IMG_1254-1024x576

Image Credit: The Lantern

The Maryland Terrapins are enjoying their first bye week of the season this week, and are using it as a chance to rest up before their next stretch of tough Big Ten Conference games. The team enters the bye week with a record of 4-2 (1-1 Big Ten Conference), and are fresh off of a disappointing 52-24 loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes. Despite this loss however, the team has itself in a position to succeed this season. With 6 games remaining on the schedule, there are plenty of opportunities to put together a nice final record and a bowl berth in the team’s second straight season.

(Discuss this article on the BSL Message Board here.)

The Quarterback Situation

If you ask Maryland head coach Randy Edsall, there is no “quarterback situation”. But if you ask Terps fans, you get a slightly different reaction. Let’s start by outlining each quarterback’s statistics through the first 6 games of the season:

  • C.J. Brown – 84/146 (57.5%), 1067 yards passing, 7 TD, 4 INT; 64 rushes, 263 yards rushing, 5 TD
  • Caleb Rowe – 34/54 (63.0%), 489 yards passing, 5 TD, 4 INT; 13 rushes, 3 yards rushing, 0 TD

We should also note that Caleb Rowe did not play at all against South Florida or Syracuse, and only saw very minimal action against West Virginia. He has played two full halves for the Terps this season in their games against Indiana and Ohio State. His performance against Indiana was very impressive, but he struggled mightily against the Buckeyes last week.

It is widely known that C.J. Brown has the better mobility and Caleb Rowe has the better arm. Rowe is a much bigger risk-taker with his throws, and will naturally end up with higher interception numbers. However, his risk-taking will pay off at times, resulting in big pass plays down the field. He has the strongest arm on the team, and likes to show it off. His weakness is his very limited mobility. Mike Locksley cannot run nearly the same offense with Rowe taking the snaps, as most of his option plays get thrown out of the playbook.

C.J. Brown, on the other hand, is the most mobile quarterback on the team. He runs every option play in Mike Locksley’s playbook very well, and can take it the distance on any option keeper. His biggest weakness is his arm, as he struggles to find consistency in the passing game. He normally takes care of the ball well, throwing as many interceptions as Caleb Rowe so far this season while attempting triple the number of passes. So who is the best fit for this offense?

Randy Edsall has already stated that C.J. Brown is his quarterback, and that is because he is the best fit for this offense. The backup quarterback is always the most popular player on the team, but Caleb Rowe does not have the running ability to run this offense like Mike Locksley wants it to be run. However, Caleb Rowe will most likely be the Terps’ starting quarterback next season, in which it is expected that we will see a more traditional offense from Mike Locksley and the Terps. Designing an offense for Rowe can be done in an off-season, not in a week.

The Offensive Line

A bigger concern than the quarterback situation this season has been the play of the offensive line. There were concerns entering the season about how this line would hold up, and those concerns are proving to be valid. Each member of the line has struggled so far this season, even veterans like Silvano Altamirano and Sal Conaboy. C.J. Brown seems to be running for his life as soon as he takes the snap on far too many occasions due to missed assignments from the offensive line. This isn’t just happening on blitzes either, it’s happening with 4-man rushes.

Randy Edsall has not changed any personnel on the offensive line so far this season, but that could all change over the bye week. Evan Mulrooney had been out early this season with a viral infection, but could take over at LG for Silvano Altamirano. Derwin Gray was beaten by Ryan Doyle for the RT job, but could take over at either tackle spot. There are certainly some actions that Randy Edsall could take to try to jump-start this line, because their play so far this season has not been up to par.

The Defense

Despite giving up 52 points to Ohio State, Brian Stewart’s defense has been impressive so far this season. They have suffered countless injuries to both starters and backups, especially across the front seven. He is being forced to start third-stringers at linebacker positions, and somehow they are piecing together defensive stops. The defensive backfield has been solid despite a lack of depth. William Likely is having a monster sophomore campaign, while Jeremiah Johnson looks to have a solid senior season in the stead of Alvin Hill, who tore his PCL in the team’s game against Syracuse.

Tackling was the defense’s main problem against Ohio State, an uncharacteristic problem for a Brian Stewart defense. Ever since he was named the defensive coordinator before the 2012 season, the team has always done a stellar job wrapping up ball-carriers and not being sloppy in this regard. However, they struggled to make key tackles on countless Buckeyes last week, resulting in some big gains that could have been limited with solid tackling. Fans shouldn’t worry too much about this, as Stewart will surely stress tackling in these weeks leading up to the Iowa matchup.

Looking Ahead

The Terps are halfway through their first season in the Big Ten Conference. They are two wins away from a bowl berth, but are looking for more than that this season. Their next matchup comes at home against Iowa before they hit the road for two tough games against Wisconsin and Penn State. After another bye week, they return home for their primetime matchup against Michigan State before heading to Michigan the next week. They finish off the season against fellow Big Ten newcomer Rutgers at home.

Let’s take a look at how each of these teams has fared so far this season:

  • Iowa Hawkeyes – 4-1 (1-0 Big Ten Conference) Key Win: N/A, Key Loss: vs. Iowa State (20-17)
  • Wisconsin Badgers – 3-2 (0-1 Big Ten Conference) Key Win: N/A, Key Loss: at Northwestern (20-14)
  • Penn State Nittany Lions – 4-1 (1-1 Big Ten Conference) Key Win: N/A, Key Loss: vs. Northwestern (29-6)
  • Michigan State Spartans – 4-1 (1-0 Big Ten Conference) Key Win: vs. Nebraska (27-22), Key Loss: at Oregon (46-27)
  • Michigan Wolverines – 2-4 (0-2 Big Ten Conference) Key Win: N/A, Key Losses: vs. Utah (26-10), vs. Minnesota (30-14), at Rutgers (26-24)
  • Rutgers Scarlet Knights – 5-1 (1-1 Big Ten Conference) Key Wins: at Washington State (41-38), vs. Michigan (26-24), Key Loss: vs. Penn State (13-10)

As you can see, Michigan is the only team that the Terps face who currently has a losing record. The Wolverines have certainly struggled so far this season, and Brady Hoke could very likely lose his job there by the end of the season. While Penn State has a record of 4-1, they lost their only Big Ten matchup at home to Northwestern, and struggled to beat UCF, Akron, and Rutgers. Iowa has a similar situation, as they beat Purdue in their only Big Ten matchup, but lost to Iowa State at home. Rutgers has been very impressive so far this season, with big wins at Washington State and against Michigan. Their loss to Penn State looks more like a missed opportunity at this point in the season.

The Terps have a tough road ahead of them, but there are some winnable games on this schedule. Michigan State will surely be the toughest matchup, but that game will be held in College Park. With a current record of 4-2 (1-1 Big Ten Conference), the Terps have themselves set up to succeed through the rest of the 2014 season.

Zack Kiesel
Zack Kiesel

Terps Analyst

Zack is a financial analyst for a defense contractor in Washington, DC. The Owings Mills native focuses most of his efforts on Maryland Football recruiting and individual coach and player pieces; but also covers Terps Basketball. He has established relationships with Big Ten beat reporters across the conference, which he utilizes in his game previews. Now a Sr. Terps Analyst for BSL, Zack can be reached at: [email protected].

X