Maryland football seeks bounceback performance against Nebraska

Photo courtesy of Maryland Athletics

On Saturday, the resilience of Maryland football will be tested. 

The Terps are coming off a 24-20 loss to Washington —their first loss of the season. The Terps led 20-3 early in the fourth quarter before giving up touchdowns on three straight drives. Maryland’s offensive stagnation played a part in the comeback as the Terps’ final four drives involved 19 plays and only 52 total yards over seven minutes and 24 seconds of game time. 

“Obviously, none of us are happy about the outcome from Saturday. You know the adage where you’ve got to play the game for four quarters, and we played it for three,” Locksley said. “I expect us to use some of the frustration we have with the things that we can control that we didn’t control.”

Maryland (4-1, 1-1 B1G) will play the Cornhuskers (4-1, 1-1 B1G) on Saturday in SECU Stadium. The Terps won the last time the two teams played – a 13-10 victory on the road that ended with a field goal as time expired in 2023. 

If there were ever an opponent for Maryland to get their run game going against, Nebraska would be that team. Opponents have shredded the Cornhuskers’ run defense, averaging 155.6 yards on the ground per game – the second-worst mark in the Big Ten. 

But the Terps’ run game has been a non-factor. Maryland’s 93.2 rushing yards per game is the lowest mark in the conference. All three running backs for the Terps with over 20 carries on the season are averaging 3.5 yards per carry, with only two rushing touchdowns in the group. 

“The things they don’t do well –  play the run,” Locksley said when asked about the Cornhuskers. “[We’ve] got to do a better job ourselves of running the football. We’ve got some talented skill on the outside. Our guys have to make the plays that are there to be made, and I expect us to do that.”

Maryland has been able to beat teams through the air as quarterback Malik Washington has thrown for over 200 yards in every game this season. The freshman has racked up nine passing touchdowns to only two interceptions. But the Cornhuskers statistically boast the best passing defense in the country, with opponents averaging a measly 91.8 passing yards per game. 

Similar to the Terps, Nebraska’s offense isn’t the most balanced. Over 70 percent of the Cornhuskers’ total yards have come through the air, with star sophomore quarterback Dylan Raiola throwing for 1,331 passing yards and 12 touchdowns along with a 74.2 completion percentage. 

A big difference between the two offenses is that Nebraska has proven the ability to run the football when necessary. Junior running back Emmett Johnson is averaging an impressive 5.6 yards per carry on 84 carries this season, and has eight total touchdowns along with 584 all-purpose yards. 

Against one of the best offenses in the Big Ten, Maryland’s defense will need to continue its recent success. They’ve been solid through five games, ranking inside the top-15 in points per game, second nationally in interceptions, and they’re the only Big Ten team with at least three sacks in all five games this season. 

“I know that you guys like to loop things together, but last week is over,” Locksley said. “We have to make the corrections that we will make. We’ll make the coaching corrections that we need to make. We turn the page on last week, just like we do every play. We gotta get to the next play. We get to the next game. We’re there now.”