Running back Brandon Ross celebrates a touchdown during the Terps’ 47-28 loss to Indiana at Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium on Nov. 21, 2015.
With a lengthy patch of green in front of him and a slew of defenders left in his wake, Terrapins football running back Brandon Ross hardly resembled a running back coming off a demotion.
Ross kicked off the Terps’ 47-28 loss to Indiana on Saturday afternoon with a 79-yard touchdown run on the team’s second play from scrimmage. He followed that up with a 22-yard touchdown on the next offensive possession and found the end zone again in the second half. In all, he carried the ball 19 times for a career-high 250 yards, the fourth-most in a single game in program history.
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Blocking issues pushed Ross behind running back Wes Brown on the two-deep depth chart two weeks ago, but Ross moved back into the starting role for the Hoosiers game when Brown was suspended indefinitely. And though his efforts weren’t enough to power the Terps to their first win since September, the senior put together a memorable performance in his final game at Byrd Stadium.
“It felt great, I can’t even lie,” Ross said. “It felt great.”
It’s unclear precisely why Brown was suspended indefinitely, as the team cited a violation of the Student-Athlete Code of Conduct but didn’t give any explanation.
Nevertheless, the suspension allowed Ross to slide back into the lineup, a role he had success in early in the year. In the Terps’ season-opening 50-21 win over Richmond on Sept. 5, Ross ran a then-career high 150 yards and one touchdown.
But as the season unraveled and the losses piled on, Ross’ production declined, too. He rushed for more than 130 yards in a 45-6 loss to West Virginia but otherwise never accumulated more than 68 yards on the ground before Saturday.
Before the Indiana game, he failed to receive double-digit carries in just four of the five past contests. He instead took a backseat to quarterback Perry Hills, who grabbed control of the offense with his dynamic running performances.
“The concern has been protecting the football, which [Ross] hadn’t done a really good job of,” interim coach Mike Locksley said Sunday. “The way he practiced last week, I anticipated him playing the way he did. I was happy for him.”
Hills was sidelined Saturday with mononucleosis, though, and quarterback Caleb Rowe deferred to Ross regularly throughout the game.
But after Ross got rolling, Indiana adjusted. They began stacking the box, plugging up running holes and challenging both Rowe and quarterback Shane Cockerille to throw. The duo combined to complete 21 of their 41 passes for 170 passing yards Saturday.
And in turn, the Terps defense began overreaching, allowing Indiana to quickly turn a 21-3 deficit into a 30-21 halftime lead.
But Ross opened the second half much the way he started the first. On the Terps’ second play from scrimmage, he took a handoff from Cockerille and burst through a hole on the right side. He then wove through more blockers and sprinted down the sideline for the score, pulling the Terps within two points.
Ross added a 22-yard run early in the fourth quarter but otherwise didn’t do much to spur a comeback effort after Rowe left the game with a concussion at halftime.
“We just didn’t counter the way we should’ve,” Ross said. “We didn’t keep playing the way were in the first quarter, and that’s really what set us back.”
The Terps have rarely featured a clear-cut starting running back over the past few seasons. During his career, Ross shared duties with Brown and former running backs Albert Reid and Jacquille Veii, who transferred to Virginia and Towson, respectively.
The coaching staff always commended Ross’ ability but never seemed willing to feature him prominently until this season. But in the final home game of his college career, Ross frequently left a horde of defensive backs watching him sprint into the end zone.
