Maryland (3-2, 0-2 B1G) vs. Northwestern (2-3, 0-2 B1G)
When: Friday, October 11 | 8:05 PM
Where: SECU Stadium
Watch: FOX or FS1 - Connor Onion, Mark Helfrich, Josh Sims
Listen: 105.7 FM (Balt) / 980 AM (DC) - Johnny Holliday, Steve Suter, LaMont Jordan
Betting: Maryland -11, O/U: 45.5
After taking down Virginia at home last season, Maryland will look to win its second consecutive Friday night game when they host Northwestern on Friday night. It’s also a chance for Maryland to secure their second consecutive home win against the Wildcats, along with a chance to win its fifth consecutive night game, as head coach Mike Locksley looks to guide his team to their first Big Ten win of the season. We take a look at three things to watch against the Wildcats:
Turn Northwestern One-Dimensional
Despite losing to Indiana last week, Northwestern got their passing game going and kept them in the game. Leading the way was Bryce Kirtz, who finished with a career-high ten catches for 128 yards. His being a big play threat will be a challenge, as teams have had success throwing deep on the secondary. Jalen Huskey and Perry Fisher can’t let him free for one second. Kirtz isn’t the only receiver that can give them issues, though, as AJ Henning was the one who scored both receiving touchdowns last week. Henning is dangerous in space, so Maryland must be ready to bring him down at all times. There’s still uncertainty about whether or not safety Dante Trader will play. If he’s out Brandon Jacob and Lavain Scruggs will have to step up and fill the void.
Northwestern made a change at quarterback following their week two loss to Duke, as Mike Wright was replaced with Jack Lausch to mixed results. The Terps need to make him uncomfortable and look more like he did against Washington when he completed under 30% of his passes with two interceptions. Taking away Lausch’s top two options and forcing him to look at other targets will help out. That will allow the defense to put more focus on stopping a rushing attack expected to be led by Cam Porter, despite registering just six carries in last week’s loss.
Winning the line of scrimmage
Maryland’s offensive line was a question mark going into the season and they have not done much to erase that this year. Indiana got to the quarterback five times after only four sacks given up in the other four games combined. The line needs to rebound and give Billy Edwards time to throw. Northwestern’s front has only had 12 sacks through five games and didn’t get to Indiana’s quarterback once. Leading the way are Anto Saka and Aidan Hubbard with 2.5. Right tackle Alan Herron will have a challenge against them. Wildcats’ linebacker Xander Mueller was named to the Third-team All-Big Ten last year.
For Maryland, Marcus Dumervil was spotted taking first-team reps at left tackle this week as the offensive line looks to turn the page from an inconsistent and lackluster performance on the road vs. Indiana. While pass protection had been solid before Indiana, run blocking has been a different story. Maryland has struggled to get some push at the line and establish the run. Many runs have either been stopped at the line of scrimmage or led to negative runs. In three of their five games, the Terps have averaged less than four yards a carry. Although, against Indiana, Roman Hemby had a big run that reminded everyone how much of a home run threat he can be. He had his first 100-yard of the season on just ten carries, including a 75-yard touchdown that tied the game at 21. Maryland must get him going and hope he has a performance similar to the game against Northwestern two years ago.
While the struggles on the offensive line have not surprised anyone, the defensive front seven is more concerning. Maryland came into the season with a supposedly good mix of veteran and young talent that looked to be one of the stronger front sevens in the Big Ten. That has yet to come to fruition as the team has struggled to get into the backfield and get to the quarterback. The pass rush is going to have to step up this week, as Northwestern has only allowed five sacks on the season. Help could be on the way, as Neeo Avery was back on the practice field this week. Getting in the way of him, Kellen Wyatt and Donnell Brown will be tackles Ben Wrather and Caleb Tiernan. In the run game, Tommy Akingbesote will have to find a way around Colorado transfer center Jack Bailey. Now is the time for the defensive line to show why they were talked about as a unit of strength going into the season.
Limit the miscues
Penalties have been a talking point when mentioning Maryland for a while now as, since Locksley has taken over as head coach, the team has been among the most penalized teams. For many fans, it’s been frustrating to see the team continue to make the same mistakes every season. This year has been no different, as they have continued to plague the Terps. On the season, the team has averaged 74 yards on 8 penalties through five games, with ten being called against Indiana. Maryland cannot keep putting themselves at a disadvantage with undisciplined play. As Locks has mentioned in the past it’s been Terps vs Terps. The narrative has got to change come Friday.
“I hate them,” Locks had to say on the topic. “I mean, I die with everyone because it's funny how some things are viewed. When you view penalties by a Maryland coach team by me and some of the things, we've seen on TV that have happened. To me, this is the generation we deal with. We have to continue to change, find ways to show them how it hurts. Like for me, I can tell you, I think there's a lot been made. I take situations that happen in games very seriously, and we look at situational football and we present it to our players.”
Maryland won the turnover battle against Indiana 4-0 but did not score any points coming off those turnovers. That is not a feat they want to repeat again. The offense must take advantage of the defense takes the ball from Northwestern. The Terps have done a good job of protecting the ball themselves, with only 3 turnovers on the year.
Getting over the bye week hump
It’s hard to believe how much Maryland has struggled coming off a bye under Mike Locksley. Not counting the COVID-shortened 2020 season, the Terps are 0-4 the week after a bye. It’s time for this team to get over past performances and take care of business this Friday. Starting off fast and setting the tone will be step one.
“We don't have a week off,” Locks said in regard to the bye. “So, we got right back to work and digesting it. I hate going into a bye this way to think this. I don't know even know the stat on it, but I just know I felt pretty crappy after games before the bye. And two weeks of sitting in it, I've been doing I've talked about therapy. We talk about sitting in it, just kind of it gives you a chance. And one of the toughest things is improving is almost tougher than winning.”
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