Football muddled in murky ACC race

With a win at Miami on Saturday, the Terrapin football team said last week, it could reach dual goals of adding a resumé-building victory and keeping pace in the ACC's Atlantic Division race.

With the Terps' loss, the opportunity to secure a signature win fell apart. But even in defeat, the Terps somehow managed to retain complete power in shaping their own fate in the chase for the Atlantic Division title.

"We're right back where we started," coach Ralph Friedgen said in a Sunday teleconference. "We missed an opportunity to really take a step forward. But all in all, we still control our own destiny."

Stumbles by the Terps' divisional rivals, N.C. State and Florida State, certainly helped. The Wolfpack fell to Clemson, 14-13, while the Seminoles lost at home to North Carolina, 37-35, leaving the Terps' path to an Atlantic Division crown even more straightforward.

If they can win all three remaining games on their schedule, beginning with a trip to Virginia on Saturday and ending with a pair of divisional tilts against the Seminoles and Wolfpack at Byrd Stadium, they'll head to the ACC Championship in early December.

The Terps are not the only ones who find themselves in a similar scenario. The Wolfpack could also win out and take the Atlantic Division.

"It's Groundhog Day," N.C. State coach Tom O'Brien said at a press conference yesterday. "We wake up, and we're where we started last week. We'll see if we can finish it off and do a better job this time."

The Terps and N.C. State are knotted at 3-2 in the conference. Both are just a half-game behind Florida State, which has played in one more ACC game and claims a 4-2 conference record.

The traffic jam atop the division leaves room for dozens of scenarios that could play out in the final weeks of the season. Four possible teams, including Clemson (3-3 in ACC play), could win the Atlantic Division title and earn a spot in the ACC Championship.

Friedgen said he was "very thankful" both N.C. State and Florida State lost Saturday, leaving the Terps in the thick of the race. But he was quick to voice his disappointment at his own team's inability to finish against Miami at Sun Life Stadium. With a win, the Terps would have stood atop the division entering their grueling homestretch.

"I don't think anyone in this office feels very good right now; we missed an opportunity," Friedgen said. "We caught a break, so we didn't lose any ground."

Still, Friedgen recognized that though the defeat was far from a defining win, it was also far from a dispiriting loss.

"They were the preseason pick by some to win the national championship, and we were 36 seconds away," Friedgen said of the Hurricanes. "Obviously, we showed we can play with that team. I think we're a pretty darn good football team, but what we're going to be tested on now is our ability to forget this one and move on to the next one."

kyanchulis@umdbk.com