The Maryland football team (4-2, 1-2 Big Ten) faces Indiana (3-3, 1-2) on Oct. 15 as both teams look to bounce back from a loss.
Maryland dropped a 31-29 decision to Purdue in its previous game, with the deciding play being a failed two-point conversion by the Terps. Indiana is coming off a 30-10 loss against Michigan, marking its third straight loss.
Maryland will look to defeat Indiana for a second consecutive year and for the first time in Bloomington, Ind., since 2014. The Hoosiers are 7-3 all time against the Terps.
Here are three things to look for in the Big Ten matchup at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN2:
1. Can Maryland’s offense top 80 plays?
Terps head coach Michael Locksley has mentioned in the past that he would like to run at least 80 plays a game, but Maryland has yet to do so this season. The Terps average 66 plays per game. The most they ran this season was 76 against Michigan State.
Maryland is 36-for-81 (44.4 percent) on third-down conversions, seventh in the conference. However, they are 8-for-11 (72.7 percent) on fourth-down conversions, third in the Big Ten.
Locksley believes while converting third downs can help, the lack of plays can also be attributed to play calls and personnel groupings.
“Because of our personnel usage with two tight ends and a lot of shifts and motions, that also has played a role in the drop off in the number of plays we’re getting off,” Locksley said. “As you start your shifts and motions to gain leverage it slows down the amount of time it takes to get the ball snapped.
“If we were to be stationary and line up in a couple of different formations and get it snapped faster that’s how you can add plays. Playing well on third down extends drives, which gives you a chance to have more plays, and also how we game plan and call things can allow us to speed up our tempo.”
2. Can Maryland’s defense force turnovers … and capitalize?
The Terps have forced at least one turnover in three of their last four games.
“Turnovers are contagious. Once you start getting them it happens a lot,” Locksley said.
Maryland forced three consecutive turnovers against Purdue and none of the drives ended with points for the Terps. The drives ended with a failed fourth-down conversion, a punt and a missed 52-yard field goal by senior kicker Chad Ryland.
“The disappointing thing is that we didn’t take advantage of them with the offensive position that we had,” Locksley added. “We emphasize it during practice. We spend 10 minutes in each practice where we just work on the turnover circuit. … Hopefully, we can keep that going because turnovers and big plays are still the two key ingredients to winning.”
3. Can Maryland’s defense limit Cam Camper?
Indiana junior wideout Cam Camper is second in receptions per game (7.0) and third in yards per game (91.4) in the Big Ten. After holding Purdue wideout Charlie Jones to only 15 yards on three receptions, Maryland will look to duplicate that success in Bloomington.
“He’s a talented player and he has our full attention,” Locksley said. “The best thing you can do to disrupt the passing game is disrupt the quarterback and close down all the different zones. A week ago we used different coverages. Whether we dropped eight or played man I thought we did a good job of the combination of the two. I think we probably will need a little bit of both of those.”
Maryland will also have to deal with the up-tempo offense of the Hoosiers, who average 79.7 plays per game.
“They play a fast and up-tempo offense and try to get a lot of plays,” Locksley said. “They’re getting [close to] 80 plays a game and they had a couple of games where they had over 100. So for us, we have to do a good job on the defensive side of the ball of getting lined up, communicating, and having everyone on the same page as they try to play fast.”
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Indiana Athletics