Diamondback Online - The University of Maryland's Independent Daily Student Newspaper

Issue date: 11/5/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Yuchen Nie

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Surrounded by Carolina blue from all angles, the Terrapin football team became quite acquainted with a different color on Saturday: yellow.

A combined 20 penalties highlighted an ugly, mistake-filled game, one the reeling Terps lost 16-13 to put a serious dent into their already damaged ride to the postseason.

The Terps had a season-high nine penalties, two turnovers, numerous drops and plenty of visible communication errors. It was a winnable game and one the Terps needed to have. Instead, the Terps (4-5, 1-4 ACC) now need to win at least two of their final three games, a task that won't be easy.

"It's desperate. It's a little confusion. We don't know what we're doing wrong," said redshirt sophomore quarterback Chris Turner, who was 20-of-36 for 209 yards and an interception. "We don't know what we need to do better. Losing's contagious and so is winning, but losing might be a little more contagious. I don't know. We gotta figure it out. We have a lot to figure out."

It is the Terps' first three-game losing streak since a stretch in October 2004.

"This losing feeling's becoming all-too-familiar for our team," junior linebacker Dave Philistin said.

It was a troubling game from the start. In the first quarter, the Terps amassed just three total yards and turned the ball over while on defense.

As Moise Fokou sacked Tar Heels quarterback Tyler Yates on a third down in field goal range, the ball came loose, and Erin Henderson scooped it up and ran for 15 yards. But Henderson fumbled, North Carolina recovered in its own territory, started a new drive and capped it off with a field goal to take a 3-0 lead.

The Terps forced three first-half turnovers and trailed 9-3 at halftime.

"We're gonna have to play really, really well the rest of the season," Turner said. "Tonight we just didn't get it done. If we keep playing the way we played tonight, it's not gonna look good from here."

The nine penalties against the Terps were surprising; they came into the game with just 38 penalties on the season and were one of the least-flagged teams in the nation.

But whether it was offsides on defense, illegal formation on offense or illegal blocking on special teams, the flags were flying - and not just on the Terps, either. North Carolina (3-6, 2-3) had 11 penalties of its own, and several others on both teams were declined.

Continued...

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