NCAA Football: Maryland at South Florida

Image Credit: Testudo Times

On a hot and muggy Saturday afternoon in Tampa, the Maryland Terrapins came away with a somewhat miraculous victory if you consider the circumstances. It was a game littered with turnovers for the Terps. C.J. Brown threw two interceptions and fumbled the ball once. Brandon Ross fumbled the ball twice, and Albert Reid fumbled once. That comes to six turnovers overall for a team that was fresh off of a 52-7 win over James Madison last week.

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Luckily for the Terps, their defense came to play against the Bulls. Marlon Mack, who rushed for 275 yards and four touchdowns against Western Carolina last week, was held to just 73 yards on 22 carries. Steven Bench was only able to complete 14 of his 32 passes for 162 yards. He was forced into action when Mike White was knocked out of the game on the first play from scrimmage for South Florida.

The Terps began to pull away from the Bulls in the fourth quarter, however. Kenneth Goins Jr. blocked a South Florida punt into the endzone with 12:25 left in the game. It was recovered by Avery Thompson to put Maryland up 21-17. Alvin Hill then forced an interception of a Steven Bench pass that led to a Brad Craddock field goal. The Terps’ 24-17 victory was much closer and much uglier than many would have hoped, but they must move on to face West Virginia at home next weekend.

With that in mind, here are some of the questions that Maryland fans must see answered after a dismal performance in Tampa this afternoon:

  • Will C.J. Brown get back to his 2013 form? – Brown’s statistical day was a bit better than last week, but it’s obviously difficult to get past the three turnovers. He completed 17 of his 26 pass attempts for 201 yards and two touchdowns. He also led the team to a 8-for-14 mark on third-downs. However, the Terps need to see more consistency from him moving forward.
  • Will Wes Brown be the starting running back? – After Brandon Ross’ two fumbles, Wes Brown became the Terps’ starting running back. He performed fairly well, rushing 13 times for 61 yards. Randy Edsall may very well open up the running back competition again this week in an attempt to find a more consistent workhorse in the backfield.
  • When will Stefon Diggs get back to form? – So far this season, fans have only seen glimpses of the Stefon Diggs that they have become accustomed to. Part of that is likely due to his recovery from leg surgery, another part is likely C.J. Brown’s inefficiency in the passing game. He finished today’s game with 7 catches for 50 yards, which is a bit underwhelming for this receiving corps’ #1 receiver.
  • What happened to the offensive line? – Maryland’s offensive line played very well against James Madison, and was able to run the ball with ease through the Dukes’ front seven. That was not the case against South Florida, as the offensive linemen were getting manhandled on both run and pass plays. Michael Dunn missed multiple assignments at left tackle, as did Ryan Doyle on the right side. C.J. Brown was left almost no time to throw when he dropped back. Randy Edsall has other options, as he could go to Jake Wheeler and/or Derwin Gray at those positions. If Damian Prince is up to speed on the offense, he could also slide back to left tackle. No matter who is on the line, they can’t have a repeat performance of this afternoon.
  • Can the defense keep this up? – The Maryland defense seems primed for a repeat of their stellar 2012 season. They aren’t giving up anything on the ground, and are getting great pressure on opposing quarterbacks. In a game where their offense turned the ball over six times, they only gave up nothing off of those turnovers. The only points that the Bulls scored off of turnovers was on a fumble returned for a touchdown.
  • Was this just a flash in the pan? – This is the biggest question posed after today’s game. Was this just one bad game, or does this speak to bigger issues with this team? I believe that the Terps will get back on track next week against West Virginia. They’re too talented to have a repeat performance of this game. I’ll keep my eyes out for certain ball-carriers carrying footballs to class this week. The football players will be easy to pick out on campus after that performance.
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].

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