Cheaters Never Prosper

It was mentioned during the radio broadcast of Maryland's 34-24 win over then #10 Rutgers that before the snap, Rutgers defensive linemen would be signaling to their linebackers which side the Terps would be running the ball to. Pretty good scouting for a non-conference opponent huh?

Well our friends over at Truth About Dook know why. It was because Dook gave Rutgers the Maryland-Wake Forest game tape.

As a matter of fact in his postgame presser, Rutgers Head Coach Greg Schiano even said about Maryland backup quarterback Chris Turner:

I wish I would have seen this guy before today, but I guess if you're going to lose your quarterback you are better off losing him on a game when you are running the ball effectively. But to give Turner credit, he got hit a few times but still hung in there. He did an impressive job.

Now we know why...

It turns out that Rutgers had called Georgia Tech and Wake Forest before finding a willing accomplice in Dook. Furthermore, Schiano wasn't calling in a favor either and the video guy at Dook who turned over the tape used to work with Maryland Head Coach Ralph Friedgen at Maryland and Georgia Tech (want to bet he never works for Fridge again?).

The other crying shame about Saturday's game was the admission from the ACC that the hit that took out Maryland's starting quarterback Jordan Steffy was illegal and should have been flagged. Of course, the ACC officiating crew (the visiting team provides the on-field officials in non-conference games) didn't flag the play. Turner also took a head shot on his touchdown pass that was wiped out by a bogus penalty (offensive linemen are allowed to be three yards beyond the line of scrimmage on a passing play if they got there through contact with a defender initiated behind the line of scrimmage). Maryland also ended up submitting a whopping 19 plays to the ACC from the Maryland-Wake Forest game.

However, all of this just goes to show you that even though Rutgers was well prepared for the Terps, they still couldn't beat them. What in the world Rutgers was doing ranked #10 is beyond me because if Rutgers really was the 10th best team in the country, then Maryland has to be in the Top 5. How else could you explain a 10 point loss at home when you are coming off a bye week and have excellent preparation in front of the second largest crowd in your stadium's history?