College Football: Maryland Terrapins Visit Nebraska Cornhuskers
Dealing with adversity is becoming old hat for second-year coach Mike Riley, so it is hardly surprising he has virtually no idea whether or not his starting quarterback will be available to him in Nebraska's home finale this weekend. With Tommy Armstrong Jr.' status unlikely to be decided until late in the week, the 17th-ranked Cornhuskers attempt to complete their 42nd unbeaten season at home Saturday when it faces Maryland for the first time in school history.
Nebraska lost six of its seven games in 2015 - Riley's first season - by eight points or fewer before the program dealt with the tragic loss of punter Sam Foltz in a car accident this summer. The Cornhuskers managed to overcome those hardships to roll off seven straight wins - their best start in 15 years - before they suffered consecutive road losses to Wisconsin (23-17 in overtime) and Ohio State (62-3), the latter of which saw Armstrong leave in the first half due to a concussion. The senior quarterback was not cleared to play last weekend until hours before Nebraska's 24-17 home victory over Minnesota, and he tweaked his left hamstring on his go-ahead 13-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter and did not return. First-year coach D.J. Durkin has the Terrapins on the brink of bowl eligibility, but they suffered their own 62-3 beatdown against the Buckeyes last weekend to fall to 1-5 over their last six contests.
ABOUT MARYLAND (5-5, 2-5 Big Ten): The Terrapins are one of three teams in the conference with a pair of players with at least 630 yards rushing, including sophomore Ty Johnson (656) and Lorenzo Harrison (633), who became the first player in school history to rush for a touchdown in each of his first four games earlier in the season. However, Harrison was one of three freshmen (along with backup linebacker Antoine Brooks and backup wide receiver DJ Turner) suspended indefinitely by Durkin on Monday for violating the school's student-athlete code of conduct. Senior quarterback Perry Hills leads the conference in completion percentage (66.7), although his status for this game is in question due to injuries to both shoulders.
ABOUT NEBRASKA (8-2, 5-2): Armstrong completed a career-high (as a starter) 70.4 percent of his passes, totaled 278 yards and accounted for all three touchdowns against Minnesota to give him 90 scores for his career, matching former Heisman Trophy winner Eric Crouch for the most in program history. Senior Jordan Westerkamp (team-high marks of 391 receiving yards and four receiving scores) has 13 receptions in three games since returning from a shoulder injury and can tie former Heisman winner Johnny Rodgers' school mark with a catch in 37 straight games if he can manage at least one reception in each of the team's final three games. Junior safety Kieron Williams sealed the game last week with a late red-zone interception and has picked off five passes this season, tied for the fifth-best total in FBS.
EXTRA POINTS
1. The Terrapins are the only Big Ten school the Cornhuskers have yet to face since joining the conference in 2011.
2. Maryland has run for 2,137 yards this season - the program's best mark since it rushed for 2,487 in 2003. With an average of 213.7 rushing yards, they are on track to exceed 200 yards per game for the first time since 2001.
3. Armstrong joined Crouch (35) and Tommie Frazier (33) as the only quarterbacks in school history to reach the 30-win mark in their careers with the victory over the Golden Gophers.
PREDICTION: Nebraska 41, Maryland 21
