After the Maryland football team’s 50-7 win over Purdue, players fielded questions at Gossett Football Team House auditorium about the program making a statement and turning the corner on what it can accomplish this season.
A 3-0 start, albeit against subpar competition, turned into a four-game winning streak after the Terps blew out the Power Five opponent in their Big Ten opener. Their victory, the largest over a conference foe since 2010, impressed both the fan base and the poll voters, as Maryland sits No. 28 in the USA Today Coaches’ Poll and No. 34 in the Associated Press standings.
“I’m not surprised,” coach DJ Durkin said after the game. “We believe we’re going to win the games that we play.”
Yet, as I walked to my car after the Terps’ homecoming triumph, I viewed the win with skepticism. I thought more about how bad Purdue must be than how dominant Maryland was. I couldn’t fathom that, after going 3-9 last season, the Terps are likely one win away from being ranked.
These doubts remain, but the Terps can silence most of them with one result.
Beat Penn State this weekend.
Winning on the road is difficult. Durkin knows this. He mentioned it Saturday and in his weekly press conference Tuesday.
The Terps had no trouble winning their first game away from home, cruising to a 41-14 win over Florida International on Sept. 9, but needed double overtime to beat Central Florida in Orlando a week later. Freshman quarterback Tyrrell Pigrome scored a touchdown on his only snap, much to the dismay of the 43,197 fans in the crowd at Bright House Networks Stadium that night.
More than double that number will pack the stands at Beaver Stadium when the Terps visit State College, Pennsylvania, for the Nittany Lions’ homecoming game. The venue holds 106,572 people. Last season, Penn State’s average attendance almost hit six digits (99,799), the seventh-highest mark in the country.
The Terps (4-0, 1-0) beat the Nittany Lions (3-2, 1-1) two seasons ago — remember “shakegate” — en route to making a bowl game. A victory this time would help Durkin’s bunch on that same path.
“I’ve been to Penn State one time, and the environment over there is really good,” defensive coordinator Andy Buh said. “It’ll be loud and cranked up. Our guys will be pumped up to play.”
Buh said the Terps have yet to face back as good as Nittany Lions running back Saquon Barkley, who broke the program’s single-season freshman rushing record last season with 1,076 yards and earned both Big Ten and national recognition for his efforts.
Barkley runs low and excels at changing direction, Buh said, so at practice, the Terps have emphasized swarming him when he has the ball and making open-field tackles.
Under center, Nittany Lions quarterback Trace McSorley drew praise from Durkin for his scrambling ability. The first-year coach also said McSorley was as good as a dual-threat quarterback the Terps had played this season, if not better.
McSorley produced with his arm last week, throwing for 335 yards in Penn State’s 29-26 overtime win over Minnesota.
Even if the Terps beat the Nittany Lions, which will likely happen if they can limit Barkley and McSorley, the players and coaches said the victory wouldn’t hold any extra significance.
Defensive lineman Azubuike Ukandu, when asked if a win this weekend would be a statement moving forward, deflected the question with a generic answer.
“We’re 4-0 right now,” he said, “and we see the opportunity to go 5-0.”
Durkin voiced almost the exact same phrase after the win over Purdue, and left guard Mike Minter used similar wording Tuesday afternoon. Minter added the Terps view each week as a one-game season.
But to me, Maryland going 1-0 the past four weeks hasn’t meant much. Let’s see if it can go 1-0 on Saturday.
