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Maryville College may have been 90 minutes ahead of the North Carolina rockslide that closed I-40 last weekend but spent 60 minutes sliding against North Carolina's Greensboro College Saturday afternoon on a sloppy Honaker Field.

Tim Conner -- the Scots banged up starting quarterback -- knew exactly how it felt to buried. The junior spent the better part of the afternoon running for his life and plucking muck and sod from his helmet while taking six sacks and being hurried by a Greensboro defensive front that dominated the Scots with their size.

"We knew at the beginning of the year that our offensive line was a concern," said MC skipper Tony Ierulli. "And the last three games they've just been overwhelmed. We haven't been able to give Tim any time or protection."

Indeed the Pride's front four of Brian Richardson, Nathan Wooten, Brandon Drumgoole and Kris Allen spent most of their time dropping Scots faster than the English did to William Wallace's kilt-clad boys at Falkirk.

MC's backs netted just 33 yards on the ground after 56 yards were lost in the backfield on nine Greensboro stops behind the line -- all but one coming from the defensive front.

"If you all saw any holes out there, let me know," said Ierulli. "I certainly didn't see many."

Not only did the pounding keep Conner scrambling and the backfield a hit-and-miss chance to even return to the line of scrimmage but the toll on the scoreboard was the difference in the 26-12 loss. Greensboro picked up its second touchdown with a Pick 6 as Conner rushed a throw with the walls closing in and Jerry Bates stepped in front of Fighting Scot Sam McCord and went 55 yards. Conner was so wrapped up by defenders in the third quarter he couldn't reach the ground before the ball came loose and was picked up and shuffled into a second defensive score.

"I like an aggressive defense when the footing is bad like this," said first-year Greensboro coach Dr. Randy Hunt. "Those scores took the pressure off our offense and our guys up front put a lot of pressure on their offense."

The Scots had to resort to razzle-dazzle trickery to circumvent the Pride's defensive dominance. The double reverse from Rommel Hightower to Zane Winders that he flicked back to Conner for a 54-yard bomb to Wesley Idlette brought the crowd alive and after a 41-yard field goal and safety, Maryville was within two.

And while a 12-12 affair might have ensued without the Pride defense's need to outscore its offense, the Scots defense left two series on the field -- the first and last. Greensboro scored on its opening drive after Matt Martin, who leads GC by averaging just 31 yards a game, picked up 36 of his 118 yards on a single carry. In fact, the Pride running attack tied its season-high with 132 on a slick and gooey field after netting only 382 in its first seven games.

"I'm disappointed we couldn't stop their run at the start and finish," said Ierulli, who saw Greensboro take away any chance of a Scot patented miracle comeback with a 16-play drive that chewed up 10 of the last 11 minutes of the game.

It was a step forward for a Pride team vying for relevance after so long in the conference cellar.

It was an offical death knell on the Scots title talk from the 0-2 start now buried under a three-game slide that could very well extend to five with a November finish that looked tough in September and more like an impending avalanche from the muck of Saturday's defeat.

"We have to pull ourselves together before we go to Christopher Newport or its going to be long ride home," Ierulli said looking at the trip to POMOCO Stadium -- a place where Maryville has never known any victory but of the moral variety.

Ferrum's season-ending visit looks just as dark.

But at least when its an assumed 3-7 season from this point, there won't be any pressure.

Marcus Fitzsimmons is a sports writer and copy editor for The Daily Times who enjoys comments and criticism posted to the online version of his column on www.thedailytimes.com.