COLUMBUS — Maryland coach Randy Edsall could be on his farewell tour Saturday when the Terrapins play at Ohio State, according to several media reports.
Website InsideMDSports.com was the first to report that Edsall could be fired after Saturday’s game before a bye week next week for Maryland.
Maryland has a 22-33 record for Edsall, including 2-3 this season. But all three of the losses have been one-sided, starting with a 48-27 loss to Bowling Green. In the last two weeks, the Terrapins have been outscored 73-6 by West Virginia and Michigan.
Season ticket holders, donors and possibly players are unhappy with Edsall. He was unaware of a players-only meeting before the Michigan game last week until a reporter asked him about it.
Maryland issued a statement on Thursday that said, “Randy Edsall is our football coach and he will be on the sideline Saturday at Ohio State.”
Edsall has put together a highly rated 2016 recruiting class, which includes 4-star quarterback Dwayne Haskins, who at one time was an Ohio State target.
NOTES:
TURNOVER TROUBLE: Ohio State’s 13 turnovers, including three in a 34-27 win over Indiana last Saturday, have been one of the reasons the offense has struggled to be consistent.
OSU coach Urban Meyer said it was a point of emphasis in practice. A loud point of emphasis.
“We spent more time on it than usual. I was a raving lunatic most of the week,” he said.
“It comes down to turnovers and penalties. We have to get that darned thing fixed. We have to eliminate that or you’re an average team if you have those issues,” he said on his weekly radio show on Thursday.
“We’re just not hitting on all cylinders right now. The expectation is to play at a very high level. It’s amazing to have 500-some yards and you feel upset when you leave the game. It’s because of red zone production and turnovers.”
INJURY REPORT: Freshman linebacker Nick Connor suffered a season-ending knee injury in practice on Tuesday and had surgery. Defensive back Cam Burrows (foot surgery) and wide receiver Corey Smith (broken leg) also have joined the list of players out for the season.
Receiver Parris Campbell will be available this week after missing two games because of a strained medial collateral ligament.
Freshman receiver/quarterback Torrance Gibson has recovered from a foot injury but freshman running back Mike Weber is still not all the way back from a torn meniscus, Meyer said.
“Mike Weber is not quite 100 percent yet. Torrance Gibson is,” he said.
Meyer said no decision has been made about redshirting either Weber or Gibson.
LONG GAME: Ohio State’s win over Indiana took 3 hours, 53 minutes to play, making it the longest OSU game so far this season by 22 minutes.
It also was longer than the national championship game against Oregon (3:37), the Sugar Bowl against Alabama (3:41) and an overtime win over Penn State (3:52) from last season.
“We play on TV every week so we’re used to it,” Meyer said. “I hear constant conversation about trying to keep the length of games under control. I’ve got plenty of things to worry about, but that isn’t one of them.”
