Terrapins in unfamiliar territory vs. Rutgers
Maryland enjoys the rare opportunity to be a heavy favorite over a fellow Big Ten team this Saturday when Rutgers visits Maryland Stadium for a noon kickoff.
Coming off a tough, physical, 42-21 loss at No. 15 Michigan last weekend, the Terrapins (3-2, 1-1) get the Big Ten equivalent of a bye in struggling Rutgers, which dipped to 1-5 overall and 0-3 in the Big Ten with Saturday’s 38-17 loss to Illinois.
Not so fast, folks, according to Terrapins interim head coach Matt Canada.
“We have to take care of the football — ball security, the turnover margin is always big,” Canada said of the key to indeed beating Rutgers.
“They’re a program in Year Three for Coach (Chris) Ash. They’re a very sound football team. They play very hard. Their special teams jump off the film. They block kicks, their kickoff coverage team is amazing … We’re going to have to take care of the football, limit big plays on defense.”
Other close watchers of college football don’t share Canada’s concerns. Rutgers opened a 21.5-point underdog to Maryland, befitting a team that has lost five straight games by an average of over 29 points per contest. The Knights are one of the worst offensive teams in the country, averaging just 16.4 points per game, and the defense hasn’t been anything to shout about either, yielding 36.3 points each time out.
Maryland has been inconsistent offensively the last three games, sandwiching a 42-13 victory over Minnesota around losses to Temple and Michigan where the offense had major issues.
Maryland had just 220 total yards against Michigan’s No. 1 ranked defense and didn’t score any offensive points until the fourth quarter.
“(Michigan) deserves some of the credit for the plays we didn’t make, but when you watch the film it wasn’t as if we were just overpowered every play,” Canada said. “I do think there are some plays we left on the field.”
The Terrapins want to open the offense back up Saturday during their homecoming game. The good news, though, is Rutgers hasn’t scored more than 17 points in any of the last five games. Maryland’s defense, meanwhile, has been surprisingly stellar, ranked fifth in the Big Ten, allowing just 334.0 yards per game.
The rush defense is fourth, yielding only 117.4 yards, a stat that bodes ill for Knights’ running back Raheem Blackshear, who is averaging 106.2 all-purpose yards per game. He leads the team in rushing attempts and receptions. He had a 41-yard run last week against the Illini.
The Scarlet Knights won four games last year and seemed on an upward arc, but things have gone south this season. There had been preseason talk of a bowl bid in Ash’s third season and with 15 starters back.
But in the last month, the Knights have lost to Kansas, Buffalo and Illinois by a combined 135-44 score. Look for Maryland to try to get off to a fast start and see if Rutgers will fold again. The Terrapins can punch opponents in the mouth with their big offensive line and that strong running game.
That is if Maryland doesn’t shoot itself in the foot. The Terrapins have committed the second most penalties in the Big Ten this season and had 12 flags for 107 yards at Michigan. Canada differentiates penalties, calling the offsides and procedure infractions “no talent” penalties because they come before the play starts.
Maryland also got two targeting penalties, a pass interference and a face mask, and on offense, the Terrapins — as they did in the Temple debacle — often found themselves behind the chains.
So there’s work to be done this week if the Terrapins want to live up to that strange status as a heavy favorite against another BCS program.