No Margin for Error as Indiana Travels to Maryland Saturday
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Indiana will rely on a swarming defense to beat Maryland Image: Sarah Miller Hoosier Huddle
Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)
If the Indiana Hoosiers are to continue the progression and improvement they have made in the past two seasons, the time for getting close is over. Sitting at 3-4, the Hoosiers need to start winning games. While they still have Wisconsin on the schedule next week, IU will likely be favored in their other four contests and accomplishing a winning season is still very much on the table. First things first though, the Hoosiers must rebound from a pair of heartbreaking losses to Michigan and Michigan State and focus on the Maryland Terrapins.
“So I told our guys, ‘You can choose to feel sorry for yourself. Or, you can realize you just played arguably the toughest schedule in the country to start the season and you’re right there (in position to win games),” Tom Allen said to the media on Monday. “You can get disappointed and hang your head and mope, or you can draw confidence from the way you performed…you have physically shown you can perform. You can draw strength and confidence from that and attack with more fervor and grit than ever before, because you do know you’re right on the edge and on the verge of breaking through.”
IU has already played four top 20 opponents and they take on number five Wisconsin next Saturday in Memorial Stadium. There is no doubt the schedule has been brutal but coming up short in those games has left IU with no wiggle room in the rest of their contests. This Saturday, they travel to College Park to play the Maryland Terrapins (3-4, 1-3). The Terps got off to an excellent start to the season, stunning Texas in Austin. However, they lost their starting quarterback so freshman Kasim Hill stepped in. He looked great against Towson as Maryland improved to 2-0 but he was lost for the season against Central Florida and the Terps were blasted to fall to 2-1. They won at Minnesota but have struggled mightily since, losing by 48, 16 and 25. Max Bortenschlager is completing just 49.3% of his passes and he’s averaging just 5.04 yards per attempt. The strength of this team is certainly not Bortenschlager or the Big Ten East’s worst defense. The trio of Ty Johnson, Lorenzo Harrison and receiver D.J. Moore are as good a trio as you’ll find in the Big Ten. Johnson is averaging 6.8 yards per carry despite going against loaded boxes and Moore has 47 catches for 668 yards with seven touchdowns. Limiting the damage those two playmakers cause will be the key for IU’s defense.
“They have two of the best backs we will have faced as a combination,” Allen said of Maryland. “Receiver-wise too, the best receivers we will play in regards to ball skills and speed. That’s a tremendous challenge.”
After facing four of the nation’s toughest defenses, the offense looks lifeless and in need of some answers. They’ll have a chance to perform much better this Saturday against a Maryland defense that has been gashed by several opponents and recently gave up 531 yards to Northwestern and 440 yards to Wisconsin. The Hoosiers will try to establish some offensive rhythm and a good showing on Saturday that leads to a victory would go a long way towards establishing some faith in the attack heading into the season’s critical final third. Saturday’s game is not technically a “must-win” because the Hoosiers could lose and still get to six wins. However, a defeat against the Terrapins would be a major blow and the Hoosiers would be left needing to win their final three games just to reach another bowl game. Tom Allen knows the Hoosiers will need to be locked in on playing well this Saturday and finishing the performance with a result.
“I just think it’s a matter of staying the course and not growing weary in the process. That’s the key. That’s going to be our challenge as coaches. But we have played a tough schedule. You look at that in the beginning and, I could have told you that six months ago. How you going to respond? How you going to finish? So that word “finish”, applies to the game, it applies to a lot of things. I fully expect them to be highly energized and focused and locked in to go play our best game of the season on Saturday at Maryland.”