TERPS RUN DOWN IN EMERALD BOWL

SAN FRANCISCO - Darrius Heyward-Bey and Isaiah Williams stood in the bowels of AT&T Park, clearly frustrated and annoyed by what they had just been a part of.

The Terrapins' top two wide receivers knew going into the game that running would be difficult on Oregon State's No. 2-ranked rushing defense. Heyward-Bey and Williams both caught touchdowns as the Terps scored 14 first-quarter points, two fewer than the Beavers had allowed all season. And then the two wide receivers witnessed first-hand a complete change from what had been successful.

"I guess we were going in a new direction as far as play-calling," Williams said after the Terps' 21-14 loss to Oregon State in the rainy Emerald Bowl. "I don't know if it was the best way to go, I don't know if it was a bad way to go, but things just weren't going well. I think defense played really well, but offense, if you look at it, we couldn't move the ball at all. It was a matter of time before our defense was going to let up, and sure enough they did."

On the Terps' only two scoring drives of the game, Chris Turner threw the ball nine times for 151 yards and two touchdowns. During the Terps' 11 other drives on Friday night, Turner threw just 20 times for 54 yards.

"I think when you're doing one thing and it's working, you have to stick with it," Williams said. "But again, I'm just a player, so I don't really know. That's on someone else."

The Terps (6-7) finished the game with their lowest rushing total of the season, by far: 19 yards on 26 carries - an average of less than a yard per carry.

Keon Lattimore's longest rush of the game was four yards, and Lance Ball's was two, as Oregon State (9-4) had an easy time containing the Terp backs from start to finish.

"We kept on trying to get the running game going; it just got difficult, and then we tried to throw the ball late in the game," Heyward-Bey said. "That's difficult to do when you run, run, run, then you try to throw. Teams kind of know what you're doing. So it was kind of frustrating out there. But we're players first and we're not coaches, so we just gotta suck it up and do what we gotta do."

Coach Ralph Friedgen completed his second and final year as the team's offensive coordinator. Next year, Kansas State's James Franklin will take over.

But it was a sour way for Friedgen to go out, as the Terps hardly looked competent on offense after the first quarter.

"I think honestly we're going to have to go in a whole new direction," Williams said. "I think that's what Coach Friedgen's trying to do."

When asked what needed to be done before next season begins, Heyward-Bey said he would like to know who the team's starting quarterback is from day one.

"That's the number one thing we need to do," he said. "That's big for the receivers. My redshirt freshman year, when I knew Sam [Hollenbach] was going to be my quarterback, it made it a lot easier for us to work together in the summer time because quarterbacks are doing different things in the summer. They got different schedules and you try and find time with somebody, and he might not end up being your quarterback when the season starts."

Friedgen said nothing changed from quarter to quarter, and the Terps just need to learn how to play consistent.

"We've [played inconsistent] all year," Friedgen said. "We do that in practice. I told them in the locker room, if we want to be a good football team, that's gotta get corrected. I don't know if it's a lack of focus. Obviously I'm looking to try and correct it coaching-wise, but until you can sustain it over a long period of time, then you're always just going to be average. It's something that will be stressed this winter and this spring."

After the game, Friedgen promised to "get back to where we need to be" next season.

"We're gonna raise things to a whole 'nother level," he said. "They better come with their A-game because I'm gonna come with my A-game."

Friday night, it was about as far from an A-game as possible.

The Terps jumped out to leads of 7-0 on an 11-play, 80-yard drive and 14-7 on a 63-yard Heyward-Bey touchdown reception before the game turned ugly and, at times, unwatchable.

The Terps had just one total yard in the second quarter, and that wasn't even the most startling stat of the 15-minute frame. The two teams combined for five turnovers in the quarter. Three of those turnovers came in a span of 2:02.

There were also quite a few drops, at least five, by the Terps.

"They might affect the rhythm; it doesn't really affect me," Turner said. "I know those things happen … and that's just the way it's going to go. It was wet today, that might have been a factor. It's just one of those things that happens in a football game."

For the most part, the defense played well, sacking Oregon State's quarterbacks five times, forcing three turnovers and holding the Beavers to 21 points despite being the recipient of horrible defensive field position all game long.

But the Terps couldn't stop the run, even when they knew it was coming. The defense allowed 275 yards on 54 carries and was unable to get off the field as the Beavers ran the final 6:24 off the clock.

"Our emphasis was to try to stop the run, and we didn't really do a good job of it," safety J.J. Justice said. "We tried to make them one-dimensional and force them to pass the ball, but they ended up having a good day on the ground."

The loss marks the Terps' third losing season in four years. And despite the bowl-game appearance, it also means another long offseason in College Park.

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