Maryland football entered this season on a positive path under coach Michael Locksley with three straight bowl game wins for the first time in program history.
Locksley said in the offseason the Terps were ready to compete for a Big Ten championship, the next step for the program. But Maryland’s championship chances, as well as its bowl game odds, are quickly fading with just three remaining regular season games.
The Terps’ message for the rest of the year is simple — every game is a must-win.
“This is playoff football, is kind of what I told our team,” Locksley said.
Locksley said the pillars of the program are how Maryland starts and finishes its season. While it began the year strong, a poor 1-4 stretch dropped it under .500. Maryland will need a strong finish with at least two victories against Rutgers, Iowa and No. 4 Penn State to end the campaign and secure bowl eligibility.
The situation isn’t completely new for the Terps.
They defeated the Scarlet Knights in the 2021 regular season finale to secure their sixth win to head to the Pinstripe Bowl. When Maryland had to win one of its final three contests last year to secure bowl eligibility, it won two.
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The common opponent the Terps topped in the past three years, including in 2022 to snap a skid entering their bowl game, was Rutgers. Maryland has won five of the last six meetings with the Scarlet Knights, and will play again on Saturday in a return to SECU Stadium.
The Terps have had much less success against the Hawkeyes and Nittany Lions. Iowa’s won each of the past three matchups and Penn State’s been victorious in eight of the last nine.
Locksley said there’s clear areas Maryland must improve in to completely avoid a setback season. It needs to limit turnovers, increase explosive plays and improve efficiency running the ball.
The Terps’ current feeble stretch features an average of two turnovers a game with three or fewer explosive rushing plays — runs of 10 yards or more — in each loss.
“We’ve got some work to do to finish the right way,” Locksley said. “We’ve been here before as a team.”
Redshirt junior Roman Hemby, who’s only run more than four yards a rush in three contests this season, said Maryland’s running backs can break loose for a long gain at any given moment. Hemby had six explosive runs and averaged more than 5 yards a carry in the Terps’ final three games last year.
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The running back has played in a bowl game every season and said that the opportunity to earn bowl eligibility has Maryland extra motivated over the next three weeks. Senior linebacker Ruben Hyppolite II, the leader of a Terps defense that’s allowed more than 30 points in four of their last five games, holds the same sentiment.
Hyppolite said the unit needs to be “ballhawks” for the rest of the season. The Terps forced seven turnovers in their final three contests last year.
“When an opportunity comes we’ve got to make [plays],” Hyppolite said. “There’s really no secret formula, no special sauce.”
While Maryland didn’t expect to be in the scenario it’s in this late in the season, nobody’s feeling down in the locker room, Hyppolite added. The Terps know the only thing they can do is fight.
The Terps’ leaders, such as Hemby and Hyppolite, understand what’s at stake right in front of them.
“You have three one-game seasons,” Hyppolite said. “The only thing we can do now is just go fight and go get six.”
