OUT WITH A BANG

WASHINGTON – Ralph Friedgen never wanted his team's Dec. 29 Military Bowl appearance to be their last together.

But the result — a 51-20 pummeling of East Carolina before tens of thousands of wistful fans in RFK Stadium — was just fine for the longtime Terrapin football coach.

Running back Da'Rel Scott ran for 200 yards and two touchdowns and the Terp defense forced four turnovers to send Friedgen out in style from the job he had held for the past decade.

"If you have to go out, this is the best way to do it," Friedgen said. "I am happy to watch this team, and I wish them the very best. I am with them in spirit every step of the way."

Friedgen left his alma mater with a 75-50 record, a pair of ACC Coach of the Year honors and bowl appearances in seven of his 10 seasons.

But for Athletics Director Kevin Anderson, it wasn't enough. More than a week before Friedgen was doused in Gatorade one final time by his victorious Terp team, Anderson had announced the remaining year on Friedgen's contract would be bought out and the search for his replacement would begin in earnest.

"I feel like he is a great coach," Scott said afterward. "But it is a business, and it was a business decision."

In his wake, Friedgen leaves a muddled mark on the program's history. Friedgen followed three straight 10-win seasons and an ACC Championship with a string of topsy-turvy campaigns that led to calls for his ouster. A program-worst 2-10 record in 2009 only intensified a weary fan base's cries before a surprising 9-4 season seemed to secure his job for at least one more year.

"People are concerned about my legacy," Friedgen said. "My legacy is what it is. It is 75-50, how I treated people, who I am as a person, what I represent. I can look in the mirror and have no problems with doing that. I gave it the best I had for 10 years. Obviously that's not good enough right now, and that's what hurts."

The on-field action inside RFK Stadium, punctuated by a pair of scoring sprints from Scott, including a 91-yard touchdown that marked the beginning of the end of a blowout victory and a coach's tenure, served as mere footnotes to Friedgen's final minutes on a sideline for the near future.

Little but the fourth-quarter chants of "Ralph, Ralph, Ralph" and "Thank you, Fried-gen" indicated the 63-year-old was enjoying the final notes of his swan song. He stood stolidly as he watched his defense contain an explosive East Carolina offense. He gesticulated wildly and barked angrily at officials for perceived missed calls.

But at a postgame press conference with his wife and three daughters in attendance, Friedgen fought off tears as he thanked the "120 sons" in his football family who had given him an enduring memory to cap a career that would soon end.

"He didn't get as bad as I thought he would," linebacker Alex Wujciak said of Friedgen's postgame message to the team. "He said our prayer after the game. He thanked all of us. He told us we could call him whenever we want and that he would be there for us for the rest of our lives. He just broke it down one last time."

TERP NOTE: First-team All-ACC wide receiver Torrey Smith announced after the game that he will forgo his senior season and enter the NFL Draft. Smith finished the season with 67 receptions for 1,055 yards and an ACC-best 12 touchdowns. His 2,983 yards on kickoff returns are a conference career record.

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