When the No. 2 Indiana Hoosiers (8-0, 5-0) take on the Maryland Terrapins (3-4, 1-3) on Saturday afternoon it will be a match up of strength vs. strength. The Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza is a Heisman Trophy contender and he will be going against a Maryland secondary that had accounted for 13 of their 14 interceptions.
“(Maryland is) in the top 10 in the country in turnover ratio. They’ve got a new defensive coordinator who has been in the NFL for 16 years, was a linebacker coach for the Ravens, two Super Bowls there. They had 14 interceptions. 22 sacks. They’re giving up 17 points a game.” Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti said.
Mendoza has been elite this season completing 72.9-percent of his passes for 24 touchdowns and just three interceptions. He just does not put the ball in harm’s way very often. He finds the open receiver and puts the ball where usually only his guy can get it.
“We’ve done a really good job of protecting the football. We haven’t turned it over hardly at all. We’ve been getting takeaways. I just expect us to practice up to the standard and stack meetings and days” Cignetti added.
The Maryland secondary will be without playmaking safety Jalen Huskey for at least the first half of Saturday’s game due to a targeting foul in the fourth quarter of the Terrapins loss at UCLA two weeks ago. Huskey has three interceptions which he has returned for a total of 78 yards on the season to go along with 36 tackles. Huskey was also injured on that targeting play and his status was unclear when Maryland coach Mike Locksley gave his weekly press conference.
Even without Huskey, Maryland has three other defenders with multiple interceptions with Jamare Glasker, La’Khi Roland and Dontay Joyner all having two each. The Terrapins also have four touchdowns off interception returns this year. Not only can they take the ball away, they can score or flip the field with a return.
It is vital for Mendoza to continue his elite passing and while he may throw an interception he has bounced back to lead touchdown drives later in the game, two of them for game-winning points in the fourth quarter. Maryland has had multiple interceptions in three of their seven games this year and at least one in six of the seven games. The Terrapins have had multiple interception in their last two Big Ten games.