Maryland Football: Struggling Terps Gear Up for Season Finale
Nov 21, 2015; College Park, MD, USA; Maryland Terrapins quarterback Shane Cockerille (2) runs from Indiana Hoosiers defensive lineman Robert McCray III (47) during the third quarter at Byrd Stadium. Indiana Hoosiers defeated Maryland Terrapins 47-28. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
The Terps are struggling, but will look to finish the season strong.
It has been quite the season for the Maryland Terrapins football program. It kicked off with multiple players leaving the program in the offseason. Then, they played one big game of quarterback roulette. Things ultimately ended with Randy Edsall getting shown the door.
The Terps are currently sitting with a 2-9 record and plenty of uncertainty about who will be the team’s head coach next season. While it has been an extremely long and painstaking season for Maryland football, there is light at the end of the tunnel. The Terps are bringing in a talented recruiting class for next season, so the future of the program is showing some signs of promise.
As for the season finale, Maryland is set to do battle with Rutgers (4-7), who is coming off of a 10-point victory over Army. In a season filled with gloom and rainy days, the Terps are looking for that ray of sunshine to show that the 2015-16 campaign shouldn’t be completely written off.
A win over the Scarlet Knights would mark the Terps’ first Big Ten victory this season. The team notched four conference wins just a season ago.
Sophomore Jermaine Carter Jr., who is having a breakout season from his linebacker position, spoke on how important Saturday’s game is for the program.
"“Winning the last game would be something we could build off of for next season, regardless of who the coach is, and we can send the coaches out on a good note if they are not back next season.”"
With no chance of qualifying for a bowl game this time around, it may seem like this season is a lost cause, but that may not necessarily be true. To be quite honest, it wasn’t exactly realistic to expect Maryland to be any good this year anyway. The talent simply wasn’t there.
As Carter stated, this weekend’s game is a chance to get a victory and build on that for next season. It’s not about salvaging the season. That ship has sailed.
As hard as it was for Maryland fans to watch their football team struggle all season long, they can rest assured that the only direction to go from here is up. They will likely get a new head coach, providing the program with a clean slate. The Terps also have some good young talent coming through the doors, including quarterback Dwayne Haskins Jr. and wide receiver Tino Ellis.
Next: Takeaways for Terps' Win over Georgetown
The future is certainly bright for the Maryland football program. They just have to go through to get through.