points is as close as the Terps would get (it was 17-14 at one point in the second half) as Middle Tennessee bested the terps by double digits 24-14. The loss was demoralizing for the Terps who suffered their first loss to a Sun Belt Conference team.

Game Notes:

• QB Chris Turner had a terrible game completing less than half of his pass attempts and throwing three interceptions.  His lone touchdown pass was a 1 yard wide receiver screen that Darrius Heyward-Bey turned into an 80 yard touchdown.
• Dual threat QB Josh Portis played more this week and completed his first pass attempt as a Terp.  The offense was able to do some things with him in the game, but they need to show he can more than just run the ball before opposing defenses actually fear him.
• Da’Rel Scott had an impressive performance gaining over 10 yards per carry and over 100 yards overall, but he was only able to carry the ball 11 times because the Blue Raiders kept the Terps offense off the field and later in the game the Terps were primarily using the passing game to try to mount a comeback.