Aiken's Receptions Soothe UNC Debacle

But something positive did actually happen. UNC wide receiver Sam Aiken became the fifth wideout in school history to eclipse the 2,000 career receiving yards mark.

He reached the milestone during the first half, which he finished with nine catches for 87 yards.

"I kept hearing (Maryland Assistant) Coach (Gary) Blackney say, 'Find 88 and stick with him,'" said Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen. "He's a good receiver. I don't know what they did at halftime."

Whatever the secondary did, it worked. Aiken didn't catch another pass until five minutes remained in the game.

He finished the day with 10 catches for 102 yards. His career total for receiving yards is at 2,031 and counting.

Redshirt freshman Matt Baker, who took his first collegiate snap Saturday, threw that final pass to Aiken.

"(UNC Offensive Coordinator) Gary (Tranquill) and I talked last week about playing Matt Baker some in the game against Wake Forest," said UNC coach John Bunting. "I thought it was appropriate that in this game when it started to be a little out of hand that we give Matt a shot. He's earned that right to play."

Maryland Offense Clicks

While the Tar Heel defense continued to exercise its futility Saturday, the Terps offense demonstrated one in efficiency.

Of Maryland's eight scoring drives (seven touchdowns, one field goal), six of them consisted of five plays or fewer, and all were less than two minutes long.

The Terps averaged a gaudy 9.3 yards per play against the Tar Heels; they'd been averaging 6.8 in their previous four.

"We tried to run the ball a little to set up the passing game," said quarterback Scott McBrien, who completed 6 of 11 passes for 190 yards and one touchdown. "We really didn't have to throw the ball much today. They were moving the chains. So if something's not broke, don't fix it."

The Sports Editor can be reached at sports@unc.edu.