Game Day Primer: Indiana at Maryland

Image: Indiana University Athletics

Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)

What: Indiana Hoosiers (2-5) vs. Maryland Terrapins (4-3)

When: Saturday, October 30 at Noon on Big Ten Network

Where: Capital One Field at Maryland 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 Hoosiers and Terrapins will be meeting for the tenth time in series history with IU looking for their 8th victory between the two. The first matchups were in 1934 and 1935, both IU victories. The series renewed when Maryland joined the Big Ten with the first meeting in the modern era coming in 2014. That was a 37-15 victory for the Terps but the Hoosiers have won four of the past five including three in a row. Last year was a fairly comfortable win for Indiana with the Hoosiers winning 27-11 in Bloomington.

What’s at Stake: It’s fair to say that IU has played one of the toughest schedules in the country and the 2-5 record can be explained by pointing at the schedule and the injuries they have suffered. It’s also fair to say the Hoosiers have been thoroughly outclassed by a few of those difficult opponents and the season is on the precipice of being all but over. Indiana sits at 2-5 with a game against #6 Michigan coming next week and tricky contests against Rutgers, Minnesota and Purdue still remaining. In short, IU must win at Maryland if they are to have a realistic chance at making a bowl game. The Maryland Terrapins got off to a fast 4-0 start but have since been blown out in three straight games. With their next three games coming against Penn State, Michigan State and Michigan, the Terps will also feel Saturday is a must win affair.

A FEW THINGS TO LOOK FOR

1.    Can the Hoosiers Find Any Offense?

Another week, another inept offensive showing. I’ll leave the headline I’ve had for the past three games and this will be question number one each outing until the Hoosiers show some answers in attack. Michael Penix is out, Jack Tuttle now joins him and Donaven McCulley will get his shot as the starting quarterback. The freshman from Lawrence North High School was only expected to play sparingly this season but circumstances require him to take the reigns much earlier than desired. Last week, the offensive staff was reluctant to let McCulley really do much on offense. That’s somewhat understandable against Ohio State but with a full week to prepare as the starter and facing a defense that has surrendered a lot of offense in the past three weeks, McCulley will need to be allowed to try and make some plays. Thus far, IU has a grand total of two touchdowns in four conference games and the performances of Nick Sheridan and offensive line coach Darren Hiller are very much under the microscope. If IU can’t find a decent offensive showing on Saturday against Maryland, it seems unlikely they’ll have one all year. Teams are averaging 4.11 yards per carry against Maryland so the onus will be on McCulley, Carr and the IU offensive line to actually impose their will on this game, something they’ve struggled to do so far this season.

2.    Who does Maryland turn to without Demus or Jones?

The Hoosiers are not the only team with injury issues. The Maryland Terrapins lost dynamic playmaker Dontay Demus nearly four weeks ago and two games ago, Jeshaun Jones was lost for the season with a knee injury. Both are fantastic athletes and the Maryland offense is not the same without them. Tayon Fleet-Davis will likely get a few more carries and he’s averaging 5.7 yards per attempt. Taulia Tagovailoa needs to do a better job taking care of the ball and he’ll likely try to get the ball to sophomore Rakim Jarrett. He has five touchdowns on the year on 26 catches. The opportunity will be there for IU’s defense to rebound after their disappointing showing against Ohio State though. Since losing Demus, the Terps scored 14, 17 and 16.

3.    Takeaways and Red Zone Conversions

Indiana has not been able to produce the same magic on defense they were able to last season and the offense has given the ball away far too often. The only minor positive last week against Ohio State was that IU managed to get through the game without a turnover. On the season, the Hoosiers are -4. Maryland has also struggled in this area, they are -7 on the season in turnover margin and Tagovailoa has thrown the ball to the wrong team on eight occasions. IU has been putrid in the red zone, scoring touchdowns on only 13 of 25 opportunities. Maryland has somehow been even worse percentage wise, with only 17 touchdowns in 34 attempts. In a game with two struggling teams, the side that can take care of the ball and execute better in the red zone is likely to prevail.