Preview: Maryland football hosts Iowa for Senior Day

Photo courtesy of University of Maryland Athletics

With two games remaining and needing two wins, Maryland football hosts a must-win final home game against Iowa (6-4, 4-3 Big Ten) at noon on Saturday.

The Terps (4-6, 1-6) suffered a 31-17 loss to Rutgers at home last Saturday after allowing the Scarlet Knight to score on five straight drives including four touchdowns. 

In the game, Maryland saw multiple drives sputter out after getting the ball around midfield. Billy Edwards Jr. completed 58% of his passes for 335 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

“I’m going to choose growth and progress over dwelling on the past. That’s kind of been the way around here,” head coach Mike Locksley said, “I know we are nowhere near where we want to be as a program… there’s nobody in that building that is not willing to continue to put the work in to find a way to finish this [season] the right way.”

The Terps got the running game going early and finished with 122 yards and 4.9 yards per carry – a major upgrade from their 75.5 yards per game and 2.7 yards per carry season average.

The big story from the game was Tai Felton breaking Maryland’s single-season receptions record and becoming the fourth player in school history with a 1,000-yard receiving season. Felton could overtake Marcus Badgett’s record (1,240) – as Felton currently sits at 1,040 and averages 104 yards per game, putting him on pace to beat that record by eight yards.

Meanwhile, Iowa’s defense ranks second in the Big Ten in interceptions (14) but allows the ninth most passing yards per game (203.4). Defensive backs Jermari Harris, Quinn Schulte and linebacker Jay Higgins each have three interceptions.

Iowa has built a reputation for being a defensive team, allowing just 18.2 points per game compared to Maryland’s 29.2.

Offensively, Iowa’s quarterback situation is a major question mark. Cade McNamara was the starter until a concussion in late October against Northwestern. After that, the Hawkeyes pivoted to junior Brendan Sullivan who sprained his ankle in their most recent loss to UCLA and has been ruled out for Saturday.

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz named Jackson Stratton the starter, a sophomore transfer from Colorado State. Stratton made his first appearance of the season against UCLA after Sullivan’s injury in the third quarter. Stratton completed 3-of-6 passes for 28 yards.

Expect Iowa to lean heavily on junior running back Kaleb Johnson. Johnson leads the Big Ten in rushing yards (1,328) and touchdowns (20) by a large margin.

“He’s one of the best, if not the best,” Locksley said, “When he’s over 100 yards, they win so I guess we better do a great job of trying to minimize his ability.”

Maryland will need to find an answer for Johnson to win this game and keep its bowl hopes alive. The Terps allow 115.4 rushing yards per game (eighth in Big Ten).