College Park will host a matchup built on frustration Saturday, with Rutgers and Maryland both trying to stop ugly slides while their head coaches fight to steady the ground beneath them.
Rutgers arrives at 1-4 overall and 0-2 in the Big Ten, a start that points toward a second straight losing season under Greg Schiano. Maryland sits at 2-4 and 0-3, with the Terrapins staring at a third consecutive losing year under Mike Locksley.
The pressure has only sharpened after both teams took lopsided losses to ranked opponents. Rutgers had last week off to sit on its 47-15 loss to then-No.
6 Indiana on Oct. 3.
Maryland, meanwhile, was thumped 45-16 at then-No. 5 Ohio State last week.
"You look at the first half of our year, 2-4, it ain't good enough. I'm super frustrated," Locksley said. "Our players are super frustrated because we know we're better."
That mood has been building for Maryland, which has lost 11 straight conference games. The Terrapins also dropped 35-20 at Rutgers last November. More recently, the defense has been hit hard in league play, allowing an average of 49 points per game in three one-sided Big Ten losses.
Playing at home may not do much to ease the noise around the program. Locksley is 39-53 over his last eight-plus seasons at Maryland, and the temperature around the team is obvious.
"I'm like them," Locksley said of the Terrapins' fans. "I'm super frustrated."
Maryland quarterback Malik Washington has had a rough time in the team’s three Big Ten defeats. In a 54-3 loss to UCLA on Sept. 26, he threw a career-high four interceptions. Against Ohio State, he managed just 64 passing yards, a career low.
Rutgers, by contrast, comes out of the bye with a change at quarterback. Schiano said the week was "productive" and confirmed that Dylan Lonergan will start Saturday. Lonergan left in the second quarter against Indiana after taking a hard hit to the turf on a fourth-and-1 sneak and suffering a head injury.
The Scarlet Knights do have some production to lean on. KJ Duff ranks second in the Big Ten with 628 receiving yards and has seven touchdowns, while Antwan Raymond has run for 469 yards and four scores.
Schiano, now 32-45 in the seventh year of his second stint at Rutgers, said the mood around the team remains steady despite the record.
"Nobody likes where it is," he said. "... They're just trying to fight their way out of it."
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Maryland heads into Saturdays Big Ten meeting with Rutgers carrying the kind of early-season urgency that can shape the rest of a conference slate. Both teams are still searching for their first league win, and coach Michael Locksley has framed every game as a must-win opportunity, which leaves little room for a slow start or a missed chance. Quarterback Malik Washington has kept the message simple by focusing on one game at a time, but this one comes with extra weight because the Terps need to start translating that mindset into results.
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