Notebook: Maryland football preparing to slow Jeremiah Smith, faith in QB Malik Washington, maintaining focus

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Maryland football’s momentum has cratered during its three-game losing streak following a solid 2-0 start. Those struggles have come at an inopportune time — it now faces its toughest opponent this season.

The Terps head to Columbus to face No. 5 Ohio State, their first ranked opponent this season and one of the nation’s most prolific offenses. The Buckeyes lead the Big Ten in total yardage per game at 514.4 and have scored 27 touchdowns in five games.

Matching Up with the Nation’s Elite

Heisman frontrunner Jeremiah Smith is the Buckeyes’ engine. Smith leads the nation in receptions (44), receiving yards (823) and receiving touchdowns (nine), and has cemented himself as perhaps the sport’s best player.

“With [Smith], when I think of playing teams that have explosive playmakers like that, I think the thing that comes to mind for defending them is, how do you cup it?” coach Michael Locksley said. “How do you keep it in front of you … that means playing with depth, good eyes, and vision, and then doing a really good job of a bunch of guys running to the football. Really, the only thing you can do when you face talented players.”

Smith, who averages 18.7 yards per reception, could also present issues to a defense that’s conceded chunk yardage in recent games.

“The explosive plays have shown up the last two games for us,” Locksley said. “They start with tackling well … the alignment issues, the eye discipline … those are fundamental points that we’ve been working to get to.”

Veteran defensive back Lavain Scruggs echoed Locksley’s sentiments.

“It starts with playing high to low on him. We got to be deepest, deepest back there,” Scruggs said. “We got to limit the explosives on him.”

Maintaining Focus

Scruggs further emphasized the mental improvements the Terps’ defense could make. After taking a 23-14 lead in the second quarter against Nebraska on Saturday, untimely miscues led to Maryland trailing at halftime. The Terps failed to regroup in the second half and conceded 34 unanswered points.

“I’ll say it starts with focus and getting through adversity,” Scruggs said. “When adversity hits, you have to be able to go through it and focus … it starts with guys like me. One bad play can’t trickle to the rest of the game.”

Pushing through setbacks was a point of emphasis for Locksley as well.

“For the first time against a really talented team, I saw us look like the team that I thought we could be, but only for about a half,” Locksley said. “I thought once we threw the pick-six, the energy went out of our team. And so for me, that’s a coaching detail. Being able to overcome negative things that happen in the game.”

Keeping Faith in Malik Washington

A few of the crucial mistakes in the Terps’ past two games have come from quarterback Malik Washington. After avoiding turnovers through three games, Washington threw six combined interceptions against UCLA and Nebraska.

Those mistakes haven’t shaken the team’s faith in their quarterback.

“[Washington’s] the type of guy, once he makes a mistake like that, he very rarely makes the same mistake,” Locksley said. “He’s seeing a little more complicated coverages than what he maybe has seen before, and it’s because of what he’s shown he’s able to do throwing the football.”

Locksley also acknowledged that Maryland’s inability to establish the run game in recent weeks has placed excessive pressure on Washington. Against Ohio State’s high-powered offense, Maryland will likely continue to rely on Washington. Cleaner play from Washington, and a viable rushing attack, will be crucial.

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