it's because of the signs

Whoa now. If you saw that one coming, put your hand in the air. Now put it down, because you are a liar. 31-0 would have been a very plausible pre-game prediction if you gave the points to Maryland. I don't even care that every word of doom, gloom, and snark that I put in the game preview blew up in my face; it's certainly better than having it all come true.

But don't think for a minute that this is only awesome because of the margin of victory. Or because both the offensive line and the defense displayed a previously invisible level of talent. Or because the running game finally made an appearance. Or because we now have an ACC win to show for this season.

No, Maryland fans are what make wins like this so completely enjoyable. Their Scout board has some particular gems. Granted, Scout boards tend to be just one level of evolution above ESPN comments, which themselves are not far above YouTube comments. No matter; the people there at the TSR (Turtle Sports Report) are still Maryland fans, and thus, their anger and hatred is my beautiful weekend.

For example, it makes my weekend just to know that people like this had a bad day yesterday:

UVA Is A Trash Program

Their fans don't deserve to be happy. They don't deserve jobs. They don't spouses. They don't deserve healthy children. They are insects. F*cking disgusting pieces of trash who plague the rest of the country. I hope they all have miserable lives and die as lonely, disease infected vegetables. Their worthless piece of sh!t program can SMyD.

Yep. Nothing says "class" like Maryland. Let's be clear on this, just in case this is too hazy a point I'm making: Maryland has the absolute worst fan base in the entire country. Schadenfreude is never quite so freude-y as when Maryland is involved, because for the most part they are so deserving of it.

Also, you should read this thread for superb hilarity, which would be funny no matter which team is involved: Teams Better At Football Than Maryland

Enough hating on the Twerps, though. What did our team do well last night?

- Block, for one. They consistently got a push off the line of scrimmage, for the first time all year. Austin Pasztor was particularly impressive. Most of our best runs were to the left side. B.J. Cabbell, the pulling guard from the other side, finally was able to pull and not bump into the backside of his own counterpart. Pasztor got his chance because Zak Stair was "Out" on the injury report; Stair just got Wally Pipped.

- It's amazing how good the skill players look when given room to operate. Ced Peerman was a hoss, Mikell Simpson nearly as much. These guys are really good backs, which is easy to forget when the line can't hold back the defenders. Verica's accuracy really shone. He fit some nifty passes into tough spots. I expect big things out of him in the future. And where did he get those touchdown-scampering wheels?

- Sintim and Ras the Destroyer are far and away the best players on defense. It showed again last night. Just as I said last week, that it was no coincidence the defense went to pieces against Duke when they left with cramps. Ras-I had Darius Heyward-Bey covered all day.

- Totally forgiven: the unsportsmanlike penalty against Sintim and the celebration penalty against Ogletree. All Tree did was spike the ball: one of those calls that the refs' hands are tied because the rule was written by fascist dictators. Sintim could maybe stand to jaw a little less, but in both cases, it was nice to see the fire and drive on this team for once; it was also nice to have something that they could get fired up about.

Adjusted stats on Verica coming later.

So. Signs back in the stadium; 31-0 victory over hated rival. Offensive line performs brilliantly. Defense performs brilliantly. Quarterback is deadly accurate. Faith, once vaporized, is restored. Funny how ESPN's cliched little slogans (Every Victory Can Change The Season or whatever it is) can be so amazingly fitting. Is this the Turning Point in the season? It's too early to say. Remember, Maryland looked like ass in their first two games, then thought they had hit a turning point by rocking California's world a few weeks ago. Then this. We're still the team that got destroyed by Duke. But now we're also the team that destroyed Maryland, and having such a win on the schedule brightens the outlook considerably. Because now we know it can be done.