Maryland simply does not have the talent to compete against the upper echelon of the Big Ten. In a nutshell that’s what Saturday’s 42-21 beating came down to, it’s that simple. Maryland has more talent than they’ve had in recent years, a byproduct of being in the Big Ten, however, their increase of talent is still not good enough. It’s not good enough to seriously compete in a loaded Big Ten East that has Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, and Michigan State or the West powers of Wisconsin, Iowa, and Northwestern.
Sure, when the stars align perfectly Maryland can pull off the upset wins, as they did against an unsuspecting Penn State or struggling Michigan in 2014 or a down Michigan State in 2016. Pulling off an upset here and there is not the same to competing, and right now, Maryland simply can’t compete.
On Saturday, the physicality of Michigan was superior, so was the speed, and execution. As good as Maryland appears, yes, they beat Texas, who now is a College Football Playoff contender after having not lost since Week 1’s loss to the Terps and pulling off an upset win on Saturday against Oklahoma, but they are still at best, the fifth-best team in their division.
Outside of Ty Johnson’s 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the first quarter, Maryland couldn’t gain much more momentum, and a 7-3 lead quickly became a 27-7 deficit.
Maryland’s offense was stifled all game until the outcome was no longer in doubt. Michigan’s defense, who didn’t have their NFL-caliber defensive end Rashan Gary due to injury, still held the Terrapins to less than 100 yards of total offense for more than three quarters.
And defensively, Maryland couldn’t stop much from Michigan’s offense led by Shea Patterson, who tallied 465 yards. Michigan’s fullback Ben Mason trucking Maryland’s best defensive player Tre Watson at the goal line exemplified the way the game went for the Terrapins.
All Maryland can do is muster six or seven wins, become bowl eligible and get more talent through recruiting. They have pieces sprinkled all over the team, but they don’t have a completed puzzle to stomp with the big dawgs of the conference. Until then, games like Saturday’s against Michigan will be the norm.
2. Lack of Passing Game
Despite losing much of three quarters, Maryland attempted 13 passes. It’s a byproduct of Matt Canada’s offense, an offense that looks a lot like previous offensive schemes under D.J. Durkin’s regime. It’s predicated on running the football. When the run game is non-existent much like Saturday against Michigan, the Terrapins offense is grounded.
Quarterback Kasim Hill was a pedestrian 5-of-10 passing for 62 yards and one interception. The passing game is a handicap. Unable to muster much without a huge performance from its running backs. Entering Saturday, Maryland averaged just 21.3 pass attempts, completing 55.2 percent of them for 141.3 yards per game.
Maryland didn’t come close to reaching any of its below-average marks in Ann Arbor, even when factoring in Tyrrell Pigrome’s numbers. The Terrapins finished with 73 passing yards, against a great run defense. It was the second time this season — five games into — they failed to gain 100 yards through the air. The other game, 63 yards against Temple, another blowout loss.
If Maryland is to get the three more wins needed to get to bowl eligibility they’ll have to beat teams through the air at some point and with more consistency. Outside of the Texas’ win, they’ve failed to do so any other game.
3. Targeting Ejections
Maryland not only lost Saturday’s game, but they lost the availability of two of its contributing defenders for the first half of next week’s home game against Rutgers. Both Watson and defensive back Rayshad Lewis, the son of NFL Hall of Famer Ray Lewis, were ejected in the third quarter for targeting.
Lewis led with his helmet while tackling Michigan running back Karan Higdon. Meanwhile, Watson had an ill-advised blindside hit on wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones. Lewis got an increase in snaps at cornerback Saturday due to injuries across the secondary, so losing him next week for a half could be huge.
For Watson, he is the team’s leading tackler. He had 10 tackles before his ejection on Saturday, losing the quarterback of the defense for a half could alter the complexion of the game against the Scarlet Knights.
4. Penalties Still a Struggle
Maryland entered Michigan one of the most penalized teams in the nation, ranking 120th of 132 FBS teams in penalties per game and 125th in penalty yards per game. Against Michigan, they had 12 penalties for 107 yards. So, they had more penalties yards than offensive passing yards.
The penalties have been an issue win or lose all season. Against a superior team like Michigan, handing them 107 yards in penalty only makes the battle more daunting. This is a team playing with an interim head coach, yet, there’s no excuse for being so undisciplined.
With Ohio State, Penn State, and Michigan State still on the docket this year, they’ll have to cut down on the penalties to have any shot at keeping the games respectable.
5. Things are Getting Tight to Become Bowl Eligible
Maryland is now 3-2 overall, 1-1 in the Big Ten. They still need three wins to get to bowl eligibility. They’ll have a good chance to get to win No. 4 next week against woeful Rutgers, who is 1-5 on the season and have lost to Power 5 bottom-tier teams such as Kansas and Illinois by double digits and got blown out by MAC member Buffalo.
If things play out like they should, Maryland still may have difficulty getting Win No. 6, that’s because Indiana is much improved and no lock to beat. Illinois is on the schedule but the Terrapins remaining games are at Iowa, and then the gauntlet of the Big Ten East, Michigan State, Ohio State, and at Penn State to close the season.
If Maryland is to get to a bowl game they’ll most likely have to go 3-0 against Rutgers, Indiana, and Illinois. We shall see.
