Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)

What: Indiana Hoosiers (2-2) at Maryland Terrapins (4-0)

When: Saturday, September 30 at 3:30

Where: SECU Stadium in College Park, Maryland

How to Watch: The game will be broadcast on BTN and can be heard on the IU Radio Network.

Series History: The Indiana Hoosiers and Maryland Terrapins have played 11 times, with nine meetings occurring annually beginning in 2014. Indiana beat Maryland twice in the 1930s and the Hoosiers have won five of the nine contests from 2014 to 2022. The Terrapins have won the past two games and these two teams have played very entertaining and competitive affairs over the past few years. IU-Maryland games are typically high-scoring and last year’s meeting was the high-water mark for IU’s offense in 2022 (and in 2021) with IU falling 38-33 in Bloomington.

What’s at Stake: Maryland first: the Terrapins are 4-0 and are outscoring opponents by an average of 25 points per game. No opponent has gotten closer than 18 points to Mike Locksley’s team and optimism is high in College Park. If Maryland wins this week, they could find themselves in the Top 25 heading into a very interesting matchup in Columbus against the Ohio State Buckeyes. The first goal for Maryland is always to make a bowl game and a win against Indiana is certainly one they are banking on. For the Hoosiers, IU is coming off perhaps the low point of the Tom Allen era. Yes, they managed to escape defeat against Akron but coming off of back-to-back disappointing seasons, a 4-OT game against a low-level MAC team is not at all encouraging. Perhaps more concerning than the result are the comments about IU having a poor week of practice while preparing for Akron and about the complete lack of offensive performance for the vast bulk of Walt Bell’s time as offensive coordinator. Indiana needs to win a few “toss-ups” in order to reach six wins and with one of those games already a loss (Louisville), IU could quickly run out of chances.

A FEW THINGS TO LOOK FOR

1. Indiana’s Secondary Against Tagovailoa

Taulia Tagovailoa has seen everything a defense in the Big Ten can throw at him. The veteran signal-caller is comfortable in the Maryland offense and has improved each season. Tagovailoa is completing 64.4% of his passes and has thrown for 1112 yards through four games. He has a good group of weapons to throw to, including leading targets Kaden Prather, Corey Dyches and Jeshaun Jones. Indiana’s secondary will have its hands full but the rebuilt safety and cornerbacks room has been a bright spot thus far for the Hoosiers. IU is hoping to have top cornerback Nic Toomer back this Saturday and safeties Philip Dunnam and Louis Moore have stood out. IU’s defense has been hurt by mobile quarterbacks (Jake Plummer had a few long runs for Louisville and DJ Irons nearly single-handedly beat the Hoosiers by scrambling) but Tagovailoa typically doesn’t offer much a running threat. This will be a fun matchup to monitor.

2. Can IU’s Offense Find Any Answers?

Indiana’s offense has offered glimpses of positive play (second-half against Louisville, parts of the Indiana State game) but on the whole, there continue to be far more questions than answers for IU’s offense. Walt Bell and Tom Allen continue to insist that the Hoosiers want to be a “running team with an option principle” but the running game has failed to get on track (success rate near the bottom of national rankings when running the ball) and defenses do not fear Tayven Jackson operating the option because he has not shown an ability to pick up yards with his legs. The passing game has been more successful but Tayven Jackson is still very young and his accuracy is inconsistent. Maryland’s defense is solid at all three levels with no discernible strengths or weaknesses but an overall sound unit that is giving up only 12 points per game. IU has to figure out to how to generate more scoring chances and then converting those scoring chances with more efficiency. The Hoosiers are running out of time to figure it out.

3. Turnover Margin

The Maryland Terrapins have yet to lose a fumble in the 2023 season. The Terps have only thrown three interceptions and have forced 11 turnovers, making them plus-eight in turnover margin en route to the 4-0 record. IU’s defense, another tip of the hat to the rebuilt secondary, has picked off six passes and is plus two in turnover margin on the year. For the Hoosiers to pull off the upset in College Park, they will need to win the turnover battle and likely will need to win it by a couple.