Maryland will try to reach bowl eligibility and try to end a two-game losing streak at Northwestern as Michigan’s sign-stealing scandal swirls around the Big Ten and college football. Here’s this week’s Terps Top Three notebook ahead of Saturday’s game with the Wildcats (noon, Big Ten Network).
Everywhere a sign: The NCAA’s sign-stealing investigation into Michigan and Wolverines staff member Connor Stalion continues to grow, with further reporting fleshing out just how in depth the operation was, including references to current Maryland and former Michigan offensive coordinator Josh Gattis.
Sports Illustrated reported Wednesday that Stalions bragged in text messages to an unnamed student that he “stole opponent signals during the week watching tv copies then flew to the game and stood next to Gattis and told him what coverage/pressure he was gettin.” Gattis was on the Wolverines’ staff from 2019-21.
Maryland coach Mike Locksley said Thursday he wasn’t surprised how the scandal has grown in such a short time, but that it’s “a Michigan issue, not a Maryland issue.”
“We’ve had discussions with Josh. Our administration and myself had discussions with him. But that Michigan thing has no bearing on anything we’re doing right now, and I’ve really just tried to focus preparing for Northwestern,” Locksley said. “We’ll deal with the Michigan thing when we get closer to playing Michigan.”
First reported by Yahoo Sports and followed up by ESPN, sources said Stalions purchased tickets near the sidelines to more than 30 football games at 12 different Big Ten schools besides Michigan over the last three years. The NCAA prohibits in-person, off-campus scouting of future opponents. The Wolverines come to College Park on Nov. 18.
“A year ago, we played Michigan [a 34-27 loss in Ann Arbor], and we had some plays in that game that didn’t go our way that could have dictated the outcome,” Locksley said. “In hindsight, do I look and say ‘Hey, maybe that’s why?’ No. We’ve got to execute our stuff. They still have to stop it. So no, it has no bearing on anything for me right now. And like I said, just even talking about it kind of makes my skin crawl a little bit.”
Going bowling? Last season, the Terrapins clinched their sixth win against the Wildcats, and this year’s contest against Northwestern is Maryland’s second — and easiest remaining — opportunity to secure bowl eligibility for a third-straight season.
With seven of 12 games in the books, it’s never too early to look at the bowl destinations the Terrapins could end up in.
The most frequent projection is for Maryland to head to Nashville Dec. 30 for the Music City Bowl. ESPN, Fox Sports, CBS Sports and Athlon Sports all have the Terrapins headed to the Tennessee capital for a matchup with an SEC team. It would be Maryland’s first appearance in the game.
Representatives for the Citrus Bowl in Orlando have been at multiple Maryland games this season, but that might be a harder climb now after Maryland lost a winnable game to Illinois. This year, the Citrus Bowl and Music City Bowl are the Big Ten’s highest-tier bowls, respectively, after the College Football Playoff and New Year’s Six.
Keeping the lights on: Maryland’s visit to Evanston, Illinois, is only their second all-time, and this trip to Ryan Field will be drastically different to their next one scheduled for 2027.
A proposed $800 million privately funded effort by Northwestern would cut 12,000 seats from the Big Ten’s smallest stadium, reducing capacity to 35,000. It would also include permanent lights, something the current venue does not have. Temporary lights are brought in for night games, the only such setup in the FBS.
A local planning commission recently approved the proposal unanimously, however there’s been considerable pushback by local residents. Regardless of further approvals, Northwestern is expected to demolish Ryan Field and could play home games at other Chicagoland sites in the coming years like Soldier Field and Wrigley Field, where the Wildcats will take on Iowa next week.
• George Gerbo can be reached at ggerbo@washingtontimes.com.
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