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Maryland football in ‘playoff’ mode needing 2 wins to make bowl

edward lee, baltimore sun
·4 min read

Three days after Maryland football challenged No. 1 Oregon before succumbing to a 39-18 loss on Saturday, redshirt junior running back Roman Hemby said he and his teammates weren’t very interested in trying to find the silver lining.

“We don’t really believe in moral victories,” the Edgewood native and John Carroll graduate said Tuesday.

The Terps’ next chance to demonstrate what they learned will take place Saturday when Rutgers visits SECU Stadium in College Park at 6 p.m. The teams have clashed annually since joining the Big Ten in 2014.

Saturday’s matchup is pivotal for both teams. The Scarlet Knights (5-4, 2-4 Big Ten) need to collect just one more victory in their last three regular-season games to become eligible for what would be their second consecutive bowl appearance.

Meanwhile, the circumstances are a little more dire for Maryland (4-5, 1-5), which must win two of its last three games to earn an invite to what would be its fourth straight bowl. The program has not gone to four bowls in a row since a stretch between 1982 and 1985.

“This is playoff football. That’s kind of what I told our team,” coach Mike Locksley said. “This is our version of the playoffs. If we win, we advance. If we lose, we make it a little tougher to advance. Our players understand that.”

The Terps might have put themselves in a more opportune position for the postseason if they had performed better against Michigan State, Northwestern and Minnesota — all of which were losses. In fact, the team has lost four of its past five games.

Maryland’s woes have been compounded by a sudden inability to protect the ball (11 turnovers in the past five games versus three in the first four) and a regression in what Locksley calls explosive plays (26 in the past five games versus 40 for opponents over the same span).

But fifth-year senior inside linebacker Ruben Hyppolite II said the players can’t dwell on the past.

“We’re a very relentless group,” he said. “We all have stories and backgrounds of where we come from, where we had to fight to get to where we are now. So there’s no downers in the locker room. Everybody’s head is in the right mental space.”

Like the Terps, Rutgers owns a sub-.500 record in the Big Ten. Unlike Maryland, however, the Scarlet Knights ended a four-game losing skid Saturday by forging a 26-19 victory over Minnesota — an opponent that walloped the Terps, 48-23, on Oct. 26.

But Rutgers coach Greg Schiano said underestimating Maryland would be a mistake considering the Terps have won five of the past six meetings in the series.

“Coach Locksley does a great job,” Schiano said Monday. “Certainly he’s been a handful for us in our time back here. We haven’t had a ton of success against them, especially playing on the road. So we have our hands full.”

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With a trip to No. 4 Penn State (8-1, 5-1) looming in the regular-season finale on Nov. 30, home games against Rutgers and Iowa (6-4, 4-3) on Nov. 23 figure to be the type of matchups Maryland must claim to earn a place in the postseason.

“I think Rutgers is a great team, and I think we have a great team,” Hemby said. “We’ll have a good environment at home. As our season winds down, it’s important for us seniors to leave this place on a high note. So that’s kind of how we’re approaching everything.”

Still, as the number of games — and opportunities — dwindle, the pressure would seem palpable. Hyppolite said the notion of becoming bowl eligible should provide everyone associated with the team with all the motivation they need.

“It’s vital,” he said. “We have three one-game seasons, and we’ve got to get a win. Where my mindset is, I’ve got to do all that I can to make sure that we get a win. And where our team’s mindset is, it’s on the same wavelength as mine. So we’re just looking forward to getting a win.”

Have a news tip? Contact Edward Lee at eklee@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/EdwardLeeSun.

Rutgers at Maryland

Saturday, 6 p.m.

TV: FS1

Radio:105.7 FM

Line: Maryland by 5 1/5