Terps Football: 5 Thoughts Before Maryland/Michigan

Game Information

Opponent: #6 Michigan Wolverines (9-1, 6-1 Big Ten Conference)
Location: Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium (51,802)
Date: Saturday, November 20, 2021
Time: 3:30 PM ET
TV/Radio Broadcasts: Big Ten Network, Maryland Sports Radio Network
Series Record: 8-1 Michigan

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After two straight losses, Maryland returns to College Park this weekend to face Michigan in their final home game of the 2021 season. The Wolverines have lost just one game this year, a closely contested game against their in-state rival Spartans, and have a huge matchup looming against Ohio State next weekend. Jim Harbaugh is in his seventh season leading their program, and the Terrapins have never come particularly close to beating them while he’s been in Ann Arbor.

1. More Competitive, Still Lost

While the Terrapins were unable to win either of their last two games against Penn State or Michigan State, they kept both relatively close into the second half. That’s certainly an improvement from their performances against Iowa and Ohio State, where they went down without much of a fight. They played better at home against the Nittany Lions than they did last weekend in East Lansing, but the hope is that it’ll give the team a bit more confidence heading into the final two weeks of the season.

On the flip side, these were both winnable games for Maryland. Last weekend’s game against the Spartans was riddled with penalties, with Locksley’s squad committing 13 for 93 yards. While their game against Penn State was played relatively clean, they were right back to their old ways just one week later. Discrepancies in talent are one thing, but to have such a lack of discipline in a head coach’s third season isn’t a promising sign for the future.

2. Keep Riding Taulia

With every week that goes by, it becomes clear that Maryland’s offense lives and dies on the arm of its quarterback. While the same could likely be said for a large number of teams across the country, it’s especially true for the Terrapins due to their lack of success in the running game. As a team, they’re averaging the fourth-fewest rushing yards per game in the conference while possessing the third-best passing offense. This stark contrast puts a lot of pressure on Taulia Tagovailoa, and he’s continued to improve as the season has progressed. While his completion percentage was a bit lower last week than it’s been throughout the season, he still threw for 350 yards and two touchdowns against Michigan State.

3. This Defense is Bad

Towards the end of last season, there were significant signs of hope on the defensive side of the ball. With a change in coverage schemes to more aggressive single-high man calls, Maryland was able to take advantage of their cornerbacks’ strengths in one-on-one battles and dedicate more defenders to the box in order to stop the run and rush the passer. So far this season under first-year defensive coordinator Brian Stewart, things have completely disintegrated.

While losing starting cornerback Deonte Banks to a season-ending injury during the team’s game against Howard certainly didn’t help, there’s still far too much experience and talent in their secondary to have the sort of blown coverages that’ve been seen week in and week out. As a unit, the Terrapins’ pass defense is the third-worst in the conference. Their struggles against the run are slightly more understandable considering the large amount of turnover at the inside linebacker position this season, but the talent and experience on the defensive line ought to be enough to hold things down better than they have. They’re allowing the second-most rushing yards per game in the conference.

4. Let the Youngsters Run

Maryland’s rushing attack has been abysmal so far this season. Starter Tayon Fleet-Davis has averaged over four yards per carry just once in the last five weeks, and Isaiah Jacobs entered the transfer portal after spending most of the year dealing with a few different nagging injuries. Former walk-on Challen Faamatau had shown some burst over the course of the last few weeks, but suffered a season-ending leg injury in the game against Penn State.

Locksley was forced to turn to sophomore Peny Boone and freshman Colby McDonald during last weekend’s game against Michigan State, and both showed some promise. Boone ran five times for 42 yards and a touchdown, and McDonald had six carries for 38 yards. While they were forced to throw the ball a lot due to the score, both of these young running backs (along with freshman Roman Hemby) ought to get plenty of opportunities both this week and next week. With Fleet-Davis and Faamatau moving on after this season, and Jacobs already gone, it’s time to see what the future of the Terrapins’ backfield looks like.

5. Two More Opportunities

The Terrapins currently hold a 5-5 (2-5) record, and need just one win over their final two weeks to reach bowl eligibility. This week’s game against Michigan presents an opportunity not only to accomplish that goal, but also to prove that you can compete with one of the conference’s best teams. It won’t be easy, and the Wolverines are a much more balanced team than Michigan State was last week. But at the very least, you’d like to see Maryland play hard and clean, and not come away from this game feeling like they beat themselves.