Iowa – Kent State Breakdown Gives Look At Maryland’s Next Two Opponents

Things are going pretty well so far for Maryland football this season.

Not only are the Terps 3-0 to start their 2021 campaign, but they also received a bit of scheduling fortune that could help them as they prepare for their next two opponents.

Now, within a conference, it’s not uncommon to see two opponents on your schedule duke it out before you get to face either one, which would obviously give you a decent look at both programs for scouting purposes.

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

But having a conference foe play a mutual non-conference opponent before you get to play either team? That’s pretty rare. What’s even more infrequent is getting to play both of those schools in back-to-back weeks after they square off with each other. However, that’s the position Maryland finds itself in with Kent State on the docket this weekend and Iowa next on the schedule.

The Hawkeyes and Golden Flashes played in Iowa City last Saturday and it was a relatively close matchup early until Iowa busted the lead wide open for a 30-7 win at home.

Even more fortunate for the Terps in this scenario, Maryland played on Friday night last week — winning a nailbiter at Illinois. — meaning the players and coaches in College Park were all free on Saturday to watch their next two opponents meet on the gridiron.

I’m sure they were taking notes and noticing different trends performed by both teams, but here’s what I saw from that game and what I think Maryland will be keeping an eye out for when they host the Hawkeyes and Golden Flashes.

Kent State – Saturday, September 25 @3:30 p.m. in College Park, Md.

Representing the MAC, Kent State is not going to be intimidated or fall apart from the first big blow you deliver. I mean, this is a team that has already played at Texas A&M and at Iowa this season.

Playing in a very hostile environment in Iowa City last Saturday, the game started about as poorly as it could for the Golden Flashes. Not only did Kent State’s first two drives result in a punt and a safety, but the visiting team also allowed Iowa to score a touchdown on the ensuing drive after the safety to give the Hawkeyes a quick 9-0 lead. But the proud Ohio-based school didn’t flinch — at least not initially. The Golden Flashes took the ball on the next drive and marched down the field, 75 yards in five plays, for a touchdown.

The score remained 9-7 until Iowa scored another touchdown just before halftime. Needless to say, but I’ll say it anyway, the home team with the better coaching staff and better players made more impactful halftime adjustments than the team from the MAC. The Hawkeyes would outscore the Golden Flashes 14-0 in the second half on their way to the blowout victory.

But what worked for Kent State and what didn’t, especially on its touchdown drive in the first half?

Well, the Golden Flashes are known for putting up points but also having a hard time stopping the other team from doing so. They let up 41 and 30 points in their two losses against superior competition and they scored 60 themselves in a win over the Virginia Military Institute.

Against the Hawkeyes, Kent State’s biggest weapon was its passing game. Iowa has shown to have one of the better defenses in the nation so far this season so the Golden Flashes were in for a challenge regardless of their game plan. But while no room was being found in the running game, Kent State turned to its connection between quarterback Dustin Crum and wide receiver Keshunn Abram for most of its offensive production. Crum threw for a total of 185 yards against Iowa and 138 of them went to Abram, who also scored Kent State’s lone touchdown.

Kent State tried to commit to the run to keep Iowa honest by dividing more than 40 carries between the quarterback and five tailbacks, but none of it worked and Abram found himself as the only productive player on the offense.

Given Kent State’s woes on defense last year and so far this year, the fact that Iowa’s offense was clicking on all cylinders throughout the whole game should come as no surprise.  It’s hard to get a complete picture of Kent State as an opponent from its loss to a superior team, but it does appear pretty obvious that Crum to Abram is the matchup to key in on.

Iowa – Friday, October 1 @8 p.m. in College Park, Md.

Iowa has looked like one of the most balanced teams in the country so far this season. The defense is for real and has held the Hawkeyes’ opponents to an average of 10 points per game thus far.

Ranking 21st nationally in yards allowed per game, Iowa’s defense is strong at all three levels. The Hawkeyes are big in the trenches and long and physical on the backend in the secondary. They look like the team to beat in the Big Ten West at the moment, and Kent State can certainly attest to that after a thumping in Iowa City last week.

But the win over Kent State is far from the most impressive thing on Iowa’s resume. The Hawkeyes opened their season against a ranked Indiana team and mollywhopped them 34-6. Then it was time to face their in-state opponent Iowa State, which Iowa always fares well against but that didn’t stop most national pundits from picking against them in that game. In a battle between the No. 8 and No. 9 teams in the nation, Iowa escaped with a 27-17 victory.

But regardless of who they’re playing, the Hawkeyes like to pound the rock and play defense as their M.O. They have a more-than-formidable quarterback in junior Spencer Petras, but he has only been asked to throw the ball 84 times total through three games this season. That’s because leading rusher Tyler Goodson is a beast. Goodson already has 307 rushing yards (5.0 YPC) and 5 touchdowns this season and is coming off of a 153-yard, 3-touchdown performance against the Golden Flashes.

Maryland currently ranks 33rd in the nation in rush defense, allowing just 99.0 yards on the ground per game. And that ranking should only improve after the Kent State game because of Kent State’s lackluster backfield. But none of Maryland’s opponents so far this year — sans perhaps West Virginia — has a very impressive running game so these early season stats are perhaps a bit skewed.

West Virginia was able to find some success on the ground early in the season opener so perhaps Maryland’s run defense isn’t as stout as advertised. We’ll know for sure after the Iowa game.

There’s no reason to think the Terps won’t be 4-0 heading into a Friday night home matchup with Iowa. They’ll have a chance to make that 5-0 if they can stop the run on defense and protect the football on offense. Should be a fun matchup in College Park!