At the beginning of the season, the Maryland football team’s offense relied on its diverse rushing attack to start the season 4-0. The backfield averaged 300 yards a game using six players to keep its opponents off balance.
But the Terps’ competition has increased down the stretch of their conference slate, and the group lost running backs Trey Edmunds to a fractured right foot and Lorenzo Harrison to an indefinite suspension for his role in the campus BB gun incident earlier this month.
As a result, the Terps have failed to reach 100 yards on the ground in each of their past three games. At Nebraska, Maryland posted 11 yards on 25 carries, its lowest rushing production of coach DJ Durkin’s tenure.
Durkin emphasized the Terps needed to focus on the aspects they excelled at earlier in the campaign as a way to reverse their slide, which extended Saturday to six losses in their past seven games.
But leading rusher Ty Johnson (seven carries, 21 yards) didn’t display the patience and breakaway speed he’s often flashed. Quarterback Perry Hills, who also poses a threat on the ground, missed the game with a left shoulder injury.
“We have to keep building, working every day to improve our execution skills within the system, and overall from a practice level and details level, we have a lot to do,” offensive coordinator Walt Bell said Wednesday. “That’ll be what helps us in the end.”
