KNOCKED OUT

Entering Saturday's game, the Terrapin football team already had far surpassed expectations for this season, transforming from a 10-loss team into a conference contender.

But the Terps wanted more — a signature win against Florida State, an Atlantic Division title, an ACC Championship.

Even after a pair of fourth-quarter turnovers Saturday night, the Terps still had a chance at keeping those hopes alive.

Down by seven points, the Terps took over with less than five minutes on the clock and drove downfield. With 54 seconds remaining, the Terps faced a fourth down on the 19-yard line. But facing pressure from the Florida State defense, quarterback Danny O'Brien threw a pass blindly up the middle, where it was picked out of the air by Seminole safety Nick Moody, who took it 96 yards to the opposite end zone.

"I didn't even see where the receiver was," O'Brien said after the Terps' 30-16 loss. "I was just kind of throwing to where I thought he would be. I didn't even see him. I just didn't want to go down for the sack. We had [tight end] Will [Yeatman] coming short and [wide receiver] Adrian Cannon coming behind him, and I was just trying to get it up."

The Terps gave chase to Moody's run before slowing down and staring dejectedly, knowing the score signaled an end to their title run. Many of the 48,115 in attendance at Byrd Stadium exited en masse soon after, not sticking around to watch the final seconds of a result they were all too familiar with.

Two years ago, the Terps fell to the Seminoles in a similar scenario, suffering a 37-3 blowout during a prime-time, "blackout" game in late November with a spot in the ACC Championship on the line. Saturday's showing offered more competitiveness but no difference in outcome. The Terps again are out of contention in the Atlantic Division.

Even while dealing with injuries to an already depleted offensive line, the Terps managed to hold momentum through much of the first three quarters. Starting right tackle Justin Lewis went out with a knee injury, while center Bennett Fulper missed the majority of the first half with an injured hand before returning after halftime. True freshman Max Garcia, who burned his redshirt to come in after Fulper's injury, also was hurt.

"Those are all guys in an area where we couldn't sustain many more losses, but our kids were right in it to the very end," coach Ralph Friedgen said. "I think the biggest thing that could have gone wrong today did, and we didn't flinch."

For a while, it looked as if the Seminoles' mistakes would end up costing them the game.

With the Terps driving in the first quarter, Florida State appeared to have an interception for a touchdown. The turnover was called back after an unnecessary roughness penalty, however, giving the Terps new life on their possession before tying the game at 10.

Later, Terp safety Kenny Tate intercepted a pass by quarterback Christian Ponder, helping set up a Terp field goal. A fumble by the Seminoles led to another field goal for the Terps, giving them a 16-13 lead in the third quarter.

But in the end, it was the Terps' miscues — something that had become rarities this season — that sealed the final result. Though the Terps ended with eight more first downs than the Seminoles and 78 more yards of total offense, they lost the turnover battle, 4-2.

"The tale of the night was the turnovers," Friedgen said.

O'Brien was hit while trying to pitch the ball to running back Davin Meggett early in the game. Florida State recovered the loose ball, setting up a touchdown drive on a short field.

In the fourth quarter, the Terps unraveled even further. Facing pressure on a third down, O'Brien rushed a low pass that was picked off by cornerback Greg Reid. Though replays appeared to show the ball hitting the ground, the officials held up the call after a review.

"I don't know what the replay showed, but it looked like on the board that he dropped it," Friedgen said.

Though the Terp defense forced a three-and-out, seemingly avoiding any damage, a purposefully short Seminole punt hit Terp cornerback Cameron Chism in the back, and Florida State recovered 17 yards from the end zone. The Terp defense held the Seminoles to a field goal, but the Terps still needed seven points to force overtime. On the final play of the potential game-winning drive, O'Brien again threw a touchdown — but to the wrong team.

"I thought we did a great job moving the ball down there, but in the end, we just came up short," Friedgen said. "We are going to beat one of these teams one of these days. I see it. We are very close. Through all the adversity we had today, we still had a chance to win it at the end."

kyanchulis@umdbk.com