Nebraska’s top-three run defense meets Maryland’s anemic attack

Maryland heads to the Big Ten’s westernmost outpost (for now) seeking to get back to winning against Nebraska and to another bowl. Here’s this week’s Terps Top Three notebook for a rare matchup with the Cornhuskers (noon, Peacock).

On the rise: It’s only the third time in Maryland’s decade-long association with the Big Ten that it’ll play Nebraska, tied with Illinois (whom Maryland lost to Oct. 14) for the fewest among conference opponents. Before the season, this would have been projected as a Maryland win (and oddsmakers still think it is).

Nebraska, though, had a midseason turnaround under first-year coach Matt Rhule. After opening and losing to two Power Five programs in conference foe Minnesota and rival Colorado, the Huskers won five of their next six games and are still in contention for a division title in a wacky Big Ten West. 

The matchup to watch will be Maryland’s running backs against Nebraska’s defensive line. The Huskers boast the conference’s second-best and nation’s third-best rushing defense, holding opponents to 77.2 yards per game. 

Only one team — No. 2 Michigan — has rushed for more than 100 yards on Nebraska. Conversely, Maryland “rushed” for -49 yards against No. 9 Penn State, and only -6 among its running backs. 

Bigger up front: There’s been a bit of a shift recently in personnel and approach along Maryland’s defensive line.  

For their first seven games, the Terrapins started a more speed-focused front, with Quashon Fuller, Jordan Phillips and Tommy Akingbesote manning the front. But in the last two contests, defensive coordinator Brian Williams has changed strategies, starting the bigger group of Taizse Johnson, Tre Colbert, and Issac Bunyun on the line as well as using them in early-down scenarios.

“Brian Williams does a really good job of creating competition in his room with the D-line, and across the board, we were really deep at the D-tackle the interior D-line positions,” Maryland coach Mike Locksley said.

The Johnson-Colbert-Bunyun trio adds an additional 49 pounds of strength at the line of scrimmage, something key in a league that boasts some of the best offensive linemen in America. Locksley, though, wouldn’t say that it was specifically due to a change in scheme.

“A lot of it is based on how they performed,” he said. “The guys that did the best job of showing the discipline of manning their gaps … coach Williams has done a really good job that if you’re doing the job at a high level, you’re going to be the guy that’s out on the field, and so I think it’s a byproduct of production.”

Winnowing projections: Five Big Ten teams have already secured a bowl bid this season. Maryland is not one of them.

The Terrapins’ options have significantly shrunk while mired in their losing streak, with higher-profile options like the Citrus Bowl and Music City Bowl now highly unlikely. Maryland is one of four conference teams and 17 nationally that needs a win to reach the magic number of six, including the Huskers.

The best of the matchups is courtesy of CBS Sports, which has the Terrapins renewing their rivalry with West Virginia in Phoenix’s Guaranteed Rate Bowl, but many are discounting Maryland’s chances moving forward.

Both The Athletic and 247Sports have dropped Maryland to the Birmingham Bowl, where it would be an at-large selection, while Athlon Sports has removed the Terrapins from its bowl picture altogether. The Big Ten’s “lowest” bowl tie-in is the Quick Lane Bowl, which is where Fox Sports currently places the Terrapins.

One thing to keep an eye on: With only 50 teams currently eligible for the 82 available bowl spots, many prognosticators anticipate that a 5-7 team could be chosen. A selection of that kind would come after James Madison and Jacksonville State, both with more than enough wins but currently ineligible due to NCAA rules requiring a waiting period for their transition from FCS to FBS.