2001: The Maryland Game

The 2001 campaign was a season full of ups and downs for the Trojans. Even in losses to Nebraska and Miami, there were signs of life and things to be hopeful for. Sitting at 4-3 going into their eighth game, the Trojans had struggled in games (Cal State Northridge and Southern Utah), but really only played one bad game to this point (MTSU).

As they journeyed to Byrd Stadium in College Park, Maryland, this game would be Troy’s toughest test in the second half of the season.

The Terrapins of Maryland were ranked #15 (AP) and #16 (Coaches) in the country. They had been ranked #8 in the BCS, but fell out after their 21-point loss to FSU the previous week. Maryland would come into the game with a chip on their shoulder and an eye on the Trojans.

This was a much different game than what Troy experienced against Nebraska and Miami, much better teams than the Terps. Maryland exploited the problems Troy experienced in the previous two games against I-AA competition.

It didn’t take long for the Terrapins to come out of their shell. 

If you needed any indication of how this day would go for the Trojans, look no further than the opening kickoff. The Trojans recovered what appeared to be a opening kickoff onside kick, which would’ve put Troy in prime field position.

What actually happened? The wind blew the ball off the tee as kicker Drew Boetler approached it, causing it to roll. 

The Terps went 90 yards in 4 plays and only 1:38 of game time. They took a 7-0 lead on a 69-yard run. The Terp kicker added 3 more on a 33-yard field goal 6 minutes later.

In the second quarter, Maryland poured it on even more. Two touchdown passes, a touchdown run, and a 50-yard field goal as time expired at the half increased their lead to 31-0.

This was one of the largest deficits Troy would face all season, and it wouldn’t stop there.

The dominance of Maryland in the first half stemmed from their defense. They held Troy to just 27 first quarter yards and forced Troy to start six drives inside of its own 20.

The second quarter was worse: the Terrapins held the Trojans to only 5 yards on 9 plays. The Terrapins also had 5 of their 8 sacks in the first half.

“The first half was pretty painful,” Coach Larry Blakeney said. “All we asked them to do was come back and try to salvage something at halftime.”

The Terrapins would only score 10 points in the third quarter, extending the mountainous lead to 44-0. Troy finally got on the board when Brock Nutter hit Mr. Reliable, Heyward Skipper on a 17-yard touchdown pass with 3 minutes to go in the third quarter.

The touchdown was set up by Demontray Carter, who returned the Maryland kickoff 79 yards.

While those 7 points were definitely considered garbage time points, they were also important for a different reason. Troy had not been shutout in a game since a 17-0 loss to Mississippi College in 1983.

Unfortunately, the no-shutout streak of 227 games would come to an end on November 2, 2002 with a 23-0 loss to Arkansas.

Troy’s next score came at the end of a 5-play, 64-yard drive with about 9 minutes left in the game. Backup Hansell Bearden tossed a 33-yard pass to Eric Felton for the second score of the day, bringing the score to 44-14.

The Terps would add one more field goal to make the final score 47-14. 

“They certainly took care of business today as far as stopping us and really keeping us from doing very much at all offensively,” Coach Blakeney said.

This was one of the more painful games of the 2001 season for the Trojans as Maryland dominated nearly every aspect of the game. The Terps essentially took the Trojans out of the game and cut off any avenues for them to mount a comeback. 

Maryland led the Trojans in first downs (25-15), rushing yards (300-76), total offensive yards (509-271), and time of possession (33:19-26:41). Troy only held an advantage in passing yards (272-232) and kickoff return yards (203-19). These are only half of the story for why the Terps were able to get the win. 

Troy punted eight times and gave up a fumble, which was solid considering the ball hit the turf three times for the Trojans.

Brock Nutter did his best against the tough Terp defense, but still gave up 5 interceptions. Troy was also 1-for-3 in the red zone while Maryland was a perfect 6-for-6.

Speaking of perfect, the Terp kicking game was the definition of it, going 4-for-4 in field goals and 5-for-5 in extra points.

Brock Nutter completed 14 passes for 184 yards and one touchdown, but the big story was the seven times he was sacked.

Demontray Carter, LeBarron Black, and DeWhitt Betterson all tried to get the run game going for the Trojans, but every step forward was a sack backward. Between the three running backs and both quarterbacks, Troy gained 76 yards rushing. When accounting for lost yardage and sacks, the Trojans lost 77 yards for a net rushing total of -1.

Chris Day had a day for Troy in the receiving corps. Day had only seen action in four games for the Trojans in their seven games so far. The most he had caught was 36 yards.

On that November afternoon, he had an all-star performance. While he didn’t have a touchdown, he caught 7 passes for 102 yards. The next closest receivers were Jason Samples (4-60), Heyward Skipper (4-46 and 1 TD), and Eric Felton (2-40 and 1 TD).

Punter Jeremy Schatz had the heaviest workload of the afternoon. He punted the ball 7 times for 290 yards, giving him a 41.4 yard average. His longest was 58 yards and he pinned the Terps inside of the 20 twice. He did had one punt blocked, setting up another early Terp touchdown.

Defensively, Damien Coleman led the Trojans with 11 tackles. The late Naazir Yamini had another 9 and Jimmy McClain had 8 with an assisted tackle for loss. Ben Waldrop recorded the only sack among his 7 tackles. Some freshman named Demarcus Ware recorded his most tackles in the 2001 season with 7, including a TFL. We’re still not sure what became of him. 

In postgame comments, several Trojans tried to explain what happened during the game.

“They got a couple of big plays early but we just tried to play hard and keep ourselves in the game,” defensive lineman Davern Williams said. “All game we talked about buckling up, but it seemed like we could never snap the button.”

“It seemed like we would make a couple of good plays on offense on a drive and then something would come back and kill us,” receiver Jason Samples said.

Before focusing on the negatives of the afternoon for Troy, it’s important to understand that this was a very special Maryland team. These Terps would finish 10-2, winning the ACC and getting invited to play in the Orange Bowl.

They would lose to Florida in Steve Spurrier’s final bowl game as the Head Ball Coach in the Swamp. That Orange Bowl would be Maryland’s first bowl game since 1990.

The 10-2 record gave the Terps their first winning season since 1995. That ACC trophy gave them their first conference championship since 1985.

They have also not won another since then.

From College Park, Troy would have to come back to The Wiregrass to reorient themselves before traveling to a place that has been a thorn in the side of the Trojans since the 1970s: Monroe, LA.