2022 Terps Football: The Focus This Week Vs. Purdue

Man, it feels good to be 4-1 coming off of a decisive win against a well-respected Big Ten program like Michigan State. Mike Locksley said after the game that he thinks Maryland’s 27-13 win over the Spartans might have been the Terps’ best all-around performance of the season, and I don’t disagree.

It was a well-balanced rushing and passing attack by Maryland’s offense and the defense, which held the opposition to just 13 points, continues to look better each and every week.

Now it’s on to the Purdue Boilermakers. Another home game for the Terps, and one that won’t be any easier than the last. Purdue and Maryland are very similar from a points per game standpoint, both in points scored and points allowed. The Terps score about a field goal more per game on offense and allow about a half a point more on defense. There’s a reason why Vegas has the line for this game around 3 points.

While both teams look like two of the more balanced in the Big Ten, there are certain players from each side that will have to take advantage of good opportunities and matchups to help their team come away with what will likely be a close victory.

Let’s take a closer look at some of those matchups and the players to watch in them…

Maryland Players to watch for…

Taulia Tagovailoa: Coming off of a game where he passed Boomer Esiason to move into third all-time on the school’s passing yards list, Tagovailoa will look to keep the momentum rolling against a Purdue secondary that isn’t giving up much by way of passing yardage, but is second worst in the Big Ten with 10 passing touchdowns against. It’s the Boilermakers safeties (which we’ll get to) that Tagovalioa has to be most aware of on Saturday. He’s been great at protecting the football for the most part this year, and he’ll have to remain that way against this ball-hawking secondary.

Chad Ryland: Ryland missed his first field goal attempt in a long time in Saturday’s win over Michigan State, but he bounced back that same game and hit a 51-yarder after his miss. Now a new missless streak has begun and he’ll have a chance to add to it on Saturday, in a game where every point will be valuable in order to create separation on the scoreboard. If the Vegas line of 3 holds up, we could Ryland with his first walk-off field goal attempt of the season. Ryland is now 7-for-8 on field goals this season and 3-for-4 from 50-plus. His longest is 53 yards and he’s a perfect 20-for-20 on extra points. Lou Groza Award voters better be taking notice.

Tarheeb Still: Still is coming off of a strong game in which he lead the Terps with 9 tackles, including one for a loss. He’s Maryland’s top cornerback and will likely get the assignment of shadowing Purdue’s top receiving target Charlie Jones. Jones is really the only Purdue pass-catcher that has shown the ability to break open a game, so if Still can negate him with this matchup then it will make things much easier on Maryland’s defense. Still is still looking for his first interception.

Purdue Players to Watch for…

Devin Mockobee & Dylan Downing: Averaging 4.6 yards per rush as a team, the Boilermakers rely mostly on their backfield duo of Mockobee and Downing. Mockobee is a 6-foot, 195-pound freshman who brings the speed, while the 6-foot, 210 pound Downing is the thumper. Downing is a junior and has the same amount of rushing touchdowns as Mockobee so far this season (3). Both have hands out of the backfield, but Mockobee is the bigger receiving threat. Mockobee did lose a fumble last week so we’ll see if Downing gets a little more run against the Terps. The team’s presumed No. 1 running back in the offseason, King Doerue, has been sidelined with an injury for Purdue’s first four games, and while he remains doubtful, there’s a chance he could make his season debut against the Terps on Saturday, adding another element to this Boilermakers backfield that Maryland must be mindful of.

Charlie Jones: The senior wideout is one of the best pass catchers in the Big Ten and is having himself quite the season so far as quarterback Aidan O’Connell’s top target. Jones has 47 receptions this season. His next closest teammate has 21. He has 588 receiving yards. Next closest? 171. Oh, and don’t forget about his 7 receiving touchdowns, more than the rest of the Boilermakers receiving corps combined (almost double as many!).

Cam Allen & Chris Jefferson: This senior and grad-transfer safety duo is one of the best in the country. Allen (3) and Jefferson (2) have combined for 5 interceptions and each have take one of their picks a long way to the house (65 yards for Allen and 72 for Jefferson). They’re also both top five on the Boilermakers defense in tackles. Neither are overly imposing physically, but they are both athletic and rangy playmakers who can turn the momentum of a game at any time.

Coaching Expectations…

Ride the wave. Capture the momentum built so far this season, even from the one loss, and don’t let it slow down. There’s no reason why Purdue should win this game on Maryland’s home soil if the Terps continue to play as well as they have, sans some of the untimely penalties.

The penalties weren’t as big of an issue in the Michigan State game and it led to the best performance of the season. However, Maryland still had nine penalties for 76 yards. That’s still too much and it’s sad that that’s an improvement.

You can only play with fire for so long, and if Locksley and his staff want to start a winning streak heading into a stretch of the schedule with more winnable games, they’re going to have to start holding players more accountable and get the penalties corrected quickly. Maryland is current;y the most penalized team in the Big Ten with 41 calls against them, but Purdue isn’t too far behind them with 34 penalties of its own.

Purdue is a well-coached team and will come in with a good game plan. The Boilermakers diversity on offense makes them an even harder team to prepare for. Terps defensive coordinator Brian Williams is going to have to be willing to adapt and see what looks Purdue is presenting as the game goes on to optimize his defensive play calls. Purude quarterback Aiydan O’Connell is also banged up heading into this game. So perhaps dialing up a few early blitzes and putting the singal caller on the ground wouldn’t be such a bad idea.