Terps fall to Buckeyes at home with trip to Nebraska on tap: The 3-2-1

Maryland now sits at 5-5 on the season after consecutive blowout losses to two top-10 teams, but a postseason berth is still alive for the Terps, who need just one more win to become bowl eligible.

But the scoreboard wasn’t the only misfortune for Maryland on Saturday. Senior quarterback Perry Hills had to leave another game and did not return after injuring the shoulder opposite of the one that had him questionable to go against the Buckeyes. The Terps also received some bad news about three of their freshmen just before the game against Ohio State.

With a trip to Nebraska on deck for Maryland as the Terps look to regroup from two lopsided defeat, here’s the latest installment of The 3-2-1.

Three things we learned

1 -- Maryland was missing a significant part of its offense and could be for some time

As previously mentioned, Maryland announced just before kickoff of the game against Ohio State that three true freshmen--running back Lorenzo Harrison, wide receiver D.J. Turner and linebacker Antoine Brooks--have all been suspended indefinitely for violating the university’s student athlete code of conduct. Durkin said after the game and reiterated on Monday that the team is still gathering information regarding the violation. Durkin also admitted after the game and again on Monday that Harrison--Maryland’s second-leading rusher--is a ‘significant loss.’ The Terps ground game took a big dip against Ohio State without Harrison and much of that can be chalked up to the Buckeyes’ stout rush defense, but not having the elusive rookie runner certainly didn’t help Maryland’s cause. It remains unclear how much more time the three freshmen will miss, but the Terps could potentially be without them for the rest of the season given the timing.

2 -- Sometimes official review doesn’t help get the call right

Maryland only had one scoring drive against Ohio State but it should have a touchdown instead of a field goal. Now, some of that is on the Terps because Maryland’s offensive line committed a false start penalty on 4th-and-1 from the 1-yard line, forcing the offense off the field and the kicking unit to come out. But before the penalty, it appeared quarterback Caleb Rowe had crossed the goal line for the Terps on 3rd down. The play was close and reviewed by the officials, but it was pretty obvious that Rowe had broke the plane before being down. However, the refs did not see it that way for some reason and stuck with the call on the field, which was Maryland down at the 1-yard line. Guess this just goes to show that instant replay isn’t perfect and neither are officials.

3 -- Terps coaches trying TE Andrew Isaacs out on defense

Isaacs is redshirt junior who the coaches love having on the team because of his leadership and high character. Unfortunately for Isaacs, his skillset isn’t conducive to what the Terps like to do on offense, so his opportunities to make an impact on the field are extremely limited. But Maryland’s staff wants to reward the guys on the team who work hard and prepare the right way and Isaacs certainly fits that mold. Against the Buckeyes, Isaacs made his debut on defense, which Durkin said Monday the Terps have been experimenting with in practice for a couple of weeks now. The 6-foot-2, 240-pound Manchester, Conn., native could see an increased role on defense moving forward as the Terps try to mix things up and improve their defense.

Two questions

1 -- Who’s better, Michigan or Ohio State?

We’ll find out the answer to this question in two weeks when the Buckeyes and Wolverines meet in The Horseshoe. But who better to make this comparison right now than Terps fans who have seen their team get torched by these two programs the last two weeks? Ohio State beat Maryland by three more points than Michigan did, and the Buckeyes did so on the road as opposed to the Wolverines rolling the Terps at home. However, Hills did play a little bit more of the game against Michigan than he did against Ohio State on Saturday. Both Ohio State and Michigan are about as well-coached and talented as they come and the winner of their matchup on Nov. 26 should have a firm place in the College Football Playoff.

2 -- Has Caleb Rowe expended his opportunities?

Rowe was the first quarterback to replace Hills in the last two games but he was unable to finish either of those games after being benched for true freshman Ty Pigrome. Rowe played better against Ohio State than he did against Michigan, but he still was unable to get the offense going and turned the ball over too frequently. With both of the last two games being out of reach in the fourth quarter, Durkin said it only made sense to get Pigrome more reps and experience in the fourth quarter. But now that Durkin has a decent sample size of Rowe this season, the Terps’ leadman might just decide to move on and make the freshman Hills’ primary backup.

One prediction: Terps will look better in their final two games

There’s only one direction for Maryland to go right now after its last two performances, and that’s up. The schedule gets easier for the Terps, who finish out the season at Nebraska and against Rutgers. Going to Lincoln will be a tough task, but playing the Cornhuskers won’t be anything like playing the Buckeyes or Wolverines, so the Terps won’t caught off guard. Maryland will still be heavy underdogs, but the Terps most likely won’t lose by nearly 60 points again. Then the regular season ends with Maryland hosting Rutgers in College Park. Both of these programs are struggling at the moment, but while the Scarlet Knights’ season is all but over, the Terps still have something to fight for. The worst is behind us folks, better days are ahead.