Preview: Maryland football looks for Senior Day upset vs. 18th-ranked Michigan

diggsreport
3 hours ago
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Maryland (4-6, 1-6 B1G) vs. No. 18 Michigan (8-2, 6-1 B1G)

When: Saturday, November 22 | 4:00 PM

Where: SECU Stadium

Watch: BTN Jeff Levering, Jake Butt, Brooke Fletcher

Listen: 105.7 FM (Balt) / 980 AM (DC) - Johnny Holliday, Steve Suter, LaMont Jordan

Betting: Maryland +14 / O/U: 46.5 (DraftKings)

With one last chance at salvaging bowl eligibility, Maryland will look to do so by securing its first win against a ranked Big Ten opponent during the Mike Locksley era when 18^th-ranked Michigan heads to College Park.

Maryland has lost eight consecutive games against the Wolverines, though the last two have ended in one-score games, as head coach Mike Locksley looks to send the 16 graduates honored pregame with a ranked win in their final game inside The Shell.

“We got a senior group that I have a lot of respect for that made the decision to come here, some of them five years ago, like Ethan Gough, some of them four years ago, like Punch and Octavian and these guys have poured their hearts out for the Maryland football program through good and bad,” Mike Locksley said this week.

Perhaps the biggest storyline between the two offenses for this game will be the battle between the two freshmen quarterbacks, Bryce Underwood and Malik Washington. Michigan’s Underwood hasn’t played like a former number one overall recruit for much of the season, passing for only seven touchdowns on the year. However, he’s coming off a career-high 280-yard performance against Northwestern.

Maryland’s defense has been one of the best in getting takeaways, picking off a pass in all but one game in 2025. With Underwood coming off a two-interception game last week, can Maryland take advantage of opportunities?

“I think the thing that really makes Bryce go is not only the live arm, but his ability to extend plays with his feet. As a football player, as a quarterback, a guy that can hurt you -both arms and legs. He's learning as he goes as well. And for them to the two games, I think, out of possibly the college football playoffs, they got a lot to play for. They put a lot on him, a lot like we've asked a lot of our freshman quarterback,” said Locks.

While Michigan’s passing game has been up-and-down, its run game is a force to be reckoned with. The Wolverines are second in the Big Ten in rushing yards per game, but top back Justice Haynes is out for the rest of the regular season following foot surgery. Jordan Marshall has responded by rushing for over 100 yards in each of the last four games. This is an issue for a Terp defense that has given up over 200 yards on the ground in four of its last five games.

“It's up front. I mean, you know, their head coach is a former [offensive] line guy. He's run-first team now. They're the coordinator Chip Lindsey, who I've known Chip a long time, he spent time at Notre Dame and [he] was at Georgia Tech with Brent Key, who I worked with. And so they add a huge RPO element with Chip to the run game that they've already been one of those teams that likes to establish the run,” said Locks.

Part of the issues on defense have stemmed from the offense regressing after a strong start. Last week was the lowest point of the season, as the Terps didn’t get in the end zone for the first time all year. End zone drops on back-to-back plays by Shaleak Knotts and AJ Szymanski ended a drive that could have cut the deficit to a single score midway through the fourth quarter.

After an over 300-yard performance on Rutgers the week before, Maryland fell to 55 yards against Illinois. With Michigan having the third-best run defense in the conference, it looks to be another game where the Terps’ game plan is dominated by the pass. Can Malik Washington and the rest of the offense find their footing again?

“We just got to stay ahead of the sticks,” Washington said following the loss to Illinois. “Instead of being third and seven, and third and ten, being third and two, third and three makes the situation more manageable.”

Despite facing off against the worst passing defense in the conference and throwing 46 times last week, Washington could only muster up 238 yards, averaging 5.2 yards per attempt. Struggles with the receiver’s ability to catch the ball haven’t helped the freshman out. The offensive line, which has been solid in pass protection all year, faces one of the best players in all of the Big Ten in Derrick Moore. The senior from nearby St Francis is second in the conference in sacks with 8.5. Locks had high praise for him and former Terp Jaishawn Barham when he spoke to the media on Tuesday.

“Derrick Moore is one of those talented guys, a lot like 17, a lot like a bunch of the guys we faced in this league. Every league has one. On the other side of them, you have a former Terp, Jaishawn Barham, who plays linebacker, but also they walk him to the boundary as a [defensive] end and they will be a tremendous challenge for our tackles. Both Rahtrel [Perry] and Alan [Herron] have done a tremendous job from a fundamental standpoint of protecting our quarterback. So they'll have that challenge this week against two talented pass rushers that we know a lot about,” said Locks.

Facing a win-or-lose chance at bowl eligibility, it’s now or never for this Terp team.

Note: players honored pregame are DL Sam Adu, DL Akindele Dare, WR Jalil Farooq, CB Jamare Glasker, TE Leon Haughton Jr., OT Alan Herron, SAF Jalen Huskey, WR Shaleak Knotts, QB Justyn Martin, RB Eli Mason, TE Daniel Owens, DL Cam Rice, SAF Lavain Scruggs, WR Octavian Smith Jr., WR Kaleb Webb, and OL Isaiah Wright

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