Terps Football: 5 Thoughts Before Maryland/Indiana

Opponent: Indiana Hoosiers (4-2, 1-2 Big Ten Conference)
Location: Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium (51,802)
Date: Saturday, October 19, 2019
Time: 3:30 PM ET
TV/Radio Broadcasts: Big Ten Network, Maryland Sports Radio Network
Series Record: 5-2 Indiana

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Things are quickly spiraling downward for the Terrapins after suffering a blowout loss to an injury-riddled Purdue last weekend. Nothing went right for head coach Michael Locksley and his team, and they’ll return home to College Park with a much tougher road to bowl eligibility ahead of them. A talented Indiana team comes to town this weekend, led by redshirt freshman quarterback Michael Penix, Jr. and one of the best defenses in the country. If Maryland hopes to reach the postseason, this is a game they likely have to win.

1. What Happened Last Week?

After handling Rutgers very easily two weeks ago, fans were hoping that the Terrapins would be able to build on that victory and snag another road conference win against the Boilermakers last weekend. Unfortunately, it was Maryland who was on the end of their second blowout loss of the season.

Defensively, defensive coordinator Jon Hoke’s unit allowed a Purdue offense decimated by injuries to put up 547 total yards and 4 touchdowns. Backup quarterback Jack Plummer completed over 80% of his passes for 420 yards, and averaged a first down each time he dropped back to throw. Even without their best offensive weapon in wide receiver Rondale Moore, three different Boilermaker pass-catchers averaged over 14 yards per reception. The Terrapins got no pressure on Plummer, recording just one sack and no hurries.

Things weren’t much better on the offensive side of the ball, where backup quarterback Tyrrell Pigrome completed just 54% of his passes for 218 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions. The running game worked well, with Pigrome and Leake consistently finding big holes in Purdue’s defense. But once the game got out of hand and Pigrome was forced to throw, they were unable to move the ball with any consistency. This is an offense that has relied on big plays to score the majority of their points this season, but when those plays don’t happen, it’s typically a quick three-and-out from offensive coordinator Scottie Montgomery’s unit.

2. The Defense Has To Tighten Up

One of the Terrapins’ biggest strengths entering the 2019 season was its secondary, led by seniors Antoine Brooks, Jr., Tino Ellis, and Marcus Lewis. However in two of the team’s last three games, opposing quarterbacks have found wide open receivers all over the field for easy completions and big yardage. Hoke’s unit forced allowed Penn State’s Sean Clifford and Purdue’s Plummer to complete 82% of their combined passes for an average of over 400 yards in each game.

The lack of a consistent pass rush certainly doesn’t help coverage in the back end, but many of the passes thrown by Clifford and Plummer came on quick timing routes. Locksley announced this week that Ellis will miss the remainder of this season with an upper body injury, which also won’t help the secondary moving forward. They’ll be fully tested against Penix, Jr. this weekend, who is completing 70% of his passes this season.

3. Is Pigrome The Answer?

With Josh Jackson sidelined by a mid-to-high ankle sprain, the Terrapins turned to Pigrome behind center. While he ran the ball well for over 100 yards, his passing game left a lot to be desired. Montgomery’s offense is heavily reliant on the run-pass option (RPO) game, which typically gives the quarterback an option to hand the ball off or throw a quick slant or screen depending on what he sees from the opposing defense. In order for this to have success, both the run and the pass have to be equal threats. Unfortunately against Purdue, this wasn’t the case.

Pigrome was consistently inaccurate on his slant and screen passes against the Boilermakers, typically throwing the ball behind his intended receivers. He’s struggled with these short and mid-range passes throughout his career, and it showed in a big way on Saturday afternoon. While he’s a dynamic athlete, it raises a question as to whether or not he’s the right choice to lead the team’s offense in Jackson’s absence.

Behind Pigrome on the depth chart are freshmen Tyler DeSue and Lance LeGendre. DeSue took snaps with the first team in practice last week, and has appeared in 6 games during his Maryland career. LeGendre played in mop-up duty this season against Howard, but didn’t attempt a pass. Both freshmen are former 4-star recruits, but their lack of experience likely means Pigrome has a longer leash for at least another game or two.

4. Yards Will Be Tough To Come By

This weekend will mark the second time this season that the Terrapins will face a Top-15 defense. The Hoosiers currently rank as the 13th-best defense in the country, allowing just over 280 yards per game. They’ve been excellent on third downs and are particularly good against the pass. Led by hybrid linebacker/safety Marcelino Ball, this is a unit that Maryland will need to stay ahead of the chains against and avoid obvious passing situations.

5. Still Overmatched On The Lines

Ever since Maryland joined the Big Ten Conference in 2014, the football program’s biggest challenge has been to build talent and size on its offensive and defensive lines. Five years later, not much has changed. While former head coaches Randy Edsall and DJ Durkin recruited better talent on both lines, it hasn’t manifested itself in better competition with the conference’s blue blood programs. In fact, even Purdue’s lines were able to manhandle the Terrapins last weekend.

There is young talent on both lines for Maryland, but most of it is inexperienced. Currently however, there are no blue-chip linemen in Locksley’s 2020 recruiting class. Unfortunately for the team, the DMV area isn’t known for producing high-quality linemen. This likely means that the coaching staff will need to look elsewhere to build up their lines.