Running back Brandon Ross celebrates after scoring a touchdown as the Terps shut out West Virginia, 37-0, on Sept. 21, 2013 at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

In a humbling blowout loss at Florida State, bright spots were few and far between for the Terrapins football team, especially on the defense.

But while the Seminoles dominated, the Terps did have a player appear on the stat sheet for the first time this year.

Defensive end Zeke Riser, who had been sidelined by a foot injury for the first five weeks of the season, made his Terps debut and recorded his first tackle in the third quarter.

“It was really tough,” Riser said. “I’ve never really been part of a team and been able to play and then not been on the sidelines. To miss those first four were tough.”

Riser transferred from Houston as a graduate student with immediate eligibility this summer and was expected to provide depth along a defensive line trying to replace two starters. He played in defensive coordinator Brian Stewart’s 3-4 defensive scheme at Houston and could provide a veteran presence with familiarity.

But his adjustment to the Terps was slowed by his injury, and he was kept off the field for the first third of the season.

Against Florida State, though, he was back on the field, and when the Terps released their depth chart for Saturday’s game against Virginia, Riser was listed as Keith Bowers’ backup at defensive end.

The 23-year-old said he’s probably the oldest player on the Terps’ travel squad, so he feels like he can contribute to the Terps however they need him to. And as he returns to full health — Riser acknowledged he had “a little bit of rust” at Florida State — he could play a more significant role for the Terps.

“I thought he did a good job,” Stewart said. “He did what we asked him to do. He’s a solid player. He used his hands, filled his gaps, so I was pretty excited. I was excited for him that he got his first chance to go out there and play for us.”

RUNNING GAME

During their blistering 4-0 start, the Terps displayed a balanced offense, picking up yards with relative ease both through the air and on the ground. But Saturday at Florida State, the Seminoles clogged up the Terps’ ground game, forcing them to the air early and often, where they found little success.

Running back Brandon Ross entered Saturday’s matchup with 332 yards in the first four games. But against the Seminoles, he carried the ball only three times for minus-1 yard and reverted to some bad habits that plagued him earlier in the season.

“I was doing too much dancing,” Ross said. “As far as holes opening up, after watching film, there were some lanes that were there that I could have hit better, but I didn’t see them right away. That’s just something I got to do more preparation, study the opponent better.”

As a whole, the Terps gained 33 yards on 25 carries, with running back Jacquille Veii racking up 15 yards in garbage time to lead the team. Facing a superior, athletic defense, the Terps couldn’t get their timing right in order to have the success they needed.

“When you’re in the zone-read scheme, you’ve got to make sure you read it correctly,” offensive coordinator Mike Locksley said. “When we get the ball to the edge, we’ve got to take care of blocking the perimeter. We’ve got to get all those things accomplished running the football, and we haven’t been very good at it.”

ROWE’S CAMEO

When quarterback C.J. Brown exited Saturday’s game with a concussion, backup Caleb Rowe appeared in a game for the Terps for the first time in almost a year. And he wasn’t in an easy situation.

Facing a third and long deep in his own territory against a dominant Florida State defense, Rowe calmly completed a long pass to wide receiver Nigel King, briefly giving the Terps a spark in the rout.

“As I told him after the game, I thought Caleb came in and executed a lot better than what I would have expected,” Locksley said. “Coming into that type of situation, his first play was a third and 12, and he bangs the seven route for a first down.”

Rowe finished the game 9-of-17 for 119 yards and no interceptions, and the sophomore was sacked once.

Though word of Brown’s status for Saturday’s game isn’t expected until tonight, the Terps are clear they still expect the offense to operate at the same level it did early in the season.

“We just have to be supportive of whoever our quarterback is,” Ross said. “If Caleb is playing, that just means everybody has to step their game up in order to help him. He got some time last year, but when he did, he showed out. We definitely feel like we can win no matter which quarterback is in there.”