What is Maryland's path to a Bowl Game this season?

It's been a rough October and start to November for the Maryland Terrapins football program. After a promising 4-0 start to the season that included a milestone victory on the road against Wisconsin, the Terps' season has free-fallen, dropping five-straight games, including this most recent one this past Saturday against Rutgers.

Maryland's Remaining Schedule

Nov. 15th at Illinois (6-3): 3:30 p.m. ET

Nov. 22nd vs. (18) Michigan (7-2): TBD

Nov. 29th at. Michigan State (3-6): TBD

That is not an easy schedule to end the season. The most favorable game for the Terps is the final matchup at Michigan State, a team that has been struggling this year after beginning 3-0 and losing its last six.

Illinois, Maryland's next matchup, has had a solid season; they are significantly above .500 and are likely to play in a bowl game in December. However, the Fighting Illini have struggled to maintain their rank status, falling to top-25 teams such as Indiana, Ohio State, and, before dropping their matchup this past Saturday, Washington.

Michigan is comfortably ranked No. 18 in the country. They've beaten opponents that they are supposed to, defeating opponents sitting in the lower half of the Big Ten conference rankings. The Wolverines have only two losses, both against No. 17 USC and No. 11 Oklahoma.

Why can the Terps clinch a Bowl Game berth?

The next game against Illinois is a tall task for the Terps, especially on the road, but there's a path towards victory. Terps head coach Mike Locksley is under extreme pressure from the fanbase and the media. Amid this losing streak, the questions about his job security only continue to grow. Especially since becoming the Terps head coach in 2018, Locksley has a record of 16-40 against the Big Ten. He knows the time is ticking, and with an experienced group of coaches on his staff, he'll do whatever he can to enlist their help in making the necessary adjustments to secure wins. Illinois, as a team, has not done two things well on defense: get off the field on third down and stop the pass.

Freshman quarterback Malik Washington has had his moments when he has shone, showcasing his unique ability as a dual-threat quarterback who can spearhead this offense into consistent success. Shaleak Knotts (434 yards & five touchdowns) and Octavian Smith (31 receptions & 401 yards) lead the receiving corps. Tight-end Dorian Fleming has hauled in 33 receptions, 291 yards, and two touchdowns, not the production that he envisioned for himself. Still, he's a talented player with a tremendous physical frame who has big-catch ability. If they can build off the big day on the ground, they had this past Saturday (256 yards), it can help open up the passing lanes and create the big plays they are looking for in the air.

Despite the past two weeks, during which the defense has allowed 90 points combined, they have still created turnovers and made big stops to give the offense more possessions. It all comes down to whether the Terps can play a complete game in all three phases in a single game.

When you can establish momentum from one week, you can potentially carry it into the following weeks and play upset against Michigan and hopefully take care of business against Michigan State.

What Locksley has said?

After Saturday's loss against Rutgers, Locksley said this about the remaining opportunities left ahead for his group;

"The development of a young and inexperienced team sometimes has its ups and downs. We're in the middle of a tough stretch for this group. I told the young guys they don't understand that we are running on limited opportunities for veteran players who have done some good things [at Maryland] over the past four-five years. We're down to playing for pride and opportunities for these guys to extend."

"It's my job to remain positive; it's my job to keep showing up for these guys and coach them through this tough stretch. They've got my commitment, and the staff's, that we'll do that, and we're going to remain positive about it."

That's a clear message from Locksley that he wants his team to fight back and finish this year off strong to extend their season and not pack it in mentally.

More from Maryland On SI

Stay up to date with the Terrapins by bookmarking Maryland On SI.