Game Day Primer: Indiana Hoosiers vs. Maryland Terrapins
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Written By T.J. Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)
What: Maryland Terrapins at Indiana Hoosiers
When: Saturday, October 29 at 3:30
Where: Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana
How to Watch: The game will be broadcast on ESPNU. You can also listen to the game on the IU Radio Network with the legendary Don Fischer on the call.
What’s at Stake: The Maryland Terrapins enter the game at 5-2 and a win would give them bowl eligibility in DJ Durkin’s first season as head coach. The Terrapins have games against Michigan, Ohio State and Nebraska before they host Rutgers so they’ll want to get this one to avoid relying on the season-finale to get their sixth victory. The Indiana Hoosiers sit at 3-4 and they have dropped three games in a row. This game, and the one next week at Rutgers, can fairly be called “must win” games because it’s unrealistic to expect IU to defeat either Michigan or Penn State based on what we’ve seen from the offense thus far. If the Hoosiers are going to return to a bowl game, they’ll need a victory against the Terrapins.
A Few Things to Look For
Struggling Run Defense Meets Broken Run Offense
Under Kevin Wilson, Indiana’s offenses have typically had a strong rushing attack that effectively set up the explosive passing game. Backs like Stephen Houston, Tevin Coleman and Jordan Howard starred in IU’s backfield and propelled themselves into the NFL. The running game in the 2016 season has seldom resembled what we expected to see and its struggles are a large part of IU’s offensive frustration. The Hoosiers have not scored 30 points since September 10th and the running game has not reached four yards a carry since the Big Ten opener against Michigan State. IU ran for 3.6 yards per carry against Wake Forest, 2.5 against Ohio State, 2.9 against Nebraska and 3.1 against Northwestern. Devonte Williams showed some explosiveness and he almost always looks dangerous when he gets the ball to the edge and Devine Redding and Tyler Natee have both shown glimpses of power running but, for the most part, the rushing attack has been a toothless frustration for Hoosier fans.
There are a couple of positives heading into this week though. First, All-American right guard Dan Feeney should be much more like himself. He missed four games before returning last week but he was definitely not in his normal game condition against the Wildcats. He’ll have a full week to prepare before he takes the field against Maryland and I expect he’ll be back at the height of his powers. Second, the Hoosiers will be facing a Terrapins run defense that has been taken advantage of recently. Maryland is allowing 192.4 rushing yards per game and they have surrendered at least 4.8 yards per carry in each of the past three games. Penn State, Minnesota and Michigan State had their way on the ground. Maryland has one of the league’s best pass defenses so if the Hoosiers can’t begin to establish the running game this Saturday, it’s a good indication they won’t be able to at all this season.
Wasted Opportunities
Saturday’s game against Northwestern was a perfect example of an issue that has plagued the Indiana Hoosiers throughout the season (and for much of last season as well). They are moving the ball pretty well and amassing yards but they are not converting scoring chances into touchdowns. Consistently wasting scoring opportunities by turning the ball over on downs or settling for field goals is a surefire way to lose games to similarly skilled opponents. Indiana was inside of Northwestern’s 30 yard line on six different occasions. A good output for that would be 27 points (three touchdowns with two field goals). Instead, the Hoosiers only managed 12 points. They knocked in two field goals, both on drives that got inside of the ten yard line, and scored a touchdown (missing the two-point conversion). The lack of an effective running game is severely impacting IU in this area of the field. Whether it’s more targets for tight ends Danny Friend, Ian Thomas and Austin Dorris, or trickery like we saw on the scoring play to Nick Westbrook last week, the Hoosiers must figure out how to convert good drives into scores.
Improved Offense Will Challenge Hoosiers D
The Maryland Terrapins were a pretty woeful offensive club last season and their lack of a passing attack hampered them throughout the season. This year has seen an improvement from Perry Hills and the emergence of a pair of dynamic running backs and the Terps will test IU’s rapidly-improving defense. Hills is completing 66.4% of his passes and he’s only thrown two interceptions. He missed much of the Penn State game and all of the Minnesota game to injury and he came back last week and completed 21 of 27 for 200 yards against Michigan State. His improvement means defenses have to at least respect that a pass could be completed and teams can no longer load the box. The best parts of this offense though are Lorenzo Harrison and Ty Johnson. Harrison, a Maryland-native and freshman, is averaging 7.7 yards per carry and he has runs of 40, 62, 44 and 37 yards. Johnson, another Maryland-native and a sophomore, is averaging 10.3 yards per carry and he has runs of 76 and 44. Hills is also capable of running but he’s done so less than he did in 2015. The Hoosiers will need terrific days from the defensive line and from linebackers Tegray Scales and Marcus Oliver. Marcelino Ball will likely be relied upon on the outside as well. Indiana is one of two teams nationally that has not surrendered a rush of 30 yards or more but the Terrapins will try to get their playmakers into space and they are capable of bursting for a big play if IU’s open-field tackling isn’t stellar.
Names to Know and Injury Notes:
-The Maryland defense is led by junior linebackers Shane Cockerille and Jermaine Carter Jr. They have combined for more than 110 tackles on the season. The top defensive lineman for IU’s O-line to worry about is Jesse Aniebonam. He has 5.5 sacks through seven games.
-Maryland’s statistics, both offensive and defensive, are a bit buoyed by a monster game against Purdue. That game can’t be completely discounted but it’s worth noting that they had 400 rushing yards compared to only ten for Purdue. The Boilers didn’t appear to be interested in playing that afternoon and they folded up shop. That “effort”, according to reports, was the one that ultimately cost Darrell Hazell his job. The Terrapins deserve their 5-2 record and they are much better than many assumed they would be this season but the numbers from that particular game were a bit flattering to Maryland’s quality.
-Tegray Scales is playing the best ball of his life right now. He has led the Hoosiers in tackles in five straight games and he’s been in double-digits each of the past five weeks.
-Maryland’s last trip to Bloomington resulted in a highly-disappointing 37-15 victory for the Terrapins.