The Maryland football team entered its game Saturday with a familiar uncertainty on offense. Quarterback Perry Hills left last week’s blowout loss with a shoulder injury, and coach DJ Durkin maintained his redshirt senior was day-to-day entering the Terps’ trek to Nebraska.
Hills didn’t take the field against the Cornhuskers, the second full game he’s missed this season, but his replacement strayed from the team’s previous pattern. Freshman Max Bortenschlager operated the first-team offense in his second outing of the season after earning time in the fourth quarter of an opening day triumph Sept. 3.
Despite the change under center, the Terps’ offensive woes endured during the 28-7 loss in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Bortenschlager finished 14-for-29 for 191 yards, while the Terps logged 11 rushing yards.
The unit played without freshman running back Lorenzo Harrison, who Durkin suspended indefinitely for his and wide receiver DJ Turner’s role in the campus BB gun incident Nov. 6. Harrison also missed the Terps’ drubbing against Ohio State last weekend when the Terps didn’t eclipse 50 yards on the ground.
In Memorial Stadium, the backfield posted its lowest production of the season. Running back Ty Johnson paced the unit but never showcased the speed the Terps have relied on throughout the season.
The Terps’ deepest first-half drive came on their opening touch, when Bortenschlager pushed the Terps inside Nebraska’s 30-yard line. But rather than attempting a 45-yard field goal, Durkin elected to attempt the 4th-and-10 look. Kicker Adam Greene split out wide, while backup quarterback Caleb Rowe stood in the shotgun. Rowe threw the ball away when the Cornhuskers brought pressure.
As the redshirt senior went to the sideline, Durkin scolded him for the decision that gave Nebraska field position to open a 14-0 lead. Greene had broke open on the other side, but Rowe hadn’t looked in the direction.
Nebraska, meanwhile, experienced little frustration. Aside from cornerback JC Jackson’s blocked field goal midway through the second quarter, the Cornhuskers scored touchdowns on their other three drives before halftime.
In their past three games, all against top-20 foes, the Terps combined to dig themselves a 101-3 first-half hole.
Nebraska running back Terrell Newby shouldered the load with three scores inside the 10-yard line, capping Nebraska’s deep possessions, three of which were about six minutes or longer. Newy finished his Senior Day performance with 22 carries for 98 yards.
The Cornhuskers featured another veteran with a breakout Senior Day performance, too. Quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. missed the game with a hamstring injury, so Ryker Fyfe lined up under center.
The reserve senior fared better than the Terps’ backups, as he picked apart Maryland’s defense, which has surrendered at least 580 yards in the past two games.
Fyfe went 23 of 37 for 220 yards, connecting on a late second-quarter touchdown with wide receiver Jordan Westerkamp. Westerkamp hauled in eight catches for 85 yards as the former walk-on’s safety net.
The Terps cut their gap to 21 points in the fourth quarter when wide receiver D.J. Mooer hauled in a screen and shed defenders for a 92-yard touchdown. It marked the first time the Terps had found the end zone since Oct. 29.
But the sophomore’s surge wasn’t enough to reverse the patterns that have plagued the Terps during their four-game skid.
