COLLEGE PARK, Md. — For the second consecutive week, Maryland (3-2, 1-1 Big Ten) takes to the road for a Big Ten matchup as the Terps head to West Lafayette, Indiana, for a cross-divisional conference game with Purdue (1-4, 0-2) Oct. 12 at Ross-Ade Stadium.

Maryland is 2-0 all-time against the Boilermakers, but this will be the Terps’ first time playing in West Lafayette, and it will come against a Purdue team that is reeling with injuries and inexperience — things Maryland head coach Mike Locksley has been all too familiar with this season.

“We have the challenge of going on the road again to play a Purdue team that much like us has been battling injuries but they continue to battle very, very hard, and we expect to get their best this week and we’re looking forward to the challenge,” Locksley said.

Purdue is a team that had relatively high expectations entering the season but has already seen its best offensive player (Rondale Moore) and starting quarterback (Elijah Sindelar) go down with injuries this year. Moore is week-to-week with a knee injury but isn’t expected to suit up against the Terps, while Sindelar is sidelined 6-8 weeks as he recovers from surgery to repair a broken clavicle.

The Terps have plenty of injuries of their own, including starting quarterback Josh Jackson and particularly across the offensive line. But unlike Purdue, after a 48-7 road win over Rutgers last weekend, Maryland is at least riding high off momentum.

“I feel like we got momentum from our win at Rutgers,” Terps redshirt sophomore running back Anthony McFarland said. “I feel like we needed that. But at the end of the day, we have more work to do. We put up 48 points on Rutgers, getting back in that mojo, getting back into the groove of what we do. But at the end of the day, we have to continue to get better.”

Maryland is feeling good about its offense after scoring nearly half of a hundred against the Scarlet Knights, but that offense will now be led by junior backup quarterback Tyrrell Pigrome, who stepped in when Jackson went down and played well against Rutgers, completing 13-of-18 passes for 111 yards. He also added five rushes for 22 yards.

Losing a starting quarterback will typically send an offense off the rails, but the Terps’ confidence isn’t wavering with Pigrome under center.

“He’s just a leader,” McFarland said of Pigrome. “He can do it all. He can pass, he can run. When he’s in the game, it makes it hard to defend because you don’t know what’s coming. That’s the good thing about [Pigrome].

Fellow Terps running back Javon Leake echoed McFarland’s sentiment, stating that not only is the team confident in Pigrome’s ability, but confidence can also be seen growing within Maryland’s new signal-caller himself.

“I definitely feel like even last game we saw [Pigrome] getting his confidence up throughout the game,” Leake said. “I definitely feel like he’s comfortable. He looked good at practice this week, so we just have to keep it going with him and let him get used to the offense a little bit. But he should be ready to go on Saturday.”

It’s quite obvious to anyone who has seen both Jackson and Pigrome play that there are stark differences between what each quarterback brings to the table, but despite those differences, Terps coaches and players remain steadfast that they will continue to run the offensive scheme that has gotten them to this point.

But there’s no denying one of Pigrome’s best attributes: his speed.

“It doesn’t change anything really,” Leake said. “I just feel like [Pigrome] can get out of the pocket a little bit more. He’s a better runner so I feel like it’s just going to open it up for us a little bit more. But it’s still going to be the same offense.”

The success of Maryland’s offense with Pigrome at the helm will also largely depend on how well the Terps can get their running game going. Locksley has preached getting the ball into his playmakers' hands on offense, and three of his best happen to be in Maryland’s backfield.

“Obviously these guys have big-play ability,” Locksley said. “Leake and [McFarland] have game-breaking speed and then Fleet-Davis is one of those guys who does everything — he can block, he can catch, he can run. He’s a Swiss Army knife in that he’s so versatile with what he’s able to do.”

Conversely, Locksley believes Saturday’s matchup with the Boilermakers will come down to Maryland’s defense being able to win the battle in the trenches and force the Purdue offense to be one-dimensional. Locksley also cited his defense’s ability to play man coverage as a key to the game.

“It’s going to come down to being able to handle the trenches and not allowing them to get the running back going,” Locksley said. “But because of their ability to throw the ball, we have to do a great job of staying in coverage. We like to play man coverage, we like to pressure the quarterback. And one of the things, when you watch them on tape, that they do really well are the back-shoulder throws, which in man coverage is one of the toughest throws to defend. So we have to work tails off this week to defend those back-shoulder throws that, obviously, those quarterbacks, who are well-coached, have the ability to make.”

Purdue is expected to start redshirt freshman quarterback Jack Plummer for the second straight game, although sophomore Aiden O’Connell is also an option. Boilermakers head coach Jeff Brohm has a strong history of working with quarterbacks, and Locksley knows he’ll have either gunslinger prepared for Saturday.

“Obviously, at quarterback they’re well-coached,” Locksley said. “Coach Brohm does an excellent job of developing quarterbacks. Whoever plays quarterback will be well-coached for them on that side of the ball.”

Whoever is under center for Purdue will be behind a patchwork offensive line that has been hit hard by injuries. Maryland is in the same boat as starting center Johnny Jordan and right tackle Marcus Minor missed last weekend’s game due to injury.

Both Minor and Jordan have been back at practice this week and should be good to go on Saturday, but Locksley is still taking a wait-and-see approach with his blockers.

“They practiced last week, at least a couple of them did, and with these game-time decisions it’s all about when we go out how we warm up,” Locksley said. “Johnny Jordan, we expected him to go last week but when we warmed him up he just couldn't go. It didn’t look like he’d be able to go and defend himself and help us. So we made the decision as a staff not to play him. So with the way they’ve practiced this week, it’s my anticipation that we’ll have most of the injured guys back.”

Kickoff between Maryland and Purdue is scheduled for 12 p.m. EST. The game will be broadcast on the Maryland Sports Radio Network and televised on the Big Ten Network. The Terps’ captains for this week are linebacker Shaq Smith, offensive lineman Ellis McKennie, and defensive lineman Keiron Howard.