Per Kevin Willard this afternoon, Jahmir Young is questionable for tomorrow night's game with an ankle injury. Would be a massive blow to not have him out there, especially going up against a PSU team that features one of the best perimeter defenders in the country in Ace Baldwin. That said, he's practicing today so might not have anything to worry about.

I see Toledo Qb (DeQuan Finn) entered the portal. Any interest from the Terps?

These kids are nuts. What will they do later in life when they have to make some real decisions.

I feel like this hasn't really been discussed much, so I figure now is a decent time to share my thoughts....

I think it is pretty obvious to most here I knew Skinn was coming to College Park with Willard before anything was even close to official. It was kind of, lets say, always a dream of theirs that if Willard got the Maryland job, Skinn would join him as his right hand man. And that made a heck of a lot of sense. Skinn has all kinds of ties to Takeover and Nike, but is also very popular with the Baltimore/Under Armour crowd, having coached Daquan Bracey at Louisiana Tech and having a son that played for Team Thrill. And he was simply seen as a top young up and coming coach. He also got a lot of credit for helping Malaki Branham become a first round pick at OSU. And of course he was at Seton Hall, an UA school, with Willard. I said it at the time and I still believe it, but if Skinn doesn't get the Mason job, I'm fairly certain Queen is a Terp by now. You can say it is on the head coach, he needs to build the relationship, whatever, but at the end of the day, most kids commit to a school because of their relationship with an assistant versus the head coach. I'll also say this, I don't think anyone in a million years could have seen Skinn leaving to become a head coach after one season in College Park. So kudos to them for putting together a strong enough season and recruiting class in Year 1 to even get him the look to get that job. But losing him was a huge, huge blow.

But then you also have to factor in the loss of Billmeier, who had been with Willard for a lifetime compared to Skinn, having spent over a decade on Willard's staff in some form. On top of that, he had a reputation as a big-man whisperer. I don't think it is a coincidence we saw Reese really come on strong during the second half of last season under Billmeier's tutelage. But again, as if losing Skinn wasn't bad enough, it basically took a perfect storm to lose both Skinn AND Billmeier in the same offseason.

Everyone always wants to talk about the head coach, but I think most here know that a head coach is only as good as his assistants. And that isn't to say his current assistants aren't good, but he had a local rising star in Skinn and a top big man coach who had been with him pretty much throughout at Seton Hall and both are gone after one successful season. That's tough to replace and replicate, especially on such short notice.

More of a running team than passing team:
-478 rush attenpts
-275 pass attempts

Average 198.8 rush yards/game
Average 157.1 pass yards/game

Leading rusher (Hunter) last 6 games:
93 yards
27 yards
109 yards
183 yards
144 yards
91 yards

127 1st downs via rush, opponents 99

Only passed for over 200 yards 3 times
Only passed for over 300 yards once

Leading receiver just 33 catches

Kicker (McPherson) - 13/13 fgs:
20-20 3/3
30-39 6/6
40-49 3/3
50 and up 1/1 (53)

39/39 pat

28 sacks, 31 sacks allowed
Of 28 sacks, 3 guys account for 63%
(7, 5 1/2, 5)

Terp transfer DL Mosiah Nasil-Kite:
Suffered torn bicep in 5th game, out for season (had played 8th most defensive snaps at time of injury - 176 - this season)
5 ua tackles, 5 a tackles, 10 total

Terps will be outnumbered by AU fans due to relative ease of travel for their fans, possible drivable day trip.
AU fans already took over Vandy’s stadium this season in their road win over Commodores. AU sold out all of their home games this season - 88,043 for all 7 home games.

AU is 2-0 all-time in Music City:
2003 vs Wisconsin
2018 vs Purdue (last Auburn bowl win)

AU just 3-7 in bowls since National Championship

AU were 25.5 point favorites at home vs New Mexico State (AU paid them $1.7M to come play) and lost 31-10, their 1st non-conference home loss since 2007 and at the time 2nd biggest upset in terms of point spread this season…
then the next game…
Had Alabama beaten but allowed gw td pass on 4th and goal from the 31…

Things seem to be going in the wrong direction for the Bb program. While no one is saying it out loud, Willard appears less than passionate during that awful display in Asheville. Some say is did not anticipate the lack of Nil $ and he could very well lose Queen. Other rumours include a move to Louisville asap.
Scott, would appreciate your thoughts.
Thanks

A) KW takes the Louisville job today, Terps get a do-over and hire a new coach?
B) KW stays

The latest Rivals recruiting rumor mill has a Mike Van Buren mention and the Terps get mentioned as a team that could get back involved. But notice that Charlotte gets a mention also. I'm not sure Maryland really pursues here. I've mentioned it numerous times in the past, but he has physical limitations and Oregon basically let him go as he did not have a great senior season.

STORY

Procedures Laid Out Here

Barring an upset in Indianapolis next Saturday, Michigan is pretty much a lock for the CFP Semifinal at the Rose Bowl.

aOSU is pretty much assured a spot in the Orange Bowl which would eliminate the Reliaquest Bowl from the B1G lineup.

The remaining B1G bowl teams:

State Penn 10-2
Iowa 10-2
Maryland 7-5
Northwestern 7-5
Wisconsin 7-5
Rutgers 6-6

I can't see State Penn missing out on the NY6. They're 11th in the CFP rankings and with Louisville (10) losing to Kentucky, will likely pass them. The Cardinals will have to beat F$U in the A¢¢ Championship to get ahead of State Penn which would get them an automatic bid into the NY6. F$U is currently in a dogfight with Florida and an F$U loss tonight would help also help State Penn get into the NY6.

Iowa will get the Citrus Bowl as they would have the best record of the remaining teams with Reliaquest out of the picture.

The issue becomes getting grouped in with everybody else since a team with one fewer win can be elevated so to speak in the pecking order which means that Rutgers is on the same level as us, Wisconsin and Northwestern.

Wisconsin will be the main competition for Nashville since they'll bring a small army to Nashville that will drink a lot of booze and Wisconsin can't go to Vegas or Phoenix.

Pretty much expect the Pinstripe to take Rutgers no matter what.

So it really comes down to does Vegas want us or Northwestern? The loser of that one ends up in Phoenix.

It doesn't look like the B1G can send a team to Detroit unless State Penn does not make the NY6.

But that would make a major mess. State Penn would get Citrus. Iowa can't go to Nashville again, but that wouldn't stop Wisconsin from heading there. Iowa would then be Vegas bound (an insult for a 10 win team that played in the Championship) Us and Northwestern for Phoenix with the loser going to Detroit.

Would be if Barham goes to PSU or South Carolina lol.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The University of Maryland football team will make its 30th all-time bowl appearance when it meets Auburn in the 2023 TransPerfect Music City Bowl on December 30 at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.

The game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. EST kickoff and will be televised nationally on ABC.

“We’re excited to be selected to play in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl,” said Maryland Head Coach Michael Locksley. “This will be our third straight year participating in a bowl game, which is a credit to our players and the consistency we’re building within our program. We’re excited to get back out on the practice field and continue the development of our players before we travel to Nashville to take on a really good Auburn team.”

Maryland will be making its third consecutive bowl appearance after defeating Virginia Tech, 54-10, in the 2021 Pinstripe Bowl and No. 23 NC State, 16-12, in the 2022 Duke’s Mayo Bowl. The Terrapins will be looking to win three bowl games during a three-year stretch for the first time in program history when they take on Auburn.

Maryland concluded the 2023 regular season 7-5 overall, guaranteeing the Terps their third consecutive winning season under Locksley’s guidance. Maryland ranks second in the Big Ten in total offense (393.8 points per game) and leads the league in passing yards per game with 284.8.

Auburn (6-6) leads the all-time series with Maryland, 2-1, however the teams have not met since the 1983 season. The Terps have not faced an SEC team in a bowl game since 2002, when Maryland defeated Tennessee, 30-3, in the Peach Bowl.

COLLEGE PARK, MD – Maryland showed its resilience by coming back from an 11-point deficit to take down DMV foe George Mason, 86-77, Sunday afternoon at the XFINITY Center. The Terps extended its winning streak to four games and handed the Patriots their first loss of the 2023-24 campaign.

The Terps battled adversity in the first half, as a strong scoring performance from the George Mason bench propelled the Patriots to an 11-point lead right before the halftime break.

Coming out of the half, Maryland outscored George Mason 26-12, building its largest lead of the game as Shyanne Sellers beat the buzzer to end the third quarter and give the Terps a five-point lead, their biggest advantage of the game. Maryland continued its offensive hot streak in the fourth quarter, helping the Terps outscore the Patriots 53-35 in the second half.

Sellers played a stellar contest, recording her first double-double of the season (fourth of her career) by scoring a career-high 27 points and collecting a career-high 13 rebounds.

Faith Masonius and Brinae Alexander joined Sellers in scoring 10 or more points. Masonius played a significant role off the bench, pouring in a season-high 15 points on a 5-of-10 shooting performance from the field. Alexander tallied her third consecutive outing of scoring in double figures, racking up 12 points along with four boards.

For the Patriots, Zahirah Walton recorded a double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds and Taylor Jameson tied her career high with 16 points. George Mason falls to 7-1 with the loss.

Coach Brenda Frese's Take
"We had been prepared that they were going to come in with the mentality to be relentless and confident," said Frese about the message to the team in the halftime break. "I was just challenging us with our mentality to be better. I thought it was a terrific response after halftime. I think it said a lot, but we can't wait 20 minutes from tip to be ready to play."

"Her stats are crazy cause I thought she started really slow for us," said Frese about Sellers' career-high 28 points. "She sets the tone for us, so when she's not ready, we're not ready as a team. But credit to her. She put her head down and started being aggressive and we needed every one of those points. Such an impressive game for having a slow start."

From The Girls
"Getting into games, we still have to get into the flow of things," said Faith Masonius on finding groove over four-game winning streak. "I think for me, I kind of had a slow start, and I'm trying to have the mindset of leaving everything out there. For me, it's just trying to stay consistent, trying to stack the days and just get better every single day."

"I think it was our defensive energy and intensity that led to us starting to be more aggressive," Shyanne Sellers said about her strong fourth-quarter performance. "I think just being able to get steals to get transition offense was big for us. And then taking what the defense was giving me and we wanted to pull away, so I just had to be a little more aggressive."

"I'll say in the beginning I got tired and I had to ask for a blow," said Emily Fisher about playing a career-high 29 minutes. "But I'm working on controlling when I'm going full speed and also taking a break on offense because defense is non-stop."

Breaking Down The Action

• The Terps and Patriots traded buckets in the opening minutes before Maryland created a 10-6 lead with a Jakia Brown-Turner layup and a pair of Shyanne Sellers free throws.
• George Mason embarked on a 10-0 scoring stretch to take a 16-10 edge with 2:25 remaining in the first quarter.
• The visiting Patriots held a 21-14 advantage after 10 minutes, with Taylor Jameson and Zahirah Walton each producing six points in the stanza.
• Riley Nelson drained her first three of the afternoon, but the Patriots cooked up a 5-0 run with a pair of field goals from Jameson to go up 34-25 and force a Maryland timeout with 3:33 to go in the first half.
• Another 5-0 run capped by a Sonia Smith turnaround jumper gave George Mason a 42-31 lead for its first double-digit lead of the afternoon.
• A pair of Shyanne Sellers free throws cut the deficit down to single digits right before the halftime break, as Maryland trailed 42-33.
• Maryland wasted little time battling back into the contest in the second half, sparking a 8-0 run with a Brinae Alexander triple and a three-point play from Bri McDaniel to make it a 42-41 affair.
• • George Mason reasserted its lead with a seven-point swing, building back a 49-41 gap.
  • Faith Masonius had a seven-point flurry as part of an 12-1 run to pull the Terps back into the lead at 54-51.
  • Maryland established its largest lead of the contest as Shyanne Sellers beat the third-quarter buzzer on a nifty up-and-under move as the Terps closed out the frame up 59-54.
  • After the Patriots pulled the game to one possession, Maryland pulled away with a 6-0 run to secure a nine-point advantage.
  • Maryland took a double-digit lead for the first time with a jumper from Sellers to go up 70-60 with 5:02 left in the contest.
  • The closest George Mason would come to closing the gap was eight points, as the Terps outscored the Patriots 27-23 in the fourth.

Numbers To Know

• 1: Maryland secured its first comeback win after trailing by double-digits this season.
• 3: Three different Terps — Shyanne Sellers (13), Allie Kubek (9) and Emily Fisher (8) — set career highs in rebounding in the contest.
• 4: Shyanne Sellers recorded the fourth double-double of her career with 28 points and 13 rebounds.
• 8: Emily Fisher snagged a career-best eight rebounds.
• 9: Allie Kubek collected a career-high nine boards.
• 11: Maryland recovered from an 11-point deficit near the end of the first half. It marks the first time the Terps have battled back to win after trailing by 10+ points since accomplishing the feat against Illinois on Feb. 12, 2023.
• 13: Shyanne Sellers gobbled up a career-high 13 boards.
• 15: Maryland won its 15th consecutive home game dating back to a victory over No. 6 UConn on Dec. 11, 2022.
• 28: Shyanne Sellers produced a career-high 28 points. It is the fourth time this season and eighth time in her career that she's dropped 20+ points in a game.
• 29: Emily Fisher played a critical role, as the freshman played a career-high 29 minutes. She finished with six points and eight rebounds.
• 365: With Sunday's win, Monday will mark one full year since the Terps lost a game at the XFINITY Center.

Up Next

• The Terps continue their five-game homestand with their Big Ten Conference opener next Sunday afternoon against Northwestern. First tip from the XFINITY Center is scheduled for 1 p.m., and the contest will air on B1G+.