Maryland is coming off its first deflating loss of the season, a home loss that sparked criticism among the fanbase in the days since after head coach Mike Locksley kicked off his sixth season in College Park. In the earliest conference game for the program since 2011, Saturday marked a chance for the Terps to cement their early season momentum and start conference play off on the right foot – especially with a new quarterback under center and new identity on offense.
After squandering opportunities in all three phases of the game in the fourth quarter, Maryland ultimately suffered its fourth loss, including three in Big Ten play, in September under head coach Mike Locksley. Now, the Terps will look to tune out the noise outside of Jones-Hill House.
“When we take the field on Saturdays, we're kind of all we have,” running back Roman Hemby said. “We’re all we need at that point in time. When we play on the field, we have each other's backs and we know that there's adversity that's going to show up, and we have to have each other's backs at all times.”
“They don't know we've been doing for these past eight months, throughout the winter, the summer so that doesn't phase me,” linebacker Ruben Hyppolite added. “Misery loves company, so I try and stay away from that, keep my head up. I try to lead my team and my guys the best way that I can. And it's week two. It's not the end of the world. Any given Saturday, you can win or you can lose. There's no guarantees in sports and football so I don't pay no mind to that. I keep living. I'm too blessed for that.”
When asked whether calls for a new head coach were justified during Tuesday’s press conference, Hemby had a clear answer backing his head coach that once recruited him out of John Carroll (MD).
“He's as tough as they come as well from the top, and that's a reflection of how we are all the way down to everybody in our building. There's always going to be critics and we feel like that's what comes with the sport so him taking it on and doing what he does to be a tremendous leader to us, it's what we do as well, to kind of pay it forward and keep our heads on straight throughout everything that goes on throughout the season.”
Maryland will look to get back on track against Virginia as they seek their 14th consecutive non-conference win, including its fifth against an ACC opponent and second against the ‘Hoos in as many as. Calling it a ‘must-win’ game might be premature, though.
“Every week is a mentality that we go into it that we want to win,” Hyppolite added. “This game is not more important than any other game in our schedule. Every game is equally important. We prep the same way whether we're playing the number one team in the country, a team that's not ranked. Like the preparation doesn't change.”
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