On the first play of the second half in the Terrapin football team's 36-9 loss to Virginia Tech on Saturday, Devonte Campbell took a handoff on an end-around.
The backup tight end, not known for his ball-carrying skills, gained three yards on the play and then absorbed a bone-crunching tackle by hard-hitting Virginia Tech safety Kam Chancellor.
With that one carry — notable only because of the unorthodox play call and the big hit — Campbell finished the game one yard shy of being the Terps' leading rusher among non-quarterbacks.
Terp quarterback Jamarr Robinson finished with 129 yards on 24 carries — some by design and some when the pocket had collapsed around him — but the rest of the Terp backfield combined for just three yards on seven carries.
Running back Davin Meggett led all rushers besides Robinson with four carries for four yards, Caleb Porzel rushed twice, losing four yards, and Campbell gained three on his end around.
It was the latest in a series of unproductive games from Terp running backs, and the lack of production from that position has been one of many disappointing developments of this dismal season.
Coach Ralph Friedgen said running back Da'Rel Scott should be ready to return this weekend against Florida State after missing the last five games with a broken wrist.
And while it's too late for Scott to save the Terps' season, his presence in the backfield will certainly help.
"Da'Rel right now is a go," Friedgen said Sunday. "We just have to see how well he can hold onto the ball and catch the ball and all of those things."
Injuries on an inexperienced offensive line and poor weather conditions have been tossed around the Gossett Team House as possible excuses for the lack of consistent production from the running backs. But no matter what the reasoning might be, the statistics are jarring.
The Terps have used three running backs — Meggett, Porzel and Gary Douglas — since Scott went down in the third quarter on Oct. 3 against Clemson, the Terps' last win.
None of the three backs has rushed for more than 52 yards in one game, which Meggett did on 11 carries in muddy conditions against Virginia on Oct. 17.
And besides that Virginia game, during which Douglas also finished with 49 rushing yards, the Terps have not had a running back gain more than 40 yards on the ground since Scott had 117 and Meggett had 51 against Middle Tennessee way back on Sept. 19.
That's six out of the last seven games without a 40-yard rusher among running backs.
"We're strong," Robinson said. "It's just about going out there and executing."
Douglas missed one game with a shoulder sprain and has not gotten any carries the past two weeks despite being available to play. But taken as a group, the trio of Meggett, Porzel and Douglas has combined for 274 yards on 78 carries in the five games since Scott's injury.
That's an average of 54.8 yards per game for all three running backs combined.
Hokie running back Ryan Williams rushed for 126 yards by himself Saturday, despite getting just one carry in the fourth quarter of the blowout.
Robinson showed against the Hokies that he might be the best runner on the team, but it's hard to ignore the correlation between a lack of production on the ground and several close losses.
The Terps are hoping Scott's return can help reverse that trend.
schimmel@umdbk.com
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