- The Washington Times - Tuesday, November 21, 2023

Conventional wisdom might say there’s not much difference between finishing a season 6-6 and 7-5, but for Mike Locksley, there’s dual benefits, both for the Terrapins coach and his Maryland team.

With a win Saturday at Rutgers, Maryland (6-5, 3-5 Big Ten) will hit seven victories for the third-straight season — the first time that’s happened in 20 years — and improve its bowl standing after a winless October torpedoed its chances for a New Year’s Day-tier game. 

Eight Big Ten teams are already bowl-eligible with three more playing for the opportunity this week to join Maryland and the others. With such a crowded postseason picture, an extra digit in the win column provides a marginal bump in a league that could finish with a half-dozen teams at 6-6.

“Huge difference between 7-5 and 6-6,” Locksley said Tuesday, “and it definitely plays a huge role in where we go bowling. So, still a lot to play for for our team.”

As was the case after a season-ending win over the Scarlet Knights a year ago, a seventh win also triggers a clause in Locksley’s contract that extends it an additional year through the 2028 season. The deal was restructured in April, and he’ll earn $5.5 million this season, per USA Today’s database of college coach salaries, a total that escalates each year.

“I would coach for free,” Locksley said. “And I have coached for free over the years. So no, the financial incentives for me aren’t as important as it is for these kids.”

To reach that threshold, Maryland will need to beat a Rutgers team that is drastically improved from the one the Terrapins shut out 37-0 a season ago.

“They’ve taken on the personality of [coach] Greg [Schiano],” Locksley said. “I mean, they are tough, hard-nosed, really disciplined. They don’t make a lot of mistakes. They know who they are. They know how they want to win.”

After scoring the most points of anyone this season (24) against previously-No. 2 Michigan and its best-in-the-nation scoring defense, Rutgers will present similar challenges. 

The Scarlet Knights (6-5, 3-5) boast the 20th-best scoring defense, allowing 19.1 points per game, and the 11th-best in defending the pass, yielding just 113 yards per game.

“This is one of those defenses that they don’t make a lot of mistakes,” Locksley said. “They don’t do a lot. But what they do, they do really, really, really well, and it’s a testament to how well coached they are and how they want to win.”

Comparisons still abound after a decade between the — until next season — Big Ten’s “newest” programs, with Maryland and Rutgers still facing excruciating November schedules in the final year of the conference’s two-division system.

“We’ve been a part of this league since 2014 like they have,” Locksley said. “When you’re new, you get the bottom.”

Rutgers enters the matchup riding a season-long three-game losing streak, all to ranked programs: No. 2 Ohio State, No. 20 Iowa and No. 11 Penn State.

“The scheduling is always tough,” Locksley said. “It’s hard. We both have similar challenges in that we’re trying to grow programs against a conference that has quite a few teams that are what most of us will consider blueblood programs.”

Maryland started the month with the Nittany Lions and is coming off a one-touchdown loss to the Wolverines, coming close, but once again failing to slay one of the Big Ten’s dragons.

“We wanted that win for our seniors in the worst way, a breakthrough win,” Locksley said, “but there were some things that I feel we can take away from it that we can build off of as we head into the finish, the finale.”

• George Gerbo can be reached at ggerbo@washingtontimes.com.

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