TERPS GET TIGER-CLAWED

Throughout the last season and a half, the Terrapins have always seemed to play nail-biting conference games, always close enough to bump up the heart rate, always exciting enough to justify the price of admission into the stadium. There never was a point where the Terp football team just looked inferior from beginning to end.

Until Saturday.

From opening kickoff to final whistle, the Terps looked beaten - physically and mentally. They were steamrolled by Clemson 30-17 in a game not nearly as close as the final score. Had the Terps not tacked on a couple of fourth-quarter touchdowns, it would have matched the worst home loss in the Ralph Friedgen era.

It's not that the Terps (4-4, 1-3 ACC) didn't come ready to play or wanting to win; they just couldn't keep up with the Tigers (6-2, 3-2).

"We thought we'd be a lot more competitive than we were today," redshirt sophomore quarterback Chris Turner said. "It's not a good feeling. We're down right now, for sure."

Friedgen didn't lash out at his team after the game; instead, he told his players that while he doesn't condone losing, he was proud of the effort, especially in the fourth quarter.

Butthe mood around the locker room wasn't good - Joey Haynos described it as morose, while Erin Henderson said it was somber - as the Terps now realize their ACC title hopes are gone and the mindset must switch to simply making a bowl game. And who knows if six wins will even be enough to garner an invite.

"Getting to a bowl, with what this team has gone through, would be a good season," Friedgen said.

The injuries continue to pile up: Junior tight end Dan Gronkowski is now out for two weeks after hurting his medial collateral ligament and true freshman offensive lineman Bruce Campbell has an ankle sprain. It is unknown how long Campbell, who started in place of an injured Scott Burley, will be out.

On one play, Campbell and center Edwin Williams both trotted off the field hurt, leaving a makeshift offensive line that was capped with freshman walk-on Paul Pinegar playing left tackle.

"I've never been associated with anything like this in my life," Friedgen said. "It's just something we're dealing with."

"It's part of football, man," Henderson said. "A Division I program, you recruit guys to come in and play. When things happen and people go down, the next person has to be ready to step up and get into the mix and do their job. That's all part of the game, you can't control injuries, you can't stop injuries from happening, so what can you say?"

In the Terps' two previous ACC losses, they played well but blew fourth-quarter leads. On Saturday, they didn't have to worry about a fourth-quarter meltdown.

Clemson led 20-3 at halftime and built the lead to 30-3 with about 12 minutes left in the fourth quarter. Most of the crowd was long gone by that point, after seeing an ugly performance by the Terps.

The Terps didn't tackle on defense - Clemson running backs James Davis and C.J. Spiller ran for a combined 235 yards - and they couldn't run on offense - Keon Lattimore and Lance Ball combined for a season-low 104 rushing yards.

"Virginia, I thought that was as tough as it gets," Haynos said. "This is pretty bad."

But as much as Clemson physically overwhelmed the Terps, there were also two major mental errors when the game was still in reach that contributed to the dismal outcome.

On a third-and-seven, Anthony Wiseman was called for pass interference after he mauled a Clemson receiver with the pass in the air, well short of the first down. The Tigers went on to score a touchdown on that drive.

Christian Varner's sack at the end of the first half would have forced the Tigers out of field goal range, but he was flagged for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, which led to three points.

"The unsportsmanlikes and all those dumb penalties have got to stop," Haynos said. "I don't know if it's snowballing. We made some plays at the end we probably should have been making all day. We'll get that corrected, and we'll look good against North Carolina next week."

The Terps have four games left and will have to go at least 2-2 to become bowl eligible. It may not be where this team expected to be two-thirds of the way through the season, especially after a 2006 season that came down to the final game.

But that's the reality of it.

"It's really frustrating," Turner said. "I don't have much to say. It doesn't feel good. Things just aren't going our way right now."

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