NO SULKING
COLLEGE PARK -- West Virginia's Steve Slaton and Patrick White might be Heisman hopefuls.
But at the time, they didn't seem to have much hope against Maryland defenders Rick Costa and Trey Covington on Thursday.
Late in the second quarter, Steve Slaton was stuffed for a no gain by Costa and Covington. And on the next play, Costa sacked White and caused a fumble, which Covington recovered.
This year, Steve Slaton and White didn't walk all over Maryland's defense. And this year, West Virginia didn't wrap up the win by halftime. Nonetheless, Maryland lost again to the Mountaineers, 31-14.
The ability to hang with the Mountaineers (3-0) -- ranked fourth in the nation and coming off two blowout wins -- for two-plus quarters was encouraging for the Terps (2-1)
Still, they weren't happy about failing to knock off a highly ranked team and suffering their first loss of the season.
"Obviously, I'm disappointed with the loss," Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen said. "West Virginia's a good football team with a lot of speed. I think our kids played hard and they kind of got worn down."
At halftime, Maryland only trailed 14-7. But the Terps offense didn't score again until late in the fourth quarter and was unable to mount lengthy drives.
That meant West Virginia's offense spent a dangerous amount of time on the field. Steve Slaton scored two of his three touchdowns in the third quarter, helping the Mountaineers pull away.
"They're legit. I can't take anything away from them," Maryland linebacker Erin Henderson said.
While Steve Slaton finished with 137 yards, he hardly torched the Terps like he did in 2006 -- when his two early touchdowns helped stake the Mountaineers to a 28-0 lead in the first quarter.
When told of Steve Slaton's yardage Thursday, Friedgen said, "That's probably a pretty good job. I thought we did a good job containing."
The Terps did an even better job against White, holding the speedy scrambler to 22 rushing yards. In the first half, the Terps made a stand after West Virginia had a first-and-goal from the 2, and the Mountaineers even missed the field goal attempt.
"There are always positives in a loss. But it is a loss and one we probably shouldn't have lost," Maryland offensive lineman Andrew Crummey said. "I still think we're a great team, but I think we could've played better today."
Things could have been worse, too. Steffy fumbled a snap on the game's first play from scrimmage, and West Virginia's Johnny Dingle recovered on Maryland's 20. Two plays later, White ran for a 22-yard touchdown, triggering memories of West Virginia's 28-0 first-quarter lead against the Terps last season.
"I thought, 'Here we go again,'" Friedgen said. "The whole thing could've went under right there, and the kids didn't do that."
The Terps put together an 11-play, 75-yard scoring drive on their next possession. Steffy's 33-yard pass to Darrius Heyward-Bey was the key play, and Lattimore added a few key runs, including one for a 4-yard touchdown.
But the Terps didn't mount a serious scoring threat again until the fourth quarter.
"It seems like in the past few games, we've started well and at the end we've moved the ball," Steffy said. "But in the middle of the game, we need some work. We're not going to point fingers -- we just have to come out of this and get better."
Steffy tossed low-yardage, short passes to Lattimore on plays that required big gains, and he threw two interceptions. But Friedgen wasn't hard on the quarterback.
"He missed a couple things this week. He's growing and those things happen," Friedgen said. "He also made some plays. He's got to get some guys to help him also. We've got to get him a little better protection."
A more consistent running game would also help. Maryland was held to 89 rushing yards, and Lattimore had 49 of them in the first quarter.
"We just kind of broke down in the second half," Lattimore said.
Defensively, the Terps would routinely contain the Mountaineers on first and second down, only to see West Virginia convert on third-and-long situations.
And the Terps didn't just have to worry about Steve Slaton and White. West Virginia freshman Noel Devine rushed for 136 yards on five carries, breaking a 76-yarder in the third quarter for the game's biggest highlight.
"He came in with fresh legs," Friedgen said. "I didn't realize he's as fast as he is. He's as fast as Steve Slaton. Pretty elusive, too."
A win over West Virginia is also proving to be elusive -- this was Maryland's fourth straight loss to its rival. The Terps will try to rebound when they travel to Wake Forest next Saturday.
"Nobody wants to lose, but we can't sulk," Henderson said. "It's over."
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