The University of Maryland improved to 2-1, with a 35-17 victory over South Florida. Next week, the Terrapins will head to Morgantown to face West Virginia.
(You can discuss this on the BSL Board here.)
Quick Hits:
1) Caleb Rowe had 3 picks today, and some of those decisions were disturbing for a player with his level of experience. That said, he had more passing yards in the 1st half today, than Perry Hills had in either of the first two weeks vs. Richmond, or Bowling Green. I’m sure that Hills got the nod to begin the year as the starter, because he showed better decision making. I still would have gone with Rowe, due to the difference in arm talent.
2) The Jacobs Brothers (Levern and Taivon) combined for 10 catches, 189 yards, and 1 TD.
3) Looking longer-term, the production from T. Jacobs, D.J. Moore, Avery Edwards, and Ty Johnson bodes well for the offense. Nice to see some younger pieces emerge.
3a) Etta-Tawo, and Culmer were non-factors today. I’d still like to find ways to get Will Ulmer involved.
4) Edwards is a real nice weapon at TE. Plus athleticism, and at 6’5, 234 lbs, he is good sized target.
5) South Florida’s Quinton Flowers only had 60 yards passing (certainly not helped by several key drops from his teammates), but USF did have 240 yards rushing. USF was 7 of 18 on 3rd down.
6) Jesse Aniebonam and Yannick Ngakoue are a nice pair of pass rushers.
7) I’m less thrilled with what MD is getting from their linebackers. I think you need more from Jermaine Carter, and Jalen Brooks in particular.
8) Rowe did enough today that he should get the start at West Virgina next week. The leash should be short though. MD was able to overcome their turnovers today. That will be harder the rest of the year. My guess is that Daxx Garman is fairly similar talent wise to Rowe, without the experience in the system. Still, he had starts last year in the Big 12, and is said to have slightly more arm strength. To me, from this point on, you go with the hot hand. You have success, and you don’t turn the ball over, you stay in the game. The offense stalls, or you give the ball to other side, you should be looking over your shoulder. Typically you would want more stability at the position, but MD isn’t in a position with any of these options where they are definitively the guy.
9) Turnovers kill you, so do penalties. MD had 12 penalties for 120 yards today. Lack of discipline showed multiple times. No more than Roman Braglio picking up a penalty with USF facing 3rd and 26.
10) Wes Brown being tossed early was disappointing. Removed the power back from MD’s lineup. Not sure what else he could have done, considering he had already gone into tackling position prior to the slide from Flowers. I could have seen a penalty, the ejection seemed excessive. It’s a lot to ask these players to be able to stop on a dime. Especially an offensive player like Brown, not used to tackling.
10a) Only 114 rushing yards for MD today. Johnson averaged just 3 ypc on his 10 attempts, and Brandon Ross was limited to 68 yards on his 18 carries.
11) Damian Prince and Derwin Gray were both in the 2 deep today. I assume (someone can correct me if I’m wrong) that being listed in the 2 deep means they would have have been inserted into the lineup should need have arisen in-front of them. If they were physically capable of playing today due to need, I would have liked to have given them extended time. My sense is that we see one of them join the starting lineup this coming week at Morgantown. I think you would have preferred their first experience to come at home vs. USF.
12) West Virginia was off today after starting their year 2-0. They beat Georgia Southern 44-0, and Liberty 41-17. Dana Holgorsen’s Air Raid Offense is averaging over 500 yards per game so far. Tempo for them is huge, and you can bet the Mountaineers are salivating over the Bowling Green game tape.
Maryland and West Virgina have met 51 previous times, with WVU leading the series 27-22-2.
In the last two years, MD blanked WVU 37-0 in Baltimore in 2013, before losing to the Mountaineers 40-37 in College Park last year.
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Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.