Notes From The Margin – Humanitarian Bowl Edition
December 30th, 2008 by Jason Roberts
It’s a hard question to answer: Which is going to be more chilly, the weather Tuesday in this year’s edition of the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho or the attitude of players from the Maryland Terrapins, upset that they aren’t playing as the ACC representative in the Orange Bowl against the Cincinnati Bearcats? A team of dichotomies in the 2008 season, Ralph Friedgen’s squad played excellent against ranked-opponents (they beat four this year), but struggled in three of its last four contests, including a loss to Boston College at the end of the regular season and the opportunity to travel to Tampa for a shot at the ACC Crown. A team that relies heavily on the rush, tailbacks Da’Rel Scott and Devin Meggett will be the main functionaries for a Terrapins offense that averages 134 yards per contest on the ground, but will matchup against the third best rush defense in the country in its opponents, the Nevada Wolf Pack.
The Wolf Pack had high expectations this season, but early non-conferences games against Texas Tech and Missouri left Chris Ault’s squad down 1-2 after its first three contests. Surprising losses versus New Mexico State and at Hawaii emphasized the most porous passing defense in the nation (surrendering an average of 321 yards a game), but still highlighted an offense that finished second-best in the country behind Navy in total yards gained by the run (3497 total for 2008). Headlined by sophomore quarterback and Offensive Player of the Year in the WAC, Colin Kaepernick (2479 yards passing, 19 touchdowns, five interceptions; 1115 yards rushing, 16 touchdowns), and sophomore tailback Vai Taua, Ault’s Pistol offensive scheme put up plenty of yards (510.6) and points (37.8) per contest played this season and should given Maryland a true run for its money come Tuesday. Losses to BCS programs are more the norm than the exception for the University of Nevada, but many still favor the Wolf Pack by as much as two points on the blue turf of Boise State’s Bronco Stadium.
Setting up for a run at Boise State in 2009 . . .
An interesting tidbit provided by the Tri-City Herald this past week as it applies to the nature of the Nevada Wolf Pack team participating in this year’s Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho: The Wolf Pack have 68 freshmen or sophomores on their 2008 roster and only 15 seniors. That n umber is the WAC’s second-fewest in relation to upperclassmen outside Fresno State. Heading into 2009, Nevada will return seven All-WAC players, including sophomore quarterback Colin Kaepernick, league-leading rusher Vai Taua, offensive linemen Mike Gallett and Alonzo Durham, and defensive ends Kevin Basped and Dontay Moch. States Taua of the composition of the Wolf Pack, “We have a great future. We’re really young and have a lot of great athletes. Good things are coming.”
Additional numbers which matter . . .
The Washington Times also points out a key number to remember when it comes to the talent and experience present on this year’s Nevada Wolf Pack squad: In a teleconference held last Monday, head coach Chris Ault is quoted as saying, “We’ve had 42 different players start for us this year.”
What is not often pointed out, however, is that in reviewing the Maryland Terrapins, the total number of different starters in actually higher than even Nevada’s. The total for Ralph Friedgen’s team, as estimated by Patrick Stevens of the Times? 43.
The main difference between the two squads when it comes to such numbers? The Terrapins have 11 players that have at one but no more than two starts this season.
The power of a firing pistol . . .
The Washington Times gives a brief overview of the history of the “Pistol” offense made so popular by Nevada head coach Chris Ault three years ago when he revamped the playbook in Reno for a struggling Wolf Pack. Liking the precepts of a shotgun-based offense, but wanting to rid his team’s reliance on east-west running, Ault devised a conjoining scheme somewhere between the shotgun and I-formations and placed the tailback behind the quarterback, already lined up four-yards behind the center. The Wolf Pack head coach reasoned that a quarterback would be able to make a throw faster within the shotgun, but also sought to take advantage of a dual-threat athlete who could run with the ball if the opportunity became available. “We had a one-back offense,” Ault tells the Times, “and we took the foundation that we didn’t want to lose – whether it was run or pass – when we first put in the Pistol in 2005. That is mostly what we went with, what we did before and felt comfortable with.” Current backup Nick Graziano was the first player recruited with the Pistol in mind; however, when Graziano when down with a broken foot last season, the door was opened for now-sophomore Colin Kaepernick, a 6’6”, 215 pound youngster out of California that ran the wing-T in high school. Kaepernick quickly established himself as a franchise-player for the Wolf Pack, earning WAC Freshman of the Year honors in 2007 and accounting for 19 touchdowns thrown and only five interceptions this past season as the conference’s Offensive Player of the Year. That, however, only covers the Nevada passing game. The Pistol also addressed the issue of Nevada’s rushing woes, with the Wolf Pack now hosting a 1000 yard rusher in three of the team’s last four seasons, including in 2008 both Kaepernick (1115 yards and 16 touchdowns) and sophomore Vai Taua (1420 yards and 14 touchdowns).
The Washington Times goes into a bit more detail on the look of the Pistol offense in a separate interview with Reno Gazette-Journal reporter, Dan Hinxman. Hinxman notes that “some tanglible benefits” of Ault’s brainchild are:
- running backs are set deep, allowing more time to read block and make cuts to the holes in the line of scrimmage; they also can literally “hide” behind the quarterback, deceiving opposing defenders.
- the Pistol allows a much broader option-attack with the quarterback as an additional weapon on the ground; quarterbacks also are provided an additional second or two to read defensive blitz and coverage packages.
- receivers in motion don’t have to run around the quarterback.
With so many options, it is no surprise, as DCExaminer.com reports, that Maryland’s head coach Ralph Friedgin has said he’s “pretty intrigued” by Ault’s Pistol offense. “On TV, you don’t get to appreciate it as much as when you start watching tape. It really has some wishbone principle to it. It’s pretty tough to handle all the different reads. And the reads are a little delayed because it’s out of the gun. They isolate you. If you miss tackles, it’s going to be a big play.”
Why is the Wolf Pack dead last in the nation for pass defense . . .
Hinxman’s interview in The Washington Times also puts forth the question of why the Nevada Wolf Pack are currently ranked last in the country when it comes to pass defense. Hinxman acknowledges that the play of the Wolf Pack secondary this year has been poor, but also points out that Nevada played four of the top 12 passing teams in the country. Ault’s squad too has, per Hinxman, “given up way to many third-and-long plays this season” and “been susceptible to deep balls and underneath, crossing routes.” Take into consideration as well that the team had not a single cornerback that had any Division I experience when the 2008 season began. “They’ve gotten better in the second half of the season,” Hinxman concludes, “but they’re still not where they need to be.”
Two potential advantages for Nevada this Tuesday . . .
The Reno Gazette-Journal informs readers that the Nevada Wolf Pack may have two succinct advantages heading into Tuesday’s showdown against Maryland in the Humanitarian Bowl. First, Chris Ault’s squad is quite familiar with the notorious blue turf of Boise State’s Bronco Stadium; the last time his team took the field there, it took BSU four overtimes to finally earn a win over the University of Nevada. Yet, secondly, and perhaps more importantly, the Wolf Pack have been far better on the road than their opponent on Tuesday, the Maryland Terrapins. For 2008, Nevada went 4-2 away from Mackay Stadium while Maryland ended the year 1-4 in away games.
Oh, the weather outside is frightful . . .
The website for newsstation WJLA notes that in order to prepare for what is expected to be wintry conditions in Boise, Idaho for Tuesday’s Humanitarian Bowl, Ralph Friedgen had his team practicing out in the cold of College Park. The article notes that quarterback Chris Turner didn’t foresee any problems with playing in frigid temperatures and snow come Tuesday afternoon, but Friedgen believed it pertinent as Maryland has yet in 2008 to play a game in such conditions.
Naming a backup for the Terrapins . . .
The newsstation WJZ announced earlier this week that head coach for the Maryland Terrapins, Ralph Friedgen, told reporters that senior Jordan Steffy will “probably” be utilized as a backup to starter Chris Turner in Tuesday’s Humanitarian Bowl. Steffy, readers may recall, has not seen playing time since injuring his thumb against Delaware in Maryland’s season-opener.
Florida orange juice would have tasted so much better . . .
Rivals.com carries a story this week which looks at the feeling many Maryland Terrapins players have that their team should be playing elsewhere than Boise, Idaho in this year’s post-season appearance for the university. “The bowl shuffle,” notes Terps quarterback Chris Turner, “it wasn’t fair. We don’t look at ourselves as the eighth-best team. We deserved better than this, and obviously we hurt ourselves.” Turner, like others, finds irony in the fact that Maryland beat four ranked opponents this season, yet lost three of their last four games, including two back-to-back to end the regular season 7-5. Little solace is available to the Terrapins either in knowing that 2008 will be the last time that an ACC team will be invited to Boise in order to participate in the Humanitarian Bowl; starting next year, a new contract with the Mountain West Conference will likely see a MWC v. WAC matchup in Boise, this as the Emerald Bowl already brings an ACC team out onto the West Coast and the bowl has had significant challenges in luring fans from the East Coast to come watch their respective team play in Idaho.
Trying to make lemonade out of really sour lemons . . .
To say that the Maryland Terrapins’ players were unhappy with being selected to play in Boise, Idaho’s Humanitarian Bowl is an understatement. Still, as time has passed, some like cornerback Jamari McCollough have worked to see the silver lining in what has been perceived by many as a post-season dark cloud. McCollough tells The Washington Times this week, “I know this is probably the only time I’ll ever get to go to Idaho, and that’s how I look at it. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance. At first, I was kind of angry, but now I look at it as ‘This will probably be the only time I go out there.’ I want to see what it’s all about . . . . All I can think of right now is a bunch of potatoes.”
Scott’s hallelujahs to the Lamb . . .
Take a peek at the iPod for Maryland tailback Da’Rel Scott in the hours leading up to Tuesday afternoon’s Humanitarian Bowl and you might be surprised by what you find. No, it won’t be the boisterous rock or rap music of his teammates. Instead, and as the Idaho Press-Tribune reports this week, Scott’s musical selections will focus on the powerful sounds of upbeat gospel music. “That is what gets me going before games,” Scott tells the Tribune. “That is what gets me motivated – listening to gospel.” That the spiritual nature of the music works to bless Scott, there is little doubt; for 2008, he finished first on the Terrapins in rushing yards (959) and earned all-ACC first team honors alongside Georgia Tech’ Jonathan Dwyer. Yet, facing off against Nevada Wolf Pack in Boise, Idaho should bring new challenges – and one’s which even Scott’s gospel may not be able to overcome; Nevada, after all, currently ranks third nationally in rush defense (74.5 yards a game), a fact which lead head coach for the Terrapins, Ralph Friedgen, to state earlier this week, “[Nevada] has been very good against the run. In games where we don’t run the ball, we don’t play very well.”
Building on the concept of running the ball for Maryland . . .
The website HometownAnnapolis.com goes into further detail about the importance of Da’Rel Scott and Davin Meggett finding success carrying the ball against the Nevada Wolf Pack in Tuesday’s Humanitarian Bowl. Head coach Ralph Friedgen recognizes, as the article notes, that his Maryland Terrapins won’t be able to run the ball directly at the Nevada defensive front with much success. He does, however, believe that if Scott and Meggett can presents themselves to some degree as a rushing threat in Boise, then Maryland can avoid the pressure the Wolf Pack are know to put up against opposing quarterbacks (34 sacks in 2008). “This team is very good against the run,” Friedgen comments. “Basically, they commit nine guys to the run, so you’ve got to make some plays on the edges. But you’ve got to run, too.” The head coach for the Terrapins continues: “They’re great at going to the ball and they hit. We’ve got to keep attacking, keep pounding, until we break something.”
A potential landmark for Scott . . .
The same article published on HometownAnnapolis.com also calls attention to the fact that with just 41 yards against the Nevada Wolf Pack on Tuesday, Da’Rel Scott will become just the seventh tailback to ever rush for 1000 yards in a single-season at the University of Maryland. Members of the Terrapins offensive line have stated it will be a major focus of theirs to assure the redshirt sophomore has every opportunity to reach that landmark in the Humanitarian Bowl. For Scott, however, reaching that achievement is less important than winning in the post-season. “It’s a goal individually,” the native of Conshohocken, Pennsylvania states, “but it’s not something I’m focused on. Really, I’m just focused on getting a win.”
The pick: Riding a wave of a 4-1 record in bowl picks so far, NFTM looks at the Humanitarian Bowl and asks whether anyone will even be at Bronco Stadium Tuesday afternoon to watch Nevada and Maryland compete for a final win to add to respective 7-5 seasons. Nevada in our opinion is a favorite in this one, even though the x-factor for the Terrapins could be outstanding WR Darius Heyward-Bey; the Wolfpack, as mentioned above, are absolutely terrible on pass defense, but could hold Maryland’s Chris Turner to a minimum if they played like they did against Kellen Moore of Boise State. The Terrapins are very much stronger on the run, but against the third-best defense in the nation in Nevada, there won’t be much wiggle room. Maryland can play on the defensive side of the ball, but has problems with balanced programs with mobile quarterbacks. Nevada won’t put up anywhere near the number of points they normally do in matchups against WAC opponents, but should be strong enough thanks to athleticism of Colin Kaepernick and Vai Taua to keep the Wolf Pack in — and ahead of — the game. Nevada wins this one with a combined score in the 40s, 27-17.
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