Terps have primetime opportunity against Michigan State

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- When the 2016 season began, not many pegged the Oct. 22 meeting between Maryland and Michigan State to be a matchup of two reeling Big Ten teams, but with both programs entering the game on losing streaks, each of them will be looking to make a statement in front of a national audience during their primetime showdown on Saturday night.

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“We’re looking forward to a great opportunity this week,” Terps head coach D.J. Durkin said at his weekly press conference Oct. 18. “Michigan State is a great program that is capable of beating a lot of teams in our conference and nationwide. It should be a great crowd for the night game. Our kids are excited and prepared for this one. We’re excited for this challenge.”

Now that Durkin has lost consecutive games for the first time as a head coach, he and his team find themselves trying to stop the bleeding as they enter the toughest stretch of their schedule.

A primetime game in front of its home crowd could be just what Maryland needs to get off the snide and Durkin said he and his players are looking forward to the energy in College Park when the Spartans come to town this weekend.

“The night game is an interesting thing in college football,” Durkin said. “There’s usually a pretty good atmosphere. At night, the fans are usually a little more excited and into the game. Being at home for a night game is great. We have a pretty good routine set right now. We can balance rest with preparation.”

The Terps have already played two night games so far this season, both in Florida. Maryland’s primetime games with Florida International and Central Florida in consecutive weeks resulted in two wins under the lights for the Terps by a combined score of 71-38.

“Playing in a night game is always fun,” Maryland senior defensive lineman Roman Braglio said Tuesday. “It’s against Michigan State. It’s going to be on national TV. The team is going to be fired up about it. We’re going to be ready to play.”

But this year’s Spartans have some experience of their own when it comes to playing late. Michigan State has already played three night games this season--against Furman, at Notre Dame and at Indiana--and the Terps know they will be playing a well-coached team that needs a win just as badly as they do.

“They attack a lot of parts of the field,” Braglio said of the Michigan State offense. “They have a lot of formations. They’re just a hard-nosed football team. It’s going to be a tough game. Michigan State is a good football club and a good program.”

Saturday night’s game could come down to which team gets off to a hotter start, but the Terps’ primetime experience has taught them that there’s a fine line between coming out energized for a nationally televised game and letting emotions run so high to the point where it affects performance.

“The biggest thing coming into this game is that we need to bring energy to the game and get back to the basics,” Terps senior wide receiver Levern Jacobs told reporters Tuesday. “We need to be better in the run. We need to be better in the pass. And no matter what happens in the game we have to remain more poised. If we get down in the game or even if we’re up, we need to keep our composure and bring a good tempo.”