[Baltimore Sun] With brutal schedule, Maryland football understands the need to beat Minnesota
Read Time:6 Minute, 0 Second
When Mike Locksley elected to go for a 2-point conversion rather than settle for an extra point in the fourth quarter of Maryland’s game against Southern California on Saturday, the players on offense didn’t hesitate or second-guess their coach’s decision.
The message was heard loud and clear.
“We want to be aggressive, whether it’s throwing the ball or running the ball,” redshirt junior quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. said of the 2-point conversion that contributed to the Terps’ comeback 29-28 win against the Trojans. “Offensively, we kind of want to have that hunting mentality where we’re doing the hunting and just continue to be aggressive. We’re going to take shots and continue to push the ball down the field and continue to be aggressive from that standpoint and never play scared.”
Maryland (4-3, 1-3 Big Ten) might be well served to repeat that approach for the remainder of the season if it harbors hopes of earning an invitation to an unprecedented fourth consecutive bowl game. And defeating host Minnesota (4-3, 2-2) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. represents the first step toward that goal.
Saturday’s victory over the Trojans infused the Terps with much-needed confidence, which was on display Tuesday during the team’s weekly media availability.
“We know we’re a good team,” junior wide receiver Octavian Smith Jr. said. “It’s just a matter of we can’t allow ourselves to beat ourselves. It’s just a matter of what we do. So really, we just pay attention to the next game, whatever game that may be on our schedule. That’s what we put our focus into.”
After a startling 37-10 prime-time loss to Northwestern after a bye week, Locksley promised “significant” changes. Saturday’s game was his second as the primary play caller on offense, and a revamped secondary featured junior Jalen Huskey moving from cornerback to safety for the second time in three starts, redshirt senior Glendon Miller shifting from safety to slot cornerback, and redshirt sophomore Lavain Scruggs making his second consecutive start at safety for injured senior Dante Trader Jr.
Locksley declined to elaborate on what alterations were made, saying they involved “the personnel, staff, play calling, everything.” But he acknowledged that any adjustments were adopted with accelerated progress in mind.
“With some of the decisions that were made, I saw some incremental improvement with us being on the right people a week ago and running off the ball a little bit, which happens,” he said. “It doesn’t necessarily happen because of the change. It happens because we get to go out and do it every day, and you’ll get better by doing it.”
Offensively, Maryland would be wise to find its rhythm quickly. In three nonconference wins, the unit outscored opponents, 54-13, in the first half. Over the same duration in four Big Ten games, the offense was outscored, 69-35.
“You always want to get off to a fast start. You never want to start off slow,” Smith said. “But something big that Coach puts an emphasis on is, we don’t watch the scoreboard. We just play the next play. You hear him say a lot, ‘When the map and the terrain don’t match up, you go with the terrain.’ So that’s just what we do. It’s always hard to win in Big Ten play, but we know what type of team we have, we’re confident, and we’re just going to keep working.”
Terps coach Mike Locksley is confident in the direction of the program, and a win over Minnesota could help the fan base’s feelings about the team’s 2024 results. (Kim Hairston/Staff)
Defensively, the Terps blanketed USC in the second half, allowing only 178 yards, 11 first downs, two passing plays of at least 20 yards and one rushing play of 10 or more yards. Scruggs is confident they can maintain that pressure against the Golden Gophers.
“We put a lot of effort into that week, running to the ball and being physical,” the Baltimore native and Archbishop Spalding graduate said. “I feel like if we do that week after week, it will show up, and you will see it on Saturdays.”
So which Maryland team will show up Saturday? That remains to be seen, but Locksley said he is certain about the team’s identity.
“We’re still the same team that I thought we were,” he said. “We have great skill players. We’re a little inexperienced up front and inexperienced at the corner position, but as I said Saturday, I also saw those guys start growing up, and it couldn’t have happened at a better time for us. A much-needed win for our program to give it that shock of confidence to help us kind of get our confidence back.”
Related Articles
Former Spalding star becoming impact defender for Maryland football
Maryland QB Cameron Edge to enter transfer portal
Maryland women’s basketball hopes overhauled roster brings back prominence in March
3 takeaways from Maryland football’s 29-28 win against USC
Maryland football rallies to stun USC, 29-28, and pick up first Big Ten win of season
Maryland and Minnesota share at least one similarity in that they are trying to claw their way out of the middle of the pack in the Big Ten. But the Golden Gophers, who are coming off a bye, presumably used that week off to get healthier, and they have won two in a row, including a 24-17 win against the Trojans on Oct. 5.
Still, Minnesota represents a prime opportunity for the Terps to gain in the win column before diving into their second bye of the season and returning to face a November schedule of No. 1 Oregon (7-0, 4-0), Rutgers (4-3, 1-3), Iowa (4-3, 2-2) and No. 3 Penn State (6-0, 3-0).
“With how our schedule plays out the rest of the year, this is a huge game as every game is,” Edwards said. “We’re all just excited for the opportunity. Minnesota is playing pretty good football. They’ve had some games that they lost that they definitely could’ve won. So their record kind of doesn’t speak for how good they play, especially defensively. We’re excited for the challenge.
“We got ourselves a good win last week and one that we obviously needed across the board, but we’re onto this week and trying to flush this past week’s game and get after it this week so that we can do the necessary things Monday through Friday and focus on the process to give ourselves the best chance to go up to Minnesota and come away with the victory.”
Have a news tip? Contact Edward Lee at eklee@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/EdwardLeeSun.
Maryland at Minnesota
Saturday, 3:30 p.m.
TV: FS1
Radio: 105.7 FM
Line: Minnesota by 4 1/2
Happy
0 %
Sad
0 %
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
0 %
Surprise
0 %
0
0