It wasn’t a perfect game. The Terps only won by two points and nine of North Carolina’s 15 points (safety and 59-yard touchdown reception by Cooter Arnold) came as a direct result of Terp gaffes, but it was still a gritty victory over a top 20 team, and there isn’t really much mystery behind it.
Actually, it’s a miracle the game was so close, considering that the Terps enjoyed a time-of-possession advantage of 20 minutes and 58 seconds. That’s right, the Terps held the ball 40:29 compared the Tar Heels’ 19:31. That’s nutty, and if the Terps had lost, it would have been a catastrophy.
After being dominated by Virginia Tech’s front seven last week, the Terps’ offensive line paved the way for 195 rushing yards and 15 rushing first downs. The Terps only avergaed 3.7 yards per rush, but it hardly mattered, because they were gaining positive yards consistently. The Terps ran 85 offensive plays - 34 more than the Tar Heels - and they needed every one in order to squeek by with a win.
Much credit also goes to the defense, which played inspired football outside of Arnold’s touchdown, in made three members of the Terps’ secondary look silly.
The defense held the North Carolina scoreless in the second half, and in six possessions forced the Tar Heels to punt, punt, miss a field goal, punt, punt, and throw the interception that iced it.
Again, it wasn’t their most crisp showing, but the Terps had a clear gameplan, stuck with it, and played physical up front - all essential ingredients to a critical win.
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