Preview: Maryland football returns from bye week to face Northwestern

Maryland football (5-2, 2-2 Big Ten) has never won the game after its bye week under coach Michael Locksley. Doing so against Northwestern (3-4, 1-3 Big Ten) Saturday is crucial to keep the Terps’ season afloat.

The Terps enter the game on a two-game skid, the latter being a crushing 27-24 loss to Illinois before the bye week. They are looking to avoid losing back-to-back games against unranked opponents for the first time since 2020.

The bye week provided a beat-up roster the chance to recover physically. Locksley said he expects cornerback Tarheeb Still, tight end Corey Dyches and safety Dante Trader Jr. — three key starters who missed the Illinois contest with injuries — to return Saturday. 

“The bye week couldn’t have come at a better time,” Locksley said.

Maryland didn’t have a clear replacement for Dyches as a split-out tight end. His backups, Preston Howard and Dylan Wade, combined for two catches for just 20 yards. Dyches is averaging over 40 yards per game.

On the other side of the ball, a secondary missing two starters was gashed by downfield strikes. Nearly 60 percent of Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer’s passing yards came on passes of over 15 yards.

The Illinois contest also saw Maryland put up its worst rushing output of the season thus far. It was lead running back Roman Hemby’s best game since early September — he put up 70 yards on just 12 carries — but the room behind him struggled mightily. Antwain Littleton II and Colby McDonald combined for 26 yards on eight carries, and quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa struggled to scramble effectively out of the pocket.

Against a Wildcat defense that allows the Big Ten’s second-most rush yards per game and fifth-fewest passing yards per game, another performance like that won’t be a recipe for success.

Northwestern has struggled in a season they entered surrounded by controversy. Long-time head coach Pat Fitzgerald was fired in July due to a hazing scandal in the Wildcats’ locker room. 

They’re coming off a demoralizing 17-9 loss to Nebraska where their offense didn’t find the endzone all game, failing to capitalize on a stellar defensive performance. Northwestern held the Cornhuskers’ offense to just 266 total yards.

“I’m sure when they look at the schedule, they see this as a game that they have to have,” Locksley said. “I expect to get their best when we head to Chicago … Northwestern has our attention.”

The Wildcats may be without starting quarterback Ben Bryant for a third-straight game due to an upper-body injury. Interim head coach David Braun said Monday the redshirt senior is taking it “day-by-day” and expects to be back at some point this season, but didn’t specify his status for this week.

Bryant’s backup, Brendan Sullivan, has been one of the worst quarterbacks in college football in his two games. The junior has averaged 153.5 passing yards with a 61% completion percentage, one of those performances coming against an FCS opponent in Howard.

His 41.5 PFF grade is the third-worst in FBS among quarterbacks with at least 90 dropbacks.

That being said, Sullivan was the man under center when the Wildcats nearly knocked off the Terps in College Park last season. Maryland won 31-24 and was without Tagovailoa, but Northwestern got out to an early lead and ran the ball 46 times for 215 yards. The game remained tied until late in the fourth quarter.

Without Bryant, Northwestern has relied heavily on its run game at the helm. It ran the ball 46 times against Howard and 39 times against Nebraska — respectively the Wildcats’ most and second-most rushing attempts in a game this season.

“Offensively, they know who they are,” Locksley said. “We’ve got to start with stopping the run first and foremost.”

The Wildcats’ passing game centers around an explosive senior receiver in Bryce Kirtz. He leads the team in receiving yards by a wide margin and averages 15.7 yards per catch.

Northwestern’s defense won’t strike fear into opponents on paper, but it’s held opponents to a respectable 26 points per game. A versatile linebacker in Xander Mueller is its best defensive weapon — he has 50 tackles, seven tackles for loss, three and a half sacks and a pick so far this year.

Maryland is without co-offensive coordinator Kevin Sumlin after he was arrested for a DUI in Florida last weekend. He’s not the offensive play-caller, but his absence will certainly be felt in some capacity.

“It’s disappointing. As coaches we have to set the example and model the behavior that we want [from] our players and we take it very seriously,” Locksley said of the arrest. “At the same time, he’s part of our football family and we’re gonna support Kevin.”

Saturday’s kickoff is set for 12 p.m. in Evanston, Illinois.