An eye-catching debut

Nobody knew quite what to expect as the Terrapins football team ushered in the program's new era at Byrd Stadium last night.

With a new coach patrolling each Byrd Stadium sideline as the Terps took on Miami — a team still reeling from an NCAA investigation that left eight players suspended for yesterday's game — the helter-skelter buildup to the season opener produced a similarly chaotic product on the field.

But after seven lead changes, constant shifts in the stormy weather and even a pregame uniform switch, the Terps left with a memorable 32-24 victory before a sellout crowd.

"It's a great confidence booster," guard Andrew Gonnella said. "Now we know for sure what we're doing works, and now we believe even more than we have been believing and we know that our team can pull together and band together in tough situations."

The game wasn't won until the Terps' final possession. After Miami took a 24-23 lead with just more than four minutes on the clock, quarterback Danny O'Brien found himself facing a scenario not unlike the one he faced against the Hurricanes last season.

Only where he was unable to lead a comeback charge last November — a road loss that ended with an incompletion by O'Brien at Miami's 30-yard line — he delivered. The sophomore signal caller found wide receiver Kevin Dorsey down the right sideline for a 52-yard reception that set up a game-winning field goal from kicker Nick Ferrara to put the Terps (1-0, 1-0 ACC) back up by two points.

Miami's ensuing possession ended in an interception by cornerback Cameron Chism, who weaved his way past several Hurricanes and into the end zone, all but sealing victory for the Terps.

Considering the way the team had moved the ball all night, beginning with its opening drive, O'Brien's late charge was hardly surprising.

After revealing their loud, new all-white uniforms, the Terps flaunted their new up-tempo attack right out of the gate, marching 79 yards in less than four minutes for seven quick points.

From there, they rarely looked back. With an attack predicated mostly on screen passes and quick hitters, O'Brien torched the Hurricanes (0-1, 0-1) for 348 yards and a touchdown through the air. Six different receivers caught passes, with Dorsey's eight receptions and 124 yards leading the way.

"We've got some weapons. I told you, I thought we had some receivers that could get the job done," coach Randy Edsall said.

While the end result was a positive one for the Terps — a win to start the team's season, ACC slate and Edsall's career in College Park — there were certainly blemishes on the Terps' opening-night performance.

They struggled at times to contain Miami running back Lamar Miller, who ran for 128 yards and a touchdown, and quarterback Stephen Morris moved the ball with precision before throwing two late interceptions.

Ultimately, though, their defense came together when the Terps needed it most. Between Chism's interception, a fumble returned for a touchdown by defensive tackle Joe Vellano and a strip-sack by linebacker Darin Drakeford, the Terps found the big play just as the game's momentum seemed headed in the opposite direction.

"We finished," linebacker Demetrius Hartsfield said. "Something we didn't do last year — we finished the game."

The Terps didn't always make things easy on themselves last night. After moving through Miami's defense with little resistance, the Terps found themselves in the red zone seven times. More often than not, that's also where they stalled.

In those seven trips, the Terps managed one touchdown and four field goals. The other two ended in an interception in the end zone and a missed field goal.

Were it not for Vellano's touchdown late in the second quarter — "not since Pop Warner," said Vellano, laughing, when asked about the last touchdown he'd scored — the Terps' red-zone inefficiency may have cost them in a game that hinged on every lucky bounce.

"Yeah, we left a lot of points on the board and we've got to hit that, but I think the bigger story is how this team showed resiliency and how they fought to the very end in order to get a win," Edsall said. "When you can go out and finish the game and win the game in a conference game on a national stage, I'll take that any time."

cwalsh@umdbk.com