A rout – and lasting damage
Hills injured as Terps suffer second straight blowout loss; Harrison, 2 more suspended
COLLEGE PARK — There could have been good news for Maryland coming out of another blowout loss to another top-10 football team Saturday.
There could have been news of freshman running back Lorenzo Harrison breaking a 19-year-old record. Or another stellar performance against Ohio State by quarterback Perry Hills.
Instead, there was more bad news for the Terps, who were blown out by the No. 5 Buckeyes, 62-3, before an announced and season-high 48,090 swathed in red — much of it worn by Ohio State fans and some of it by the home team, which introduced its new “Red Ops” uniforms for the game at Maryland Stadium.
“Obviously, all the credit to Ohio State. They were well prepared, they’re a wellcoached team, they’re very talented, and we knew that going into the game,” first-year Maryland coach DJ Durkin said.
The defeat was much like the previous week’s 59-3 setback at No. 3 Michigan, which together are the most lopsided back-to-back losses in school history.
The Terps (5-5, 2-5) went down 14-0 after Ohio State’s first two possessions, failed to get into the end zone after a long drive, then watched the deficit grow to 45-3 by halftime.
Only Durkin’s long friendship with Ohio State coach Urban Meyer might have kept the Buckeyes (9-1, 6-1 Big Ten Conference) from breaking the record of most points scored (76) in a single game against Maryland, which was held to 176 yards on offense while surrendering 581.
“We didn’t get a stop on defense and, once again, down at the goal line, didn’t convert it for a touchdown on the fourth-and-1,” Durkin said of what turned out to be the only points the Terps could score, a 23-yard field goal by junior Adam Greene (Broadneck).
“If you’re going to play with a team or beat a team like that, you’ve got to take advantage of the opportunities, and we didn’t. There’s a lot to improve from looking at that game . ... Obviously, it factors in the level of competition we just played for a couple of weeks, but we’ve kind of lost our way ourselves.”
All that seemed to be overshadowed by shocking news involving Harrison and yet another injury to Hills.
Less than an hour before kickoff, an athletic department spokesman announced that Harrison and two other freshmen, backup linebacker Antoine Brooks and wide receiver DJ Turner, had been suspended indefinitely for a violation of the studentathlete code of conduct.
It was the first potentially lengthy suspension announced by the program since Durkin was hired. Not only will it likely cost Harrison a chance to break LaMont Jordan’s freshman rushing record, it also took one of the team’s most productive players off the field.
Harrison came into the game with 633 yards, 57 away from breaking the record and 2 behind Ty Johnson, Maryland’s leading rusher this season. Johnson led the Terps on Saturday with 21 yards on eight carries.
Asked how distracting the suspensions were coming so close to the game, Durkin said: “Distractions are part of what you have to deal with as an athlete, as a coach. It’s just part of it. … Certainly, we take those things very seriously, and that’s how they’re dealt with.
“I also have a ton of respect and love for those guys that are involved. I love those guys like my own. … We’ll certainly learn from it. You won’t find any better guys, young men, than those three. We’ll put our arms around them. What you do with people you love is you discipline them, you hold them accountable.”
Durkin wouldn’t speculate about whether the three might return this season.
Then there was another injury to Hills, who rushed for 170 yards last year at Ohio State, a Maryland record for quarterbacks. Hills, whose status for the game was not announced before kickoff after he was knocked out of the game last week, was injured on the team’s second offensive series Saturday.
It was somewhat familiar news that the fifth-year senior got hurt again, but instead of the right shoulder problems that have plagued him for most of the season, the injury was to his left shoulder.
With his team already trailing 14-0 in the first quarter, Hills was knocked out of the game for the second straight week and fourth time this season. His status for Saturday’s game at No. 19 Nebraska has yet to be determined.
Hills was replaced by fellow redshirt senior Caleb Rowe, who led the Terps on a long drive that seemed at first to end with his 2-yard touchdown run. But officials deemed that replay showed his knee was down at the 1-yard line.
“We’ll see. We’ll get a better diagnosis on [Hills’ injury] and look at it as we move into tomorrow and Monday,” said Durkin, who also played freshman quarterback Tyrrell Pigrome in the second half.
It was the third straight loss and fifth in six games for Maryland, which plays its third straight game against a ranked team Saturday before closing out the regular season against Rutgers on Nov. 26. It now seems likely that the Terps will have to wait until the finale for a real shot at bowl eligibility.
“We’ve just got to play with poise, stay together as a family, keep coming together and have a positive outcome at the end,” senior wide receiver Teldrick Morgan (Meade) said. “We can’t dwell on it, feel too bad about it. We’ve just to keep going.” Ohio State Maryland FIRST QUARTER OSU: Samuel 2 run (Durbin kick), 11:28 OSU: Barrett 4 run (Durbin kick), 9:29 MAR: FG Greene 23, 2:03 OSU: Samuel 36 pass from Barrett (Durbin kick), :21 SECOND QUARTER OSU: Barrett 1 run (Durbin kick), 11:08 OSU: Samuel 5 run (Durbin kick), 4:08 OSU: D.Wilson 8 pass from Barrett (Durbin kick), 2:10 OSU: FG Durbin 45, :49 THIRD QUARTER OSU: FG Durbin 34, 12:22 OSU: McCall 3 run (Durbin kick), 5:43 FOURTH QUARTER OSU: Victor 25 pass from Burrow (Durbin kick), 9:30 TEAM STATS OSU 21 3 24 0 10 0 7 0 First downs 32 10 Rushes-yards 43-253 40-43 Passing 328 133 Comp-att-int 24-36-0 15-27-1 Return yards 69 81 Punts-avg. 3-43.66 8-37.87 Fumbles-lost 1-0 1-1 Penalties-yards 6-55 7-74 Time of poss 31:45 28:15 RUSHING: Ohio St., Weber 12-93, McCall 13-53, Barrett 11-47, Samuel 4-38, Campbell 1-22, D.Wilson 1-5, Burrow 1-(minus 5). Maryland, Johnson 8-21, Pigrome 10-14, Funk 4-13, D.Moore 1-2, W.Brown 9-1, Hills 2-0, K.Goins 2(minus 3), Rowe 4-(minus 5). PASSING: Ohio St., Barrett 18-27-0-253, Burrow 6-9-0-75. 1-3-0-(minus 4), Rowe 7-13-1-93, Pigrome 7-11-0-44. RECEIVING: Ohio St., Samuel 5-74, K.Hill 5-62, McCall 3-48, D.Wilson 3-47, Victor 2-36, Baugh 2-19, N.Brown 1-22, Campbell 1-13, C.Smith 1-5, Dixon 1-2. Maryland, Morgan 7-56, Funk 3-19, Johnson 2-3, L.Jacobs 1-37, W.Brown 1-15, D.Moore 1-3. Maryland, Hills