As Maryland inches closer inside the top 25, head coach Mike Locksley and the Terps return home as a hefty favorite against Indiana this weekend with a chance to move to 5-0 for the first time since 2001.
Maryland opens as a 14-point favorite against Indiana, per DraftKings, as the Terps welcome their third 3:30 PM kickoff this Saturday.
Indiana needed four overtimes to defeat Akron, 29-27, on Saturday night as the Zips finished just shy of 475 yards of total offense.
“Really, really frustrating in a lot of ways, but proud of our defense to just keep us in the game – three takeaways, defensive score was obviously a difference in the game,” Indiana head coach Tom Allen said following the win. “Offense was really, really out of sync and really performed poorly. But found a way to win, proud of our guys. Even offensively, find a way to get that final two-point conversion, that was a great call. But yeah, just not a lot to be too fired up about on that side of the football. But obviously when you find a way, you’ve got a bunch of players that believe and they just battle and they fight and they claw and they scratch and find a way to win a game. Winning’s hard, and just a good chance to learn from it and get ready for the next one.
Saturday’s contest between Maryland and Indiana will also feature a bit of familiarity with OC Walt Bell, co-OC/WR coach Anthony Tucker and LB/DC Chad Wilt all previous assistants at Maryland. Wilt also worked alongside Mike Locksley during the Edsall era, with Wilt filling in as defensive line coach and Locksley as the offensive coordinator.
Maryland was able to take care of business on Saturday against a depleted Spartans team in East Lansing as the defense forced five turnovers, helping the Terps rise into a tie for the second-best turnover margin in the country.
“It was big. I mean the defense, the offense, special teams came up big again today,” Locksley said following the win. “They created some opportunities with the fumble there on the kickoff return. A punter pulled one down and rushed one for first down to extend drive. Offensively, we were a little off today, just missing on some things. But defensively early on, the turnovers were big and what I’d like to see is those just get off the field a little bit better on third down.”
As the Terps take their undefeated record into the week five matchup, they’ll look to pick up their third consecutive win against the Hoosiers with a chance to climb into the top 25 in week six.
Maryland drew 20 votes in the updated AP Top 25, unofficially checking in at 31st, while drawing 39 votes in the USA Today Sports AFCA Coaches Poll to unofficially sit at 29th.
Michigan (2), Ohio State (4) and Penn State (6) were the lone Big Ten teams ranked in the AP Top 25 while Wisconsin joined Maryland in receiving votes. Meanwhile, Ohio State jumped Florida State for third with Penn State staying steady in the coaches poll, while Iowa (16) joined Maryland in receiving votes.
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