Maryland football hits the road for the first time this season when it opens up Big Ten play in East Lansing against Michigan State on Sept. 23.
The Spartans have experienced lots of upheaval the past two weeks. Prior to the football team’s game against Washington on Sept. 16, Michigan State suspended head coach Mel Tucker amid an investigation into sexual harassment allegations involving Tucker. Earlier this week, the school announced that it intends to fire Tucker. Harlon Barnett took over as the acting head coach.
The Spartans were defeated, 41-7, by Washington in their first game without Tucker, but Maryland expects to see a totally different Michigan State team.
“I told our team what we saw on tape a week ago will not be the team we face on Saturday,” Terps head coach Michael Locksley said. “… I expect they will do a tremendous job of coming together and they take on that us-against-the-world mentality.”
For the past several weeks, Maryland has emphasized that it wants to start games fast. The Terps have not done that the past two weeks, falling behind 14-0 in the first quarter to Charlotte and Virginia.
One way the team addressed the slow starts is by bringing back “good-on-good” practice time rather than leaning on a developmental team with players who may not finish their blocks or runs during practice, according to Locksley. A normal week of preparation allowed for that.
“We’ll get the speed of what it looks like or should look like,” Locksley said. “… I’m hoping getting back to the speed of it in practice allows us to not have that adjustment [early in the first quarter].”
The starters find the good-on-good drills to be a beneficial part of practice.
“I think it’s more so for the other positions because they’re hitting, they’re getting contact,” quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa said. “I love going good on good. I feel like our defense is the best defense in the Big Ten and they always give us good looks and it’s full-speed reps.”
Even with the slow starts, the Terps have had one of the most productive offenses in the Big Ten. Tagovailoa leads the conference in passing yards, averaging nearly 300 yards a game. Maryland has also excelled at converting on third down, successfully moving the chains on 53.7 percent of its attempts, tops in the conference.
The Spartans are typically known for having a good defense, and this year is no exception. Michigan State leads all FBS schools in third-down defense. Against the Spartans, offenses have only converted 7 of 38 third-down attempts.
Michigan State has also played tough in the red zone, only allowing six touchdowns on 12 red-zone possessions, and has already recorded 10 sacks on the season.
“We know that the Spartan defense will come out and play hard,” running back Colby McDonald said. “They’re going to know their keys. They’re going to try and blitz us. We know we got to be prepared all the time like we’re playing a Big Ten championship game.”
Maryland has struggled against Michigan State in the past, compiling an all-time 3-10 record. The Terps did pick up a 27-13 win last season, though. Maryland’s last win in East Lansing came in 1950.
The Spartans are also known for a raucous crowd and student section that is stationed right behind the opponents’ bench.
“They’ve got some comedians in their student section,” Locksley said. “If you get caught up dealing with them it affects what is going on on the field.”
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