Did anybody see during the B1G network commercials where they show the pop-up schools on the landscape, they showed a quick glimpse of USC and UCLA. I did not see that the rest of the game or day for that matter.

We're about an hour away from kickoff in College Park between the Terps and Northwestern. Terps will be in their usual all red Homecoming uniforms.

Big news ahead of this one, not surprisingly, is that Taulia will sit this one out and Billy Edwards Jr. will get his first start. On the other side, Ryan Hilinski has been benched by Fitzgerald and is being replaced by Brendan Sullivan.

One surprise injury note, Barham is out today, along with Hyppolite who has missed all but a few snaps of the past 4 games.

The Terps got the running game going in the second half and paired with a couple of INTs by the safeties helped the Terps come back from a halftime deficit to defeat the Wildcats 31-24 and become bowl eligible for the second straight season. Full recap with quotes, stats and highlights at the link below.

STORY

I exchanged questions with Northwestern publisher Louie Vaccher ahead of tomorrow's Homecoming game. One question I asked that I was actually a bit surprised by the answer was about Fitzgerald being on the hot seat. He's an alum and one of the most respected coaches in the game, but NW has been flat out awful the last season-plus. You also know it's bad when their own publisher expects a whooping, even with Billy Edwards starting. More at the story linked below.

STORY

Watch Locksley break down the Terps' win over Northwestern, as he also discusses Lia's injury, the status of a few other injured players and what it means to be bowl eligible this early in the season, all in the video linked below. Will try to have player videos up soon.

STORY

Lia or Billy?

I say Billy 48, Cats 17!

Caesar's opened up with us as a 12 point favorite, a couple of others started us at 13 point favorites, we're currently 14.5.

Over/Under at 52.

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Anyone who attends games - any idea how to get a golf cart to transport those unable to walk to the stadium? My in-laws are coming today and one of them can't walk that far. Can't find anything on the MD website. I guess I can try to wave one of the transports down but was hoping there was a better process than that.

Mark

Three things to watch for against Northwestern. In short, this game is all about the run, both pounding the rock and stopping the run on defense. If those two things happen, the Terps should win big and come away with their 6th win of the year and become bowl eligible at the earliest point in the season since 2001. More at the link below.

STORY

Where is everybody? The fans/students should enjoy this.

"3. The Terps control their Big Ten destiny. With Maryland taking down Michigan State and Ohio State tying Penn State, the Terps control their Big Ten destiny. Maryland just needs to defeat Indiana on Oct. 30 to secure the Big Ten regular season crown. If the Terps lose to the Hoosiers, however, they could fall as far as fourth in the conference standings."

Just noticed that our volleyball team is hosting State Penn on BTN at 8 tonight....Go Terps!!

In full disclosure, my best friend lived in Anne Arundel dorm which was coed in 1980 and the other half of his floor housed the volleyball team. Needless to say, I was probably the number one visitor to that dorm and actually came in second in their talent show as the Unknown Comic....

Watch Locks give a final update ahead of Saturday's game. He starts by updating the status of Lia (no real update) other than the fact he has practiced multiple times. Also updates the status of Jakorian Bennett and Ruben Hyppolite, both have practiced but game-time decisions. Full availability below.

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Taulia Tagovailoa is a 'game-time decision' according to Locksley this afternoon. Says he reaggravated a knee injury he suffered during the Michigan game.

STORY

A lot to like here. Biggest takeaway? The expectation is ALWAYS to win a Big Ten championship and a national championship. Feel like it has been over a decade since I heard that. So refreshing.

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Just finished up the basketball team’s media day and open practice (warmups).

Will post the Willard presser here in a bit. He really isn’t much of a talker like Turgeon was, as far as when he’s addressing the media. But he gets it. He has totally embraced this program’s history and rabid fan base and the expectations.

Donta Scott has lost 30 lbs according to Willard. He said its just been a matter of eating better and watching what he drinks along with time in the weight room with Tarp. He says he’s feeling better and is ready to get back to playing like he did as a sophomore.

Jahmir Young is going to be the one that makes this team go. He’s the guy.

The one player who I think might surprise folks is Ian Martinez. He is absolutely better than he showed last season and I’ve heard good things. He also seems really excited to play for Willard and says he’s fully adjusted to Big Ten play which is much different than the PAC 12 was.

All we heard over and over from Willard and the players is that this year’s team is going to play fast. And being that they all have the same thing to compare it to, the players believe it and have bought in.

Quick practice observation…finally, this is how practices are supposed to be run! Practice is night and day from what we saw under Turgeon and I only saw like a half hour. High energy, everyone always moving, no standing around. And as soon as they really got down to it, Willard’s intensity went to another level (might have heard an F bomb or two, also). This is how I’m used to seeing teams practice. This year’s team is going to have its growing pains and they might not be where they want at the end of this season, but you have ti love the direction the program is headed.

Looking back at these starting lineups as recruits, it is a bit perplexing that Northwestern is as bad as they are. Honestly, NU has been pretty bad 3 of the past 4 years now and you have to wonder if Fitzgerald's seat is getting warm at all, despite him being an alum and having done a phenomenal job for north of a decade. One thing that is interesting is the fact that Northwestern really doesn't start a lot of transfers like a lot of other programs are. See how these starters stack up at the link below.

STORY

Bruno has emerged as a strong possibility to start at center for Houston tonight. Reportedly he has made impressions with the team for his physicality and improving defense, rebounding ability and rim running and as such, he is well equipped athletically to play in Houston’s up-tempo system. Fernando has been getting a lot of buzz since training camp.

Also, Huerter is the starting SG tonight for Sacramento while Stix will play tonight vs Wizards despite recently dealing with right knee tendinitis.

Maryland vs. Team USA.

SPRINGFIELD, MA – Sophomore Shyanne Sellers of the 17th-ranked Maryland women's basketball team is one of 20 watch-list candidates for the Cheryl Miller Award, an annual honor recognizing the top small forward in women's NCAA Division I college basketball.

Sellers, the 2022 Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year, is one of the top returners for the Terrapins. She saw action in all 32 games last year, starting in 10, and averaged 7.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 26.5 minutes per game as a rookie.

Sellers led the Terps with 56 steals on the season and was also named to the five-member All-Big Ten Freshman Team.

Sellers' teammate, senior Diamond Miller, was named a candidate for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award for the nation's top shooting guard, on Monday.

Fans are encouraged to participate in Fan Voting, presented by Dell Technologies, in each of the three rounds starting Friday, October 21. In late January, the watch list of 20 players for the 2023 Cheryl Miller Award will be narrowed to 10 and then in late February to just five. In March the five finalists will be presented to Miller and the Hall of Fame's selection committee where a winner will be selected.

The winner of the 2023 Cheryl Miller Award will be presented on a to be determined date, along with the other four members of the Women's Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Nancy Lieberman Award (Point Guard), Ann Meyers Drysdale Award (Shooting Guard), Katrina McClain Award (Power Forward) and the Lisa Leslie Award (Center), in addition to the Men's Starting Five.

For more information on the 2023 Cheryl Miller Award and the latest updates, visit hoophallawards.com and follow @hoophall and #MillerAward on Twitter and Instagram.

The Terrapins, who are ranked No. 17 in the AP Preseason poll, were picked to finish fourth in the Big Ten by both the league's head coaches and media panel. Both groups picked Iowa to win the conference.

The Terrapins will host two of last year's Final Four teams, as they play one of the toughest schedules in the country. Their out of conference schedule is highlighted by home matchups with defending national champion No. 1 South Carolina and No. 6 Connecticut, as well as road trips to No. 18 Baylor and No. 9 Notre Dame.

Click here for the Terrapins' full schedule. More game times and streaming information will be posted to umterps.com.

Two-time National Coach of the Year Brenda Frese brings in nine new players this season, including AP Honorable Mention All-American honoree Abby Meyers (Princeton), All-SEC transfer Lavender Briggs (Florida), All-AAC transfer Elisa Pinzan (USF), SEC graduate transfer Brinae Alexander (Vanderbilt) and All-CAA transfer Allie Kubek (Towson). Last spring, Frese also signed two top-55 incoming freshmen in Gia Cooke and Brianna McDaniel. Incoming freshman Ava Sciolla and Mila Reynolds signed with Maryland in November, giving the Terrapins a top 10 recruiting class for the 15th time under Frese.

Tickets for the 2022-23 season are now on sale at umterps.com.