Chris Turner took a long, slow, deep breath. The Maryland quarterback had just picked himself off the synthetic turf -- again -- after being sacked in the waning moments of the first half with the Terps trailing 31-6 to No. 12 California. For much of Saturday night, Turner had reason to be exasperated. Striking with long plays on offense and applying waves of defensive pressure, Cal routed the Terps 52-13, handing coach Ralph Friedgen the worst opening-game loss in his Maryland career. It was Maryland's worst season opener since 1892.
Cal sacked Turner six times. "What was it, five or six sacks?" the quarterback asked. "It's part of my job description. I'm going to get hit. It's just the reality of it." It wasn't just the sacks that stung a young Maryland team that entered the opener full of confidence, some of which may have been misguided. Cal entered as a three-touchdown favorite. Maryland's aggressive defense was repeatedly burned by long plays, some of which occurred when Cal quarterback Kevin Riley, who threw four touchdown passes, evaded blitzes and other pressure.
"He made some people miss in the pocket," said Cal coach Jeff Tedford, who credited his offensive line with "a really nice job with all the different looks that [the Terps] were bringing." Cal compiled 542 yards of total offense.
"I don't like getting beat 52-13, I can tell you that" coach Ralph Friedgen said. "What am I going to do? I've got a young team. I've got to hang with them. I've got to encourage them to get better. I'm going to be there as long as they continue to give me the effort."
Maryland's hope for an upset was dashed as quickly as it took Heisman candidate Jahvid Best to dash 73 yards in the first quarter, putting Cal up 7-0. On that one play, Best surpassed his total from last season's Maryland game, won by the Terps, 35-27. It was the ninth run of Best's career of 60 yards or more. Of course, Best wasn't finished. His 2-yard run made it 14-0 later in the quarter. He later had a 40-yard run. Best finished with 10 carries for 137 yards.
Best's second touchdown was set up by Torrey Smith's fumble on a kickoff return. A later Cal score followed a Turner fumble. Maryland had known its offensive line could be a problem. Friedgen had beseeched Paul Pinegar, a former walk-on who started at right tackle, to play the game of his life against one of the Pac-10's best defenses. Friedgen said Pinegar "got beat once or twice" against Cal.
Among the other relatively untested Terps on the line was sophomore guard Lamar Young, who got an earful from Friedgen after giving up a first-half sack. One first-half possession was telling. Cal's Ernest Owusu sacked Turner on a dead sprint late in the first half. Then Jarred Price sacked him on the next play to make it third-and-28. Turner, who is not known as a mobile quarterback, ran more than usual. He took off on a third-and-2 play in the first half and ran seven yards for a first down. But, too often for the Terps, he was running for his life.
Friedgen called the offensive line "a work in progress." One key member, Bruce Campbell, suffered turf toe and had to leave the game. His status for next week's home opener against James Madison is uncertain. A freshman, R.J. Dill, took Campbell's place at tackle. Turner remained in the game until the final three minutes, when Friedgen inserted backup Jamarr Robinson, who had never played in a college game at quarterback.
Maryland didn't score a touchdown until Da'Rel Scott raced 39 yards for a score with 7:29 left in the third to make it California 45, Maryland 13. Nick Ferrara made the first two field-goal attempts of his career for Maryland, hitting from 26 and 42 yards.
The Terps endured more bad news when safety Jamari McCollough hobbled off the field in the first half. Maryland was waiting for X-rays on McCollough. Kenny Tate replaced him. Tate did double duty as a safety and a punt returner. He was returning punts because Tony Logan had hurt his shoulder and did not make the trip. Maryland had seven penalties. "Playing on the road it was loud at times and that might have been a factor," Turner said. "I think we have some young players who aren't used to it."
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