COLLEGE PARK, Md. — The Maryland Terrapins enter Saturday's matchup against Wisconsin with a perfect 3-0 record, but head coach Mike Locksley believes the real season begins now as conference play kicks off.
The Terps will face their first true road challenge of the year when they travel to Madison, Wisconsin, to take on the Badgers in what promises to be a hostile environment.
Watch as Maryland prepares to face Wisconsin
"We all know winning on the road in the Big 10 is hard," Locksley said. "It's tough to do week in and week out for many of the young guys when they travel to Madison."
For many Maryland players, Saturday's game at Wisconsin could mark the loudest environment they've ever experienced. However, the team appears ready to embrace the challenge.
"I've been in Madison, fortunately I got a chance to go there when I was getting recruited, so definitely is a great environment," one player said. "I think for us it's more excitement than it is nervousness, you know, finally get a chance to have an away game, you know, kind of be rooted against it kind of can fuel a defense."
Locksley views the road trip as a valuable learning opportunity for his young squad.
"Opportunity for us to learn who we are together on the road for the first time," Locksley said. "Opportunity to face adversity in a tough environment which we're looking forward to seeing. Also an opportunity to test ourselves against a really good opponent."
The Terps may face a familiar foe under center for Wisconsin, as former Maryland quarterback Billy Edwards could potentially start for the Badgers, pending his health status.
"Billy was a good football player during his time here," Locksley said. "This is the new football. This is the landscape we're in. We're not preparing any different because Billy's on that sideline."
Maryland players are taking a business-as-usual approach to potentially facing their former teammate.
"Coach Montequino says nameless, faceless objects," one player noted. "We kinda treat everybody with the same accordance, like, and especially for us, we're such a young team that a lot of us weren't even on the team when he was here last year, so I really don't have no, I'm indifferent when it comes to Billy."
Leading Maryland's offense will be quarterback Malik Washington, who has emerged as one of the nation's top true freshmen. Washington leads all FBS true freshmen with 773 passing yards and six touchdowns through three games.
"Coach Peppa has done a great job of understanding," Washington said. "He's dealt with a lot of first-time quarterbacks, you know, him having Andrew Luck and Justin Herbert, so guys that with the first time in new places and just being able to understand that it's gonna take some time. There's gonna be some growing pains and a learning curve, but he's done an amazing job as far as helping me continue to improve."
Maryland faces a significant historical challenge against Wisconsin. The Terps have never beaten the Badgers, holding an 0-4 all-time record against them. Under Locksley's tenure, Maryland is 0-1 against Wisconsin.
Kickoff is set for noon Saturday in Madison as the Terps look to notch their first-ever victory against the Badgers.
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