Maryland Terps Football Downs The Dukes

 

The Maryland Terrapins defense was nearly perfect in their debut against the James Madison Dukes. Not that they needed to be, though.

(You can discuss this on the BSL Board here.)

C.J. Brown ran for three touchdowns in the first half and threw for another in the third as the Terrapins beat Jame Madison 52 – 7 in their first game as a member of the Big Ten. The Terps spent the past 61 years in the ACC, but made sure to start their B1G debut off with an offensive explosion on the ground. Brown rushed for 61 yards on 7 attempts before being pulled from the game in the fourth quarter when the game was way out of reach.

Maryland’s ground game did most of the work against a James Madison squad that was clearly overmatched and sloppy. Brandon Ross rushed for 86 yards and 1 touchdown on 16 carries (most of which came during the first half). The Terps as a team picked up 285 yards on the ground and actually outgained their vaunted passing attack that received so much attention prior to the game.

Stefon Diggs finished with five receptions for 53 yards while Deon Long had 48 yards and a touchdown as the two receivers showed no lingering effects from their broken legs suffered last year.

But the defense was nothing short of fantastic. L.A. Goree had a career high 14 tackles, and Sean Davis had 10 himself for a defense that swarmed former Georgia Tech QB Vad Lee all game. Alex Twine forced a fumble in the fourth, while Anthony Nixon and Jeremiah Johnson each had an interception for a Terps D that was never really challenged. On the evening, Maryland gave up 302 total yards and James Madison only averaged 3.7 yards per play.

Things To Take Away

1. We won’t find out much about this team until Syracuse.

I’m here to rain on your parade, but in doing so help you stay grounded in reality and approach this team with perspective. We’ve seen this story play out before: Maryland dispatches their early opponents with ease, only to run into a buzzsaw when they’ve got to take on a truly talented team (like Florida State). In the interest of not breaking your heart, I would suggest you temper expectations until the Terps play at least Syracuse.

Given how dominant their ground attack looked with the addition of Wes Brown, Maryland should be able to control the clock on their opponents pretty easily during these early games. The offensive line did a great job creating space for Ross, Brown and Wes Brown upfield, and the zone read worked spectacularly well today. If Maryland gets that run blocking against better teams, great.

But this is James Madison, not Ohio State. Maryland just showed that they’re overwhelming against a bad team. James Madison had over 100 yards in penalties, and beating up on them didn’t show us much. When the Terps get a flawed, defensive inept West Virginia, I still don’t know if that’s going to show this team’s true colors. That may come against Syracuse on the road.

2. The defense hasn’t missed a beat.

One thing you can take away from the game is the defense being just as good or better than last year. The Terps pass rush absolutely obliterated an offense that sported some solid Division 1 talent. L.A. Goree was involved in every play, and Sean Davis was electrifying on the defensive side. The Terps have playmakers all over this defense and because of that they can afford to be flexible in their scheme.

You could tell Vad Lee was confused by the blitz packages when Will Likely was getting to him on corner blitzes untouched. Bryan Stewart has built a defense that is flexible and has no problem adjusting to the different types of offensive schemes in the Big Ten. Because the Terps have such balance everywhere, they are better than in previous years.

3. C.J. Brown is going to need to be better with his deep balls, but he’s still the best QB on the roster.

C.J. had a rough day passing the ball overall, going 11-of-24 for 111 yards and a touchdown as he missed long on a number of passes. He was unable to take advantage of Maryland’s depth at wide receiver and the Terps almost looked gimped despite scoring over 50 points (it’s possible). Even Stefon Diffs three his hands up in frustration when Brown threw a very inaccurate pass to a wide open Diggs that required him to make a one handed snag.

When Rowe went in, the offense looked a lot more pass oriented, and it seemed to fit the Terps well. That said, Rowe simply doesn’t have the ability to create something from nothing with his legs the way Brown can, and he makes iffy decisions. Rowe was 7-of-11 for 78 yards and a touchdown, but he also threw a bad pick. He’s a good quarterback and may well be the answer in the future, but for now Brown is still the superior option.