Much like the Buffalo game last season (a 31-10 win) you had mixed feelings about Saturday’s game. The Terps started strong in the first half then faded before finishing the half strong on a nice TD pass and catch from Tagavailoa to Prather. In some ways it was a dominant performance statistically, but it didn’t always feel like it when watching the game. It certainly wasn’t a dominant game for the Terps in the trenches. The longest run outside of the Tagavailoa scramble rush TD was 16 yards. Take Hemby’s longest run out and he was just averaging 4ypc, take McDonald’s long run out and he had 2 rushes for 2 yards. Littleton only averaged 3.7 ypc. Towson was able to average over 4 ypc. The WRs had too many drops and the Tai Felton drop when he was wide open is unacceptable.
- The defense held Towson out of the end zone and it’s the first time since 1976 that the Terps have held three straight opponents without a TD. In the case of present day, this streak goes back to the last two games of 2022. The defense only had 2 sacks although I thought they got pretty good pressure at times on Towson QB Nathan Kent. The defense though did not force any turnovers which was surprising. The D-Line will go a long way in determining the success of the team this year.
- There is definite room for improvement, but you never felt like Towson had a chance especially after the late first half TD. That’s what good teams do but you hope to see some of this cleaned up next week against Charlotte. It’s never going to be perfect though and we must remember that, and they don’t get pre-season games like the pros.
- QB Taulia Tagavailoa looked very decisive, and you did not see him pump the ball on several plays like he used to, that was nice to see. Cutting the pumps out this season and being able to complete elite throws on a consistent basis is what I would like to see Taulia do this season to elevate his game and protect his body by throwing the ball away more.
- The Terps, as they said they wanted to do, took more shots down the field. Even though it seemed like all they did was pass Saturday they did run 36 times to the 43 passes which is the kind of mix you would expect from this offense. That said I think the Terps specifically planned to have Tagavailoa throw the ball a lot as a warmup to the season, to get the deep Corp of WRs experience in a real game (including the two new transfers) and because they needed that O-Line to work on pass protection as much as possible especially against a blitz heavy defense. They know what they have in the RBs although after yesterday some more runs with the first team may not hurt against Charlotte.
- Tagovailoa took too many shots on Saturday. Both he and the Terps need to do everything they can to keep him off the ground…Towson did send a lot of pressure as is in their scheme so that didn’t help as compared to playing a more conservative defense.
- Along those same lines the Terps shuffled offensive lineman in and out and across several positions. They have clearly cross trained many of them. Playing against a team like Towson affords them that opportunity to get many players in and see them on video in a real game situation. The downside to that is you really can’t get any flow or chemistry with the line; you potentially expose your QB to taking several hits and getting sacked which is what happened. It also contributed at least partially to the lack of dominant play in the trenches and specifically in running the football. To be fair Towson came in with big lines on both the offense and defense. What this also tells you though is the Terps are not settled on the line at this point and that is unsettling.
- To start the game on the line the Terps started Delmar Glaze at LT, Corey Bullock at LG, Mike Purcell at C, Amelio Moran at RG, and Conor Fagan (Gonzaga) at RT. Starting or we believe to be the starting RT, Gottlieb Ayedze was in street clothes. (So was Fr. OLB Neeo Avery).
- The Terps have depth at WR, and here’s who they started the game with: Jeshaun Jones, Tyrese Chambers, Kaden Prather, Tai Felton as the starting 4 with Corey Dyches at TE. Speaking of Dyches, he had a superb game and I love the way they get him the ball including on TE screen plays.
- Backup QB Billy Edwards did not have a great day throwing the ball although I am not sure that was all his fault. I am a fan of Cam Edge and if Taulia ever did go down, I think there is a chance you might see both, but Edwards has more experience and would be the guy they would go to in case of injury. I would hope though the competition continues into the season for backup however the problem is the very limited reps with the first team (Edge may not get any) so it will have to be fought with the backup players surrounding them.
- On the defensive front the Terps started Fuller, Phillips and Akingbesote, at LB: Wimot and Wyatt on the outside and Barham and Hyppolite II on the inside. At DB: Sheppard, Still and Miller and Trader and Brade at S.
- The Terps did not turn over the ball and had 6 penalties for 54 yards. Last year they led the Big Ten averaging 7 penalties although it seemed they did better at times last year than in the previous seasons. Yesterday though three of those penalties came on one drive on offense, still unacceptable but take that drive away and you will settle for 4 a game.
- Back to personnel for a second, I loved the fact they had so many players shuffled in and out. I am on board with the Terps philosophy to try to do that as much as possible. It’s a long season and while there are some downsides to doing it, I think a program like Maryland must do it.
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.