Hoosier Huddle Game Day Primer: Indiana vs. Maryland
/
Written By T.J. Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)
Week Eleven Primer – Maryland Terrapins
What: Indiana Hoosiers (4-5) vs. Maryland Terrapins (5-4)
Where: Memorial Stadium
When: Saturday, November 10 at noon
How to Watch: The game will be broadcast on BTN. You can also listen to the legendary Don Fischer on the radio on any IU Radio Network station.
What’s at Stake: Indiana is currently stuck in the depths of a four-game losing streak and they desperately need a victory to bring some positivity back to the program. Closing the season by losing seven straight games is a nightmarish way to enter the offseason. In addition, if the Hoosiers are to keep any hope of a bowl game in 2018, they must win on Saturday. They won’t be winning next weekend at Michigan but Purdue is still a winnable contest (the Boilers look like the much better side but you just never know). On the other side, the Maryland Terrapins are just one win from bowl eligibility and this is the first of three cracks they’ll have to get that sixth victory. With their final two games against Ohio State and at Penn State, this will serve as their best shot at reaching a bowl game.
Gameday Bingo Presented by Vintage Brand
GAME RULES
Print the bingo card, pick from any three below
Any horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines win!
First five winners will get entries into a raffle for a vintage IU Football canvas
After the game screen shot or send your winning bingo ticket to @Hoosier_Huddle on twitter or theHoosierHuddle@gmail.com
Vintage Brand is an online retailer specializing in authentic sports art for the modern fan. We have a collection of over 10,000 sporting tickets, programs and schedules that have been digitally produced and rendered on a number of every day products.
Our goal is to help Hoosier fans relive their favorite sports memories while highlighting some of the great artwork and photography distributed over the decades. Cards will be released on Twitter prior to game time.
Things to Watch
1. Dominate in the Trenches
It is tempting to say that whichever team can run the ball better (and conversely, which one can stop the other team’s rushing attack better) will be able to emerge victorious on Saturday. While it will not quite be that simplistic, it’s fair to say that the rushing game will play a huge factor in the contest. The Terrapins have four players who have rushed for more than 200 yards on the season (Anthony McFarland, Ty Johnson, Tayon Fleet-Davis and Javon Leake) and they have pounded weaker opponents with their rushing attack. Games against good defenses (Michigan State, Iowa, Michigan) have exposed their offense as one-dimensional but they might not need much of a passing attack if IU’s front seven cannot contain the Terrapin rushers. On the other side, Maryland can be had on the ground but the Hoosiers will need to be committed to it and their offensive line will need to play like what we saw against Penn State. If they do, Stevie Scott could have a huge day. I also really want to see Reese Taylor given an opportunity for some packages at quarterback. Run the speed option, put Scott and Walker in at the same time and run some new power concepts. Essentially, your back is completely up against the wall now and it makes sense to me to pull out everything in your bag of tricks (if Mike DeBord has one of those).
2. Explosive Plays
Maryland has several running backs capable of breaking off big runs and making explosive plays. They are also willing to throw the ball deep (although it is rarely accurate or successful). The Indiana Hoosiers have shown a frustrating unwillingness to strive for explosive plays. We saw during the second half of the Minnesota game that Peyton Ramsey is at least capable of making some deep throws that can be caught. We know the Hoosiers have some good weapons at wide receiver in Ty Fryfogle, Nick Westbrook and Donavan Hale and we saw they can have success if given a chance. The Hoosiers (and nearly every other college offense) are not good enough to consistently score by going on 15 play drives. Ideally, you have a couple of those long and draining drives mixed in with some lightning quick four to five play drives. Indiana needs more explosive plays and they’ll need to take chances offensively to make that happen.
3. Start Fast
The atmosphere on Saturday will, to put it bluntly, not be electric. The temperature is expected to be around 32 degrees at kickoff and it would be a surprise if Memorial Stadium was even half full. Indiana’s players need to forget about that and find a way to avoid the slow starts that have plagued them repeatedly this season. The defense seems to give up a big drive nearly every opening possession and the offense takes a bit of time to get into rhythm. On more than one occasion, the opening kickoff coverage has even been poor. If Indiana falls behind early, it will play right into the Maryland offense’s ground-heavy attack. Start fast, get ahead, let the crowd that is actually there and hungry for a win to get into the contest and force the Terrapins to throw the ball some.
What the Sharps are Saying
Indiana is facing a true toss up game this weekend. The line favors the Hoosiers by a point and ESPN’s FPI gives Indiana a 50.9% chance of a win on Saturday
Other Links From the Week