Word of Big Ten Football returning much sooner than originally thought certainly has me excited. I just have not been able to get invested into College Football as much as I would like despite other Conferences playing. I love all College Football, but I have always been a Big Ten guy at heart, without it everything else is just not as exciting to me. There were constant rumblings in the media of the Big Ten reconsidering due to some high-profile Conference Coaches making pleas to play (including Ohio State and Michigan), lawsuits, parent rally’s and political pressure. Of course, there is also a lot of money on the table as well. At the same time, you heard the Conference had dug in their heels with their initial decision as school Presidents were unwilling to budge. Given the daily stories that kept the chances of a return to play in the fall alive I was not surprised to hear of the change and maintained that there was at least a 50/50 shot they would return.
(You can discuss this on the BSL Board here.)
Alas on Saturday morning (9/19) there was the Conference Schedule unveiling although kickoff times are TBD. I am not sure anyone felt this was a 100% done deal until those dates came out given how uncertain things have been with the Big Ten for the last several weeks. The opponents have been set so let us break this down.
*First from the macro perspective, the 1st half of the schedule is extremely tough for the Terps with Minnesota, Penn State and Ohio State all in a row. Unfortunately, an 0-4 or 1-3 start is likely in the cards there. The second half brings much more promise with Michigan State, Indiana and Rutgers. I could certainly see the Terps going 2-2 or 3-1. Realize that there will be no fans for any of these games. Ultimately the talent on the field dictates the winners and losers but for the road games not having to deal with the crowd factor certainly helps. For the Terps unfortunately they are used to playing at home in front of more road fans than home fans so that will be an advantage for them at Maryland Stadium. I would rather Maryland take on the tough teams early because those teams might not quite be at their stride when the Terps play them and it should strengthen them for a strong finish where they have a better chance at winning several games. We will still have to see what that 9th game will be for the Terps. I really like the plan of the cross division seeded battle after the initial 8 games. I also like the fact that they are on the same day of the Big Ten Championship game as there will be Conference action leading up to the big game at night instead of having to wait all day. The fact that the Big Ten is still getting 9 of 12 games in this season is great.
Going week by week, the Week 1 matchup at Northwestern is against a team that will be looking to bounce back from a 3-9-2019 season. Pat Fitzgerald is a solid Head Coach and I expect the Wildcats will be back and much more competitive this season. That game will be a good matchup for the Terps against a program that has forged their way to success on a fairly consistent basis. They have won 10 games three times in the last ten years…Week 2 against Minnesota is at home but this is a Golden Gophers team that won 11 games last year including a New Year’s Day Bowl Game win over Auburn out of the SEC. Minnesota dominated the Terps last year. HC PJ Fleck took a huge step with that program last year although the beginning of their schedule was quite weak, they proved themselves later in the season. Their star WR Rashod Bateman has re-enrolled and is looking to be allowed back to play this year after opting out last month…In Week 3 the Terps are at Penn State. Let us hope that we do not have a repeat from the Friday night game last season in College Park. Star LB Micah Parsons did opt out from playing but the Nittany Lions still have a ton of talent back in State College and are expected to be the second best in the league behind Ohio State. This could be ugly again…
…In Week 4 the Terps host Ohio State. The gold standard and perennial national power Buckeyes will present an extremely tough challenge, but the Buckeyes will not exactly be at 100% as they have had a top OL and CB opt out of this season.
*Week 5 brings a second consecutive week in College Park bringing Michigan State to town. The Spartans are under new Head Coach Mel Tucker and are in complete rebuild mode. With new schemes they should be somewhat acclimated to them by their fifth game, but this is a winnable game for the Terps…In Week 6 the Terps are at Indiana, the last three years have brought some really good games between these two but Maryland has lost all of them. Indiana is where Maryland wants to be at in the division and the Terps have the chance at being even better given their location to excellent high school football recruits. This also is a winnable game…In Week 7, Maryland is at Michigan. Michigan has lost a starting QB candidate, a starting WR and DL to transfer and or opting out of this season. There is some hope to mitigate those losses with two players who earlier opted out as OL Jalen Mayfield is attempting to return to the team and CB Ambry Thomas is open to doing the same despite signing with an agent. There is some uncertainty here and there was already steady turnover on the roster especially on the OL. This will still be a tough game for Maryland but not as difficult as it could have been…In Week 8 the Terps wrap up the season hosting Rutgers with Greg Schiano returning for round 2 in Piscataway. Schiano will no doubt have his team playing at a better level and they will be tougher. Who knows at this point where the teams will exactly be and what impact injuries and Covid will have on the rosters? This should be a great litmus test game for both programs. Maryland has a slight head start on Rutgers in the rebuild and this season must be tough on any new Head Coaches. This is also a winnable game for the Terps.
Predictions of anywhere from 2-6 to 4-4 I believe are possible. Ultimately to have Maryland and Big Ten Football back is a great thing. If things play out the way I think, we could very well be clamoring for more Terps football after Week #9 instead of begging for the season to be over after the losses have piled up. 2021 was always going to be the target year to see that first real step taking place for the program in a positive direction anyway. This year has made us appreciate things more than we maybe have in the past. I am just going to sit back and enjoy the competition during the Fall when Football is truly to be played. I still could not imagine a season in the Spring and now we will not have to. Some semblance of normalcy returns. Let the games begin.
Terps Analyst
Mike Popovec is a Weekend and Fill-In host at 105-7 The Fan. In addition Mike hosts the Pre and Post, Halftime and Scoreboard Updates for the Football Games on the Maryland Terrapins Sports Radio Network. He also hosts the Pre and Post Game Show on weekends for some of the Maryland Basketball Games. Popovec also hosts a local News, Talk and Sports Morning Program at the beach on 92-7 WGMD. He also produces and hosts High School Football Games and Shows throughout the season out of Easton covering the Eastern Shore’s Bayside Conference. He sideline reports for CW54 for the Maryland State High School Football Playoffs with Bruce Cunningham, Doug Duvall and Wally Williams.