By Ethan Cadeaux (@Ethan_301)
In August, no one would have thought the Terps football program would be where it is right now. Coming off a 7-6 season and a couple impressive conference wins in the Terps inaugural Big Ten season, the Terps looked like they could match up with almost any team in the conference this year.
But after eight straight losses, having the head coach fired midway through the season, and a bunch of injuries, the Terps are 2-9 and are ready to move on from this lost season.
After blowing a 21-3 lead last Saturday against Indiana on senior day, this Saturday marks the last chance for the seniors to come away with a victory in their college career on the road at Rutgers.
“Rutgers week, obviously for our guys its our senior’s last opportunity to go out and play as Terrapins,” said interim head coach Mike Locksley. “We were a little disappointed still with not being able to send them out with a win at home.
“But this provides us with another opportunity,” Locksley continued on. “We are going to face a Rutgers team that still has an outside shot being bowl eligible, and it will also be their senior day, so I can expect these guys will be pretty amped to play us.”
The Terps are going to rely on the running game in order to keep up with Rutgers, who put up 55 points on the same Indiana team that beat the Terps by 19 last week. Senior running back Brandon Ross had a career day Saturday, rushing for 250 yards in the loss to Indiana. The Terps will need all they can get from Ross in order to score, especially with the many questions surrounding the quarterback position.
It is unsure who will start at quarterback for the Terps this Saturday. Junior Perry Hills has been the starter since Locksley took over in mid-October, but he missed last week’s game due to mono. Redshirt junior Caleb Rowe started last week, but had to leave the game at halftime due to concussion symptoms.
“From an injury standpoint, both Perry [Hills] and Caleb [Rowe] have been cleared to practice on a limited basis,” said Locksley. “I expect those two to be game-time decisions.”
Locksley did say that if Hills is healthy, he will be the starter, but he most likely will not know if Hills is able to play until game time.
Even with the inconsistent offense the Terps have displayed throughout the season, they need a better performance from their defense than last week to even have a chance to win the game.
Rutgers has two running backs, Robert Martin and Josh Hicks, who both average over 5 yards per carry. The Rutgers offense is built off of the run game, and the Terps must be prepared for it.
“They run a lot of power and counter with these guys,” said Locksley, referring to the strong Rutgers rushing attack. “They are well coached up front [on the offensive line], the run game is something they want to establish, and I expect us to have to stop the run in order to win the ball game.”
Although the season has not gone as planned, Locksley is thankful that the team has put in solid effort throughout the season, fighting through adversity and tough times and continuing to prepare and practice hard every day.
“As we often say to our guys, football is the closest thing to the real world,” said Locksley. “That’s where everything doesn’t always go as plan, and what you have to do is overcome adversity, and even manage success. Great life lessons can be taken from this season, you can learn a lot through failure.”
The team has become more of a family over the past six weeks, as Locksley noted he could sense a culture change in the locker room recently.
“There has been a culture shift within the last five to six weeks, these guys are playing more as a bonded unit,” said Locksley. “A lot of times adversity brings families together; our team is a family.”
Although Locksley does not know whether he will be back next year, he should be proud that he was able to keep a team focused and playing with a lot of energy through one of the roughest football seasons in College Park in recent memory.
