It wasn’t pretty—at all—but Maryland found a way to win their first road game of the 2021 season on Saturday night, preserving an undefeated 3-0 record for the first time since 2016. So what went right and more importantly, what went wrong? We break down Maryland’s performance here.
Quarterback: B+
There were still plenty of drives that fell stagnant on Friday night, but I still liked what I saw out of Tagovailoa. The second-year starter finished with his second 300-yard performance of the season, finishing 32-of-43 for 350 yards and one touchdown. The biggest takeaway from his performance is that Tagovailoa has already posted seven touchdowns and zero interceptions through three games, compared to his seven touchdowns and interceptions in five games in 2020. Tagovailoa admitted post-game that the Illini’s defense mixed up their coverages to stifle the Terps’ offense, but what stuck out was once again his decision-making. Didn’t force the throws into the defense, used his mobility to extend the play, and shied away from predetermined reads. The room to grow were the pair of sacks that Tagovailoa took one third down, once in the first quarter and the second in the fourth, while the offense as a whole finished just 2-of-10 on third downs on Friday. Plenty of correctable plays, but I still saw why Tagovailoa has grown as a starting quarterback on Friday night. Tagovailoa completed eight of his last nine passes to close out the game, proving that Maryland has a real quarterback that keeps opposing defenses truly honest.
Running back: B-
The unit averaged nearly five years per carry on Friday and veteran Tayon Fleet-Davis had a handful of grown man runs to complete the comeback before finishing the night with 62 yards and one touchdown on 11 carries. The unit also saw Peny Boone and Isaiah Jacobs combine for 48 yards on nine combined carries, but the miscues were the demise of the unit. Fleet-Davis squandered a scoring opportunity after fumbling a completed swing pass at the Illinois 7, while Boone followed up on the ensuing drive with the second fumble that set Illinois up in Maryland’s territory. While an interception by Nick Cross mitigated Boone’s fumble, the pair of miscues were the source of Maryland losing the turnover battle on Friday and two miscues that nearly cost the Terps the win. Despite that, I felt Maryland abandoned the run through periods of the game but cleaning up the ball security is priority number one in an extended week of preparation.
Wide receivers: B-
Dontay Demus fell short of his third 100-yard performance, but he proved why he’s still the alpha dog in the room after amassing eight catches for 77 yards on ten targets. Seemingly enough, it was Fleet-Davis who finished second with six receptions but the wealth on the perimeter was in full effect with Jeshaun Jones, Darryl Jones, Rakim Jarrett, Corey Dyches, Brian Cobbs, and Marcus Fleming all registering at least one catch. Maryland looked to find ways to get Darryl Jones the ball at times in the first half, while I loved the tenacity that Jeshaun Jones plays with in the open space to make him a tough tackle. Rakim Jarrett flashed his speed out of the slot, while Brian Cobbs made a tough catch on 3rd down to extend the drive despite contact. Where the receivers struggled was making themselves available downfield for Tagovailoa through the opening 30 minutes, tipping the scale in favor of the Illini secondary and reason why Maryland amassed just 40 yards of total offense in the first quarter. The blocking on the perimeter wasn’t consistent, either, while the tight ends were nearly nonexistent in the win. Okonkwo nearly came down with a catch along the sidelines and was in and out of the game, while Corey Dyches came down with both targets for 18 receiving yards. Some room to grow and Kent State will be a good matchup for the receivers to bounce back ahead of the Terps’ Friday night showdown against Iowa.
Offensive line: C+
The unit allowed a season-high three sacks, but Tagovailoa also did find ample time in the pocket as he did well to extend plays behind decent production. But to me, the blocking was not consistent and Maryland struggled to contain Jer’Zhan Newton and Owen Carney at times. Illinois did well to mix up their defensive alignment to confuse Maryland’s interior offensive line, where the Terps have the most inexperience, but also thought that Jaelyn Duncan and Spencer Anderson largely held their own on the edge. Both graded out above 80 on PFF with Anderson earning the highest grade of any Terp in pass blocking (88).
Defensive line: B-
Depth became an issue in the unit on Friday. Already without Mosiah Nasili-Kite, Ami Finau went down twice with an injury and was already coming into the game battling 10% health, but Friday night also yielded the emergence of Greg Rose along the defensive line. Twice, it was Rose who made the key stop on third down including a pivotal 3rd-and-2 stop that gave the Maryland offense the chance to come back. Then, Rose was the one who pressured Illini QB Brandon Peters on 3rd-and-25 to force an intentional grounding call that pinned Illinois deep in their own territory and set Maryland up with favorable field position ahead of the game-winning kick. The depth concerns also led to several true freshmen being called on as Darrell Jackson, Taizse Johnson, and Tommy Akingbesote were all spotted on Saturday. To me, Rose was the undoubted MVP of the unit with defensive end Sam Okuayinonu finishing second after picking where he left off to seal the edge and finish with six tackles and a pair of sacks. Missed tackles at the line of scrimmage did flash out of the unit, but the improved size in the trenches help limit Illinois to just over three yards per carry in the win.
Linebackers: B
Talk about a game from Durell Nchami, who finished with two sacks, three tackles and a QB hurry after becoming a consistent force off the edge. Maryland also flashed Deshawn Holt and Demioun Robinson off the edge, while Ahmad McCullough saw the field plenty for the first time this season alongside Branden Jennings. The missed tackles in space are glaring out of the unit and something we haven’t seen to this extent arguably since 2019, but the unit did well filling the holes in run defense. Hyppolite did well to break through the trenches smartly and quickly on Friday night as he continues to develop into an NFL-caliber linebacker, but the missed tackles don’t sit well with teams like Iowa quickly approaching. The Terps also struggled at times to contain the middle of the second level, allowing Peters reads to build momentum through the second half. Kent State QB Dustin Crum has the arm strength and vision to make Maryland’s defense pay next weekend if the Terps don’t fix the correctable mistakes.
Secondary: C+
Tackling. It was a borderline atrocious showing at times out of the secondary on Friday and the Illinois scoop-and-score to take the lead on the second play from scrimmage in the fourth quarter highlighted why the missed tackles prove so critical. Already without Deonte Banks, cornerback Lavonte Gater was ejected in the first quarter for targeting as Maryland battled with depth for the first time this season. That’s what led true freshman Corey Coley to see his first amount of significant playing time, where he had some good plays but was also called for a defensive PI on a key third down to extend Illinois’ drive. Maryland also rotated their safties on Friday as both Beau Brade and Dante Trader lined up alongside Nick Cross, a pair of underclassmen who compliment each other with range and power. Maryland did only allow three completions over 20 yards as they did do well to minimize the big plays through the air, largely forcing Peters to remain efficient inside the pocket, but Maryland also struggled with the little things like turning heads with the ball in the air. But if I’m highlighting the bad, then I also have to point out the standout play that Tarheeb Still made downfield to break up a potential big play thanks to his defensive awareness to get his hands up despite not turning his head back. Still recovered well and in turn preserved Maryland’s chances. And Nick Cross once again proved why he’s playing faster and smarter than he did the first two years, diagnosing the play well and using his track speed to come downhill and lay the hammer while also staying patient along the backline to come down with his second interception in three games.
Special teams: C
After more muffed punts, it might be time for the staff to reevaluate who the returners are for the remainder of the season. Tarheeb Still accounted for -7 yards on a pair of punt returns, the result of a muffed punt that pinned Maryland back at their own two yard line. The inability to field punts has eliminated Maryland’s chances for capitalizing in the third phase of the game, prompting a change to someone like Marcus Fleming or Dino Tomlin back for punts. One could also make the argument that Maryland needs to lock in on just one starting punter after both Anthony Pecorella and Colton Spangler split duties for the third consecutive game.
Joseph Petrino also split a pair of field goal attempts in the second quarter, both from 32 yards out, before drilling the game-winning 32 yard field goal. Petrino revealed the game-winning kick marked the first game-winner of his career to help the Terps come out on top, but a lot of room for special teams coordinator Ron Zook to grow. One ray of sunshine in the third phase of the game was the field goal defense as they tallied their first block kick of the season, also preserving an early 0-0 tie.
Coaching: C-
The calls from Brian Stewart and Brian Williams helped make the needed second-half adjustments as the defense did allow Illinois to just 158 yards of second-half total offense. Offensively, I can’t say the same. Maryland abandoned the run at times and placed an emphasis on establishing a passing attack instead of forcing Illinois’ defense to play a bit more honestly. And while it worked, Maryland left a timeout on the table in the final minute and squandered arguably two plays in an attempt to make Petrino’s field goal closer than 32 yards out. I think that during this weekend’s film review, head coach Mike Locksley and offensive coordinator Dan Enos will see several missed opportunities to attack the Illini front seven, especially through the opening thirty minutes.
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