11/17/2016 football Edit

Maryland still motivated by potential bowl game

Pat Donohue

Staff Writer

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- It has been a rough last two weeks for Maryland football, losing to then-No. 3 Michigan and then-No. 5 Ohio State by a combined score of 121-6. But they don’t get much tougher in college football than the Wolverines and Buckeyes, and the Terps did enough in their early season schedule to make their last two games very meaningful.

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After starting the season with four consecutive wins and picking up a fifth in late October against Michigan State, the Terps find themselves just one victory away from becoming bowl eligible in D.J. Durkin’s first year as head coach in College Park.

Making the postseason would be quite an accomplishment for a Maryland team that wiped its slate clean after a 3-9 season in 2015, and the Terps’ leadman said his players know what’s on the line down the stretch.

“Our guys are well aware of how that works in college football,” Durkin said. “Bowl games are a valuable thing. It’s great for our program. It’s great for our seniors to have that reward and play in the postseason. We’re certainly working to do that. I don’t know if that’s the number one driver or motivator. They understand that a bowl game is on the table. It’s a great reward. It’s one of the coolest parts of college football. Our guys deserve to have that experience. But, we have to go earn it. That’s our plan.”

For Terps like senior defensive end Roman Braglio, getting to the postseason and extending his college career one game is his main source of motivation. But as a one of Maryland’s locker room leaders, Braglio knows it’s also his responsibility to make sure the underclassmen understand the importance of making a bowl game.

“It’s definitely motivating us,” Braglio said. “I was actually talking to Jake Funk last night. He’s my roommate and I have two plaques hanging up on the wall from our previous bowl games and he was asking me if it was fun and what happens, and I told him that it is a lot of fun.

“It’s definitely a great reward that college football gives its players. You get to go to a bowl game and enjoy wherever you are. You get treated like a king for a week and it’s definitely a lot of fun. It’s another week that I get as a Terp, so it’s definitely a motivating factor for me and I know it is for everyone else in the locker room.”

Braglio added that he and his teammates are focussing on getting back to the fundamentals and technique of their positions and are hoping to find the same mojo they had early in the season.

But Durkin doesn’t seem worried about how his team will respond to its recent lull. He said his player’s ability to be self aware has helped keep their emotions in check and he knows the Terps are looking forward to finishing the season on a high note.

“Obviously, when you play a few games the way that we have played recently, there isn’t a good mood,” Durkin said. “We’re conveying to our guys that this season still has a chance to be a tremendous success for us. We have a chance to finish strong. Let’s go play well. We knew what we had going into this season. Our team is self-aware. We know what our talent level is. If and when we learn to play consistently, a lot will be different for us. No matter what, when you get back on the field on Monday after a game, you move on. Our young men are resilient. We’ll bounce back. We’re going to catch our battle rhythm again. “