25 Turtle Questions
After the 2010 season, following a 9-4 season, the Terps fired Ralph Friedgen as their Coach. Since then, Randy Edsall has been, to say the least, underwhelming. He is 20-30 in his four seasons and 7-6 the last two years. Maryland is not a great football school and that has been no exception recently.
Maryland beat Richmond 50-21 in their opener.
How many seniors and juniors on the two-deep?
28, which is a lot, but only 10 are returning starters.
Who are their statistical leaders?
William Likely leads the nation in all-purpose yards, combined kick returns, PR TDs (tied). He is also #6 in punt returns and #13 in KO returns.
Brandon Ross is #11 in rushing yards.
Quinton Jefferson is #8 in sacks.
What was their turnover ratio?
Last year they were even and -1 against Richmond.
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| Pre-game meal |
This is not one of the team's strong points. Last year's starter, CJ Brown, graduated. Perry Hills beat out the most experienced Caleb Rowe for the starter job. Hills threw only 10 passes last year. He was 12 of 21 against Richmond for only 138 yards. He had 2 TD over 1 INT. At least against Richmond, passing was not the feature of the offense. He ran 3 times for 25 yards.
What was their scoring and yards per play?
Last year they averaged 28.5 points per game last year, which is not great. Neither is 5.3 yards per play.
Can they run the ball?
QB CJ Brown was also their leader rusher. Brandon Ross was very productive last year at 4.9 yards per carry and had 150 yards on 18 carries last year. Having said that, MD only averaged 3.7 yards per rush last year and they are not expected to have a strong line, though this is still a Big 10 team.
Did they pass the ball?
As noted above, this is highly uncertain. Their QB is pretty untested, though he was highly ranked out of HS. They were a middle of the pack pass offense last year and didn't have good numbers against Richmond.
How was their run/pass balance?
Edsall is known to be pretty old school. They ran 67% of the time against Richmond
Did they convert on 3rd Down?
Last year they were very poor at 32.6%. They were considerably better against Richmond, at 7 of 12, but it remains to be seen how this will go against FBS compeititon.
Did they score in the red zone?
Very effective. They led the Big 10 in red zone offense last year, which was how they got as productive as they did. Despite scoring 51 last week, they had 2 TDs and 3 FGs in 6 attempts, which is not great.
Did they protect the quarterback?
Last year they were 12 in the Big 10 in sacks allowed, though they did not give up any to Richmond.
Defense:
Topline: Scoring and yards per play.
They were only average defensively, allowing 30 PPG and 5.5 yards per play, neither of which is great. Note, though, that they have 9 players back from last year. Nonetheless, Steele ranks them as having one of the worst defensive units in the Big 10.
Did they defend the run effectively?
Last year, they gave up 4.5 yards per carry, which is actually not to bad. Richmond only picked up 3.4 yards per carry.
Could they be passed on?
They were 9th in the Big 10 in pass defense last year. However, they gave up 225 yards passing to Richmond on 12.5 yards per catch. Steele has them with the 8th best DB in the Big 10.
Did they get off the field on 3rd down?
They allowed 40% which is OK but not great. Richmond went 1-10.
Did they defend in the red zone?
They were in the middle of the pack in red zone defense last year and allowed Richmond to score a TD on all 3 red zone trips.
Did they pressure the QB?
This appears to be a strength. They were #39 in the nation last year and had 4 sacks against the Spiders.
Special Teams:
Punting?
Their punter is new. He punted only once last week for 43 yards.
Punt Return?
William Likely is just ridiculous. He had 8 returns for 233 yards and 1 TD against Richmond. That would be a big game for a WR. BG is going to have to do something to figure this out. They either need to tackle better or kick the ball so there can't be much chance of a return. If Likely gets loose like Sutton did in Nashville, it will be much harder for BG to win.
Placekicking?
Craddock is very good. He led the nation with 95% made last year and was 3-4 against Richmond. He is probably the best kicker in the Big 10.
Kickoff?
Craddock is good at this, too. He had 8 TBs in 10 kickoffs against Richmond.
Kickoff Return?
Likely is good at this too. In the opener, he had 2 returns for 63 yards.
Miscellaneous: Overall atmospherics and intangibles.
This is a winnable game for BG. The Terps are picked to be last in the Big 10 East. They are not standouts on offense or defense and do not appear to have an all-star QB. Add in the usual MAC motivation to beat the Big 10, and you have some stuff going BG's way.
The risks are on kick returns and defense. BG played better than expected on defense against Tennessee and with an improved performance against Md could hold the Terps in the 30s, which I believe would be winnable territory for BG. The Falcons are relatively healthy, and I think they have a real shot to win this game.
Former BG player and assistant coach Greg Studrawa is the o-line coach at Maryland.
Last year they averaged 28.5 points per game last year, which is not great. Neither is 5.3 yards per play.
Can they run the ball?
QB CJ Brown was also their leader rusher. Brandon Ross was very productive last year at 4.9 yards per carry and had 150 yards on 18 carries last year. Having said that, MD only averaged 3.7 yards per rush last year and they are not expected to have a strong line, though this is still a Big 10 team.
Did they pass the ball?
As noted above, this is highly uncertain. Their QB is pretty untested, though he was highly ranked out of HS. They were a middle of the pack pass offense last year and didn't have good numbers against Richmond.
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| Post-game meal |
Edsall is known to be pretty old school. They ran 67% of the time against Richmond
Did they convert on 3rd Down?
Last year they were very poor at 32.6%. They were considerably better against Richmond, at 7 of 12, but it remains to be seen how this will go against FBS compeititon.
Did they score in the red zone?
Very effective. They led the Big 10 in red zone offense last year, which was how they got as productive as they did. Despite scoring 51 last week, they had 2 TDs and 3 FGs in 6 attempts, which is not great.
Last year they were 12 in the Big 10 in sacks allowed, though they did not give up any to Richmond.
Defense:
Topline: Scoring and yards per play.
They were only average defensively, allowing 30 PPG and 5.5 yards per play, neither of which is great. Note, though, that they have 9 players back from last year. Nonetheless, Steele ranks them as having one of the worst defensive units in the Big 10.
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| When they say Hell Week at Maryland, they mean it. |
Did they defend the run effectively?
Last year, they gave up 4.5 yards per carry, which is actually not to bad. Richmond only picked up 3.4 yards per carry.
Could they be passed on?
They were 9th in the Big 10 in pass defense last year. However, they gave up 225 yards passing to Richmond on 12.5 yards per catch. Steele has them with the 8th best DB in the Big 10.
Did they get off the field on 3rd down?
Did they defend in the red zone?
They were in the middle of the pack in red zone defense last year and allowed Richmond to score a TD on all 3 red zone trips.
Did they pressure the QB?
This appears to be a strength. They were #39 in the nation last year and had 4 sacks against the Spiders.
Special Teams:
Punting?
Their punter is new. He punted only once last week for 43 yards.
William Likely is just ridiculous. He had 8 returns for 233 yards and 1 TD against Richmond. That would be a big game for a WR. BG is going to have to do something to figure this out. They either need to tackle better or kick the ball so there can't be much chance of a return. If Likely gets loose like Sutton did in Nashville, it will be much harder for BG to win.
Placekicking?
Craddock is very good. He led the nation with 95% made last year and was 3-4 against Richmond. He is probably the best kicker in the Big 10.
Kickoff?
Craddock is good at this, too. He had 8 TBs in 10 kickoffs against Richmond.
Kickoff Return?
Likely is good at this too. In the opener, he had 2 returns for 63 yards.
This is a winnable game for BG. The Terps are picked to be last in the Big 10 East. They are not standouts on offense or defense and do not appear to have an all-star QB. Add in the usual MAC motivation to beat the Big 10, and you have some stuff going BG's way.
The risks are on kick returns and defense. BG played better than expected on defense against Tennessee and with an improved performance against Md could hold the Terps in the 30s, which I believe would be winnable territory for BG. The Falcons are relatively healthy, and I think they have a real shot to win this game.Former BG player and assistant coach Greg Studrawa is the o-line coach at Maryland.
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