Three stats from Maryland football's losing streak, what they mean

7 hours ago

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Maryland dropped their tenth Big Ten game in a row with a 48-23 loss at Nebraska on Saturday. In a game where Maryland led 23-14 with the ball driving with the ball, a 81-yard pick-six started a 34-0 run to end the game for the Cornhuskers. A promising start slowly bled into a blowout where Maryland struggled offensively and the defense began to give up. We take a look at three stats and what they mean from the losing effort.

Maryland is 2 of 30 on 3rd Down Conversions Over Past Two Weeks

The third down struggles continued for the Terps as they finished 1 for 14 on third downs on Saturday. This followed last week where the team converted on just 1 of their 16 3rd down plays versus UCLA. A lot of the struggles have been derived from the lack of the passing game and its vertical threat. Maryland has not hit many splash plays where Washington has pushed the ball down field. At this point Washington has seemed incapable of pushing the ball deep and the offense, especially on third down, has suffered from it. Once Maryland has been stuck behind the sticks there has been no threat of picking up the first with many plays being safe or in some instances Washington simply runs out of bounds.

Extending drives is also essential for keeping the defense off the field. Constantly putting the defense back on the field can slowly break a defense and Maryland has had this issue thus far in conference play. As the game rolls on and the defense has to keep going back out there they are bound to break. This has been seen with the missed tackles and overall effort from the defense the last two weeks in the later stages of the game. Something needs to change on third down for Maryland and it starts with the quarterback.

Maryland’s Defensive Front Struggles Continue

The seemingly loaded defensive front has not lived up to expectations over the last few weeks. Touted as the strength of the team both inside and outside the Jones Hill House walls, the unit showed flashes of excellence in weeks 1 and 2. Then came the real competition and the results have been underwhelming. More of the same this week as the defensive front got very limited pressure on Anthony Colandrea and oftentimes the opposing quarterback had what felt like all day to throw. CJ Smith and depth piece Joel Starlings were able to get a sack each but the main players such as ZIon Elee, Sidney Stewart, Eyan Thomas, the Parker twins, and Derrick LeBlanc only combined for 1 TFL. The depth has been put to the test with both Lavon Johnson and Bryce Jenkins sidelined for this contest. Even so the depth has to be more consistent with the pressure and tackling prowess. Colandrea is slippery in the pocket but allowing 108 rushing yards from the quarterback were often the result of missed tackles in the backfield. It is put up or shut up time for the nucleus of the defense.

The Run Game Gains Steam Averaging 5.6 Yards Per Carry in Williams’ Return

Maryland’s lack of a run game has been the topic of conversation for much of the last three seasons. The trend looked to be continuing last week where the team flustered together 39 total rushing yards. This week brought the return of Maryland’s number one back in Dejuan Williams. It was a promising return for Williams finishing the day with 78 yards on 10 carries as well as a score. Williams broke a large 56-yard run in the second quarter that helped his numbers but his homerun ability is all about what makes his presence much needed for this offense. Iverson Howard also put some solid runs on tape Saturday finishing 11.3 yards per carry himself. A sign of life for the much questioned Maryland running attack is a positive sign to see and having their two top options could open doors for the offense moving forward.

However, it was not all sunshine for the Maryland ground attack as the Terps leaned on Malik Washington in the run game heavily to very limited success. Washington was tied with Williams for carries with 10 and totaled just 16 net rushing yards. Washington took a lot of quarterback reads and even had some designed running plays that were not working too well. Washington does not seem totally comfortable running the ball right now with a stoic running form and a lack of true agility. It was surprising to see the coaching staff continue to go back to Washington on the ground when the running backs were having decent success. In a game where the run game had a sign of life the passing game was not up to snuff for the latter half of the game. Washington has strung together his two worst games in a Maryland uniform after two great games the weeks prior. It has got to a point where he looks lost and has shown major signs of regression. There is still plenty of time to turn his play back around but his legs may not be the way to do so.

Conclusion

Another week, another snowball loss for Maryland where the score gets more embarrassing as the game goes on. Their reward? A visit to Cilumbus to take on Jeremiah Smith and the Ohio State Buckeyes for their homecoming game. As a 35.5 pint underdog and recent play, not much is expected for Maryland in this one and it is only a matter of time before the program makes major changes.

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