Maryland football seeks to remain unbeaten heading into Big Ten play vs Wisconsin

Photo by Dylan Davies/Maryland Terrapins. Photo courtesy of Maryland Athletics

When talking about Maryland football’s conference opener against Wisconsin, head coach Mike Locksley acknowledged that this would be the Terps’ toughest test of the young season. 

“Wisconsin is a great home environment,” Locksley said. “They’ve got a history of being one of the more physical teams in this league. So as I told our team yesterday, they’ll be a great measuring stick for us and what kind of team we have and what kind of team we can be.”

Maryland (3-0) takes on the Badgers (2-1) on Saturday at noon in Camp Randall Stadium – the first road game of the season for the Terps and their first Big Ten matchup. 

Conference play was a mess for Maryland last year, finishing with a 1-8 record and a point differential of -156. Most games weren’t competitive as poor defensive play consistently forced the team into early deficits, and the offense lacked the offensive line and quarterback play to generate the offense necessary to keep pace. 

Through three non-conference games, those issues appear corrected. The Terps’ defense has allowed 33 points, their lowest mark since 2001. The offensive line has prevented quarterback Malik Washington from being sacked, and defenses have had no answers for the freshman. Washington has totaled 773 total passing yards and seven total touchdowns in his first three games. 

However, Wisconsin isn’t a non-conference opponent. The Badgers are led by former Terp Billy Edwards Jr., who appears poised to return after an injury in the Badgers’ season opener kept him out of the last two games.

Without Edwards, Wisconsin’s offense struggled. The Badgers are second-to-last in the Big Ten in average offensive yards per game, and Edwards’ backup — Danny O’Neil — has 520 passing yards, five touchdowns, and four interceptions. Their run game hasn’t been much better – freshman running back Dilin Jones leads them with 134 rushing yards on 29 attempts – but they still average more ground yards per game than the Terps. 

Wisconsin’s defense has been stout – especially against the run. They’ve only allowed 139 total rushing yards this season – the second-lowest mark in the Big Ten. But, Alabama picked apart their secondary last week to the tune of 382 total passing yards on 24 receptions – an average of over 15 yards per catch. The Badgers’ secondary struggles may allow Washington to continue to find success through the air, which will be key to Maryland’s success. 

“What I’ve learned about Malik Washington pretty early is that I haven’t seen it ever be too big,” Locksley said. “I think we’ve done a really good job in how we’ve brought him along so that it isn’t about him and being too big and so we’ll continue to do that.”