Maryland coach Mike Locksley has confidence in his team, even on a lengthy road trip to face the top-ranked Oregon Ducks.
The Terrapins might just take the opportunity to play up to the level of their undefeated opponents Saturday at Autzen Stadium, he said.
“We have a good football team still. I feel pretty confident that this team will show up and be heard," Locksley said. "Oregon is one of those teams that’s talented in all three phases, offense, defense, special teams. This team is immature at times, and just — as I like to say — just dumb enough to show up and play up to the opponent."
Maryland (4-4, 1-4 Big Ten) is coming off a bye after a demoralizing 48-23 loss to Minnesota. The Terrapins have lost three of their last four games and are trying to reach bowl eligibility with four games, including Oregon, left.
The Ducks, meanwhile, are 9-0 and 6-0 in their first season in the Big Ten. In addition to the top ranking in the AP Top 25, Oregon was also atop the first College Football Playoff rankings announced this week.
Locksley is aware of the challenge. Oregon is one of just five remaining unbeaten teams in the country and is one of just four schools ranked in the top 15 in total offense and total defense.
“As I told them, we don’t necessarily have to play above our abilities because we do have talent. We have skill that matches up," Locksley said about his team. “But what we’ve got to do is play smart. We’ve got to go out, play together, and then we’ve got to execute because it’s going to come down to execution in terms of the players making plays, and I know they’ll play to the last second as we’ve done in all of our games.”
Oregon will be without a big weapon against the Terrapins. Receiver Tez Johnson injured his shoulder in the Ducks' 38-17 victory last weekend at Michigan. Johnson is the Ducks' leading receiver with 649 yards and eight touchdown catches. He played just two snaps against the Wolverines.
The good news is Johnson's injury won't require surgery and is not season-ending.
“I’m gonna tell you the same thing I always tell you, as soon as they’re ready to go, we’ll have them out there. We’re gonna put player safety first,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said. “Tez will be down certainly right now in the near future, but I do anticipate us getting Tez back here soon."
Receiver Traeshon Holden is among those who will aim to replace Johnson's production. Holden got attention in the Ducks' victory over Ohio State this season when he was ejected for spitting on one of the Buckeyes. Oregon dealt with his discipline internally and Holden rebounded with his best performance of the season against the Wolverines, with six catches for a career-high 149 yards.
“I just want people to know, there's a before and after. There's growth,” Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel said of Holden.
Maryland has not played a regular-season game in the Pacific time zone since visiting Cal in 2009. So the trip calls for a bit of adjustment.
"We’re leaving a day earlier than we typically do to give us a little time to acclimate out there to the time zone differences. So we’ll get there Thursday to practice, and then use Friday for meetings and just acclimate,” Locksley said.
Gabriel needs just one more touchdown to match the NCAA career record of 178 total TDs held by Case Keenum. He also ranks second in NCAA history with 144 career passing touchdowns and 17,530 passing yards.
This season, he's completing 74.8% of his passes, best in the country. He's passed for 19 touchdowns and run for six more.
Those gaudy stats are garnering some Heisman hype among a group that includes Miami's Cam Ward, Colorado's Travis Hunter and Boise State's Ashton Jeanty.
___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football