Maryland (5-4, 2-4 B1G) at Nebraska (5-4, 3-3 B1G)
When: Saturday, Nov. 11 | 12:06 p.m. EST
Where: Memorial Stadium
Watch: Peacock – Paul Burmeister, Kyle Rudolph, Lewis Johnson
Listen: 105.7 FM (Balt) / 980 AM (DC) – Johnny Holliday, Steve Suter
Betting: Maryland -2, O/U: 43 (per DraftKings as of 2 PM, Nov. 10)
One team is walking away with bowl eligibility on Saturday as Maryland travels to Lincoln, Nebraska to take on the Huskers with both teams sitting at 5-4 overall. Both teams are coming off losses—the Terps in a home loss to Penn State, while the Huskers were upset by Michigan State—but the Terps haven’t had much success against Nebraska in recent years. Nebraska has outscored Maryland a combined 82-14 in both matchups, with the Huskers pulling off a 54-7 win in College Park in the final home game of Mike Locksley’s first season as head coach.
Fast forward to this weekend, and Maryland is desperately looking to get back on track in hopes of picking up their first win since September 30. So, what does Maryland need in order to do that? We break down three keys to victory.
Skill players taking advantage of touches in space
The quiet confidence surrounding Maryland’s wide receiver room stemmed from the returning experience coupled with portal talent able to get consistent reps together dating back to January as fourth-year starter Taulia Tagovailoa looked to lead the passing attack to its full potential. While the deep shots have remained hit-or-miss through conference play, the drops have loomed larger for Maryland with multiple coming in either redzone or pivotal moments in games.
Safety Isaac Gifford is the difference-maker in the Huskers’ defense who, like Beau Brade does for Maryland, leads the defense with 60 tackles this season. He’s also among the Big Ten’s leaders in passes defended (0.89) per game while leading Nebraska with seven pass breakups this season, posing a threat to the Terps’ passing attack. Taulia Tagovailoa will be tasked with keeping Gifford away from the play, but against a Husker defense that poses a challenge on the ground, Maryland will need its skill players to shine bright.
Maryland is expected to pick up at least one rushing yard against the Huskers, but don’t expect much success if any on the ground. Tight end Corey Dyches has at least one catch in 22 consecutive games and trails only Georgia TE Brock Bowers in receptions this season (37) as he enters Saturday with a chance to break free across the middle of the Husker defense. Though Roman Hemby hasn’t been able to break free since his 217-yard week two performance against Charlotte, finding the redshirt sophomore on swings and screens could be the recipe for success on Saturday. But it starts with holding onto the football as the passing attack looks to build and sustain momentum for Maryland’s offense in search of win number six.
Efficient tackling
Maryland saw missed tackles and assignments loom large in the road loss against Northwestern, while Penn State was able to consistently pick up positive plays on the ground one week ago. Nebraska enters Saturday with the Big Ten’s top rushing attack led by QB Heinrich Haarberg and RB Anthony Grant, and in the first road game after the defense struggled to wrap up in Evanston, Maryland’s front seven will need to be at its best. Maryland has turned to a defensive line featuring Tre Colbert, Isaac Bunyun and Taizse Johnson in recent weeks as Jordan Phillips and Tommy Akingbesote look to hit the next level in terms of production, but the defense’s success hinges on the linebackers’ pursuit and tackling at first contact. A monster day from one of Jaishawn Barham, Ruben Hyppolite or Fa’Najae Gotay could prove to be pivotal as Donnell Brown, Kellan Wyatt and Caleb Wheatland look to disrupt Haarberg.
Control the controllable
This was an early saying in the Locksley career, when the ‘standard’ first became a mainstay phrase surrounding the Mike Locksley-led Terps. For this weekend, control the controllable boils down to the Terps doing what they need to do. The unforced errors, the late unraveling, the drops, the missed opportunities. Frankly, those are the plays that the Terps. They’re the type of plays that Maryland needs to win in a toss-up game as Locksley noted everyone—coaches and players—needs to do their job “just a little bit better” in order to get back on track.
Sure, no team in the country is flawless, and while the Terps do have talent, the margin for error isn’t big enough for Maryland to absorb the type of mistakes they’ve made over the last four games. Winning on the road in the Big Ten is hard and Lincoln will serve as the second hostile environment of the season, so Saturday could come down to those 50-50 plays. For Maryland to end the slide, winning those battles remains priority number one.
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