Opponent: Florida International Golden Panthers (0-1, 0-0 Conference USA)
Location: Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium (20,000)
Date: Friday, September 9, 2016
Time: 7:30 PM ET
TV/Radio Broadcasts: CBS Sports Network, Maryland Sports Radio Network
Series Record: 4-0 Maryland
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Opponent Preview
Florida International will be hosting the Terrapins for only the second time ever when the two teams meet in Miami, FL on Friday night. Maryland is 4-0 all-time against the Golden Panthers, their last meeting coming in 2013 when the Terrapins rolled to a 43-10 victory in College Park, MD. The last time that the two teams met in Florida was in 2007, when Maryland won by a score of 26-10.
The Golden Panthers are coming off of a loss to Indiana at home last week. The game was very close through three quarters, but the Hoosiers were able to pull away to a 34-13 victory, scoring 22 points in the fourth quarter. Florida International turned the ball over 3 times in the game, which ultimately led to their demise. Their defense also struggled to defend Indiana’s balanced attack, with the Hoosiers rushing for 246 yards and passing for 240 yards.
Offensively, the Golden Panthers run a multiple spread scheme with plenty of passing. They run a no-huddle offense and operate with moderate tempo. Most of their plays will come out of 11 personnel (1 running back and 1 tight end). Steve Shankweiler is in his 3rd year as Florida International’s offensive coordinator, and will attempt to use high-percentage passing plays to set up bigger plays down the field. The team’s quarterback is junior Alex McGough, who went 23/46 against Indiana, with 263 passing yards, 0 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions. He also carried the ball 7 times for 12 yards. His favorite target is senior tight end Jonnu Smith, who had 8 catches for 83 yards last week. They don’t run the ball very much, but their starting running back is junior Alex Gardner, who had 10 carries for 23 yards and a touchdown against Indiana. He is a weapon in the passing game as well, as he had 7 catches for 70 yards against the Hoosiers. Florida International’s offensive line is not a large group, with only one player (left guard Kai Absheer) weighing in over 300 pounds.
Ron Cooper is in his first year as the team’s defensive coordinator, but the scheme has not changed much under the leadership of fourth-year head coach Ron Turner. The Golden Panthers will run a fairly basic 4-3 defense. Much like their offensive line, their defensive line is fairly small. Senior defensive tackle Leonard Washington is the leader of the defensive line. The linebacking corps is very small as well, with none of the players weighing in over 230 pounds. Junior outside linebacker Treyvon Williams led the team in tackles against Indiana with 13. He also added a sack on the day. This is a defensive unit that is built on speed rather than strength.
Maryland Preview
Unlike Florida International, the Terrapins are coming off of a win last week over Howard. They clobbered the Bison by a score of 52-13, the largest margin of victory for a Maryland coach’s debut since the legendary Paul “Bear” Bryant led his team to a 54-point victory in 1945. Head coach DJ Durkin needed a win to begin his coaching career in College Park, MD, and he got just that.
Maryland fans were excited to see offensive coordinator Walt Bell’s up-tempo spread offense, and the Terrapins were dominant on that side of the ball. Quarterback Perry Hills finished the day 14/19 for 126 yards with 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. He carried the ball once for 5 yards. The real stars of the day were the running backs, with 6 different players scoring rushing touchdowns for the Terrapins. It’s not often that you see a five-headed monster at the running back position, but that’s exactly what Maryland fans saw on Saturday afternoon. Freshman Lorenzo Harrison led the team with 9 carries for 69 yards and a touchdown, and all five running backs averaged over 7.0 yards per carry. Senior slot receiver DeAndre Lane was the best of the wideouts, catching 5 passes for 73 yards. All in all, the team attempted just 29 passes compared to 44 runs. That amounts to a 60/40 run/pass ratio, which is about what fans can expect from this offense moving forward.
The Terrapins’ defense was also dominant, operating in their multiple 4-3 scheme under defensive coordinator Andy Buh. They held Howard to just 69 rushing yards in the game, good for a 2.0 yard per carry average. Maryland was unable to force any turnovers, but did sack Howard quarterback Jason Collins twice. Unfortunately, projected starting cornerback J.C. Jackson, who recently transferred to the team from Florida, was held out of the game due to academic issues. He has since been removed from the team’s depth chart this week, causing speculation that things may be more serious than they seemed at first.
Maryland now heads down to Florida for their first real test of the season against the Golden Panthers. This is a team that played a good game for three quarters against a fellow Big Ten Conference opponent in Indiana, so the Terrapins must be on their game. They ought to be able to take advantage of Florida International’s small offensive and defensive lines. Indiana was able to throw the ball down the field successfully against the Golden Panthers last week. While we didn’t see much of that from Hills on Saturday afternoon, look for him to attempt to stretch the field early against Turner’s squad.
Zack’s Keys to the Game
- Avoid Costly Mistakes – Any time you go on the road, mistakes are magnified. The Terrapins did an excellent job of avoiding turnovers and penalties against Howard, they must continue that trend against Florida International.
- Start Quickly – You don’t want to give a team like Florida International hope. Maryland should look to start strong, put up a few scores, and avoid allowing the Golden Panthers to create big plays down the field.
- Build, Build, Build – The Terrapins had a great debut against Howard, and they need to build on that with a good performance against Florida International. If this team wants to become bowl eligible, this is the type of game that they must win.
- Pressure Mr. McGough – Maryland’s defense cannot allow McGough to sit back and distribute the ball to his receivers. They must be able to disrupt his timing by pressuring him in the backfield. He threw 3 interceptions against Indiana last week, so Maryland’s defensive backs ought to be licking their chops.
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: zack.kiesel@baltimoresportsandlife.com.