Two-game skid has Maryland reaching bye week at a crossroads

Maryland has reached its bye week at a crossroads: Will this team look like the one it did in September, winners of five straight or the one that has shown up 0-2 so far in October with a letdown on homecoming? That and some statistical comparisons from this year to last highlight this week’s Terps Top Three notebook.

Lingering loss?: It’s hard to put a lot of meaning and significance into one loss. Illinois, though, entered SECU Stadium last week with the Big Ten’s worst record and had yet to beat a Power 5 team in 2023 before upsetting the Terrapins.

Maryland coach Mike Locksley had said that the Terrapins’ loss two weeks earlier at Ohio State sat with him for longer than it usually would. Unfortunately for him, it looked like that sentiment carried over to his team with an uninspiring performance in a game they were favored to win by two touchdowns.

Now, a group that was poised to reach nine wins and a New Year’s-level bowl game is on a two-game skid entering the toughest part of its schedule. 

Only two home games remain, both in November and against top 10 teams: No. 7 Penn State and No. 2 Michigan. The other three are on the road. And while the Terrapins are likely to be favored in all of them, there’s some trepidation to be avoided.

Nebraska has averaged only 12.75 points per game against Power 5 schools, but the 90,000-plus fans that fill up Memorial Stadium win or lose make it the second-most difficult environment Maryland will face behind Ohio Stadium.

Rutgers, meanwhile, is putting together a quiet bowl campaign. Currently boasting an identical 5-2 mark, the Scarlet Knights would love nothing more than to spoil the aspirations of their “protected rival,” especially after being shut out in College Park last season.

What team will emerge when Maryland resumes its season next week at Northwestern? A dominant performance over a conference also-ran will do a lot to restore outside faith in Maryland’s lofty internal expectations.

Taulia time: Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa will leave College Park as the greatest passer in school history. And under new offensive coordinator Josh Gattis this season, his numbers are on pace to be better than those in his last year with former OC Dan Enos.

Through seven games this season, Tagovailoa has thrown for 1,926 yards passing, 16 touchdowns and five interceptions. Extrapolate those numbers out, and they put the senior on pace to reach 3,301 yards, 27 scores and eight picks.

In 2022 with Enos, the then-junior finished with 3,008 yards, 18 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Tagovailoa’s completion percentage is a touch lower than it was in his previous two full seasons — 63.9% compared to 67% and 69.2% in 2022 and 2021, respectively — but his passer rating is up so far this year (146.0) as opposed to last (142.7).

On the whole, Tagovailoa has looked steadier in the pocket than in previous seasons, and has been less prone to indecisiveness. He still will try to force the issue in spots, which led to two crucial interceptions against the Buckeyes.

Ground to a halt: Lack of balance on offense has been a surprise cause for concern this season after running back Roman Hemby’s breakout freshman season in 2022. 

While Maryland’s passing offense is the second-best in the Big Ten (281.4 yards per game), the rushing attack is languishing in the middle of the conference at seventh (140.8 yards per game). The Terrapins failed to reach the 100-yard rushing mark against the Illini, the first time that happened this season.

After coming up with 989 yards and 10 rushing scores last season, Hemby is running under that production rate in 2022 with just 414 yards and 4 touchdowns on the ground in seven games. His backfield mates Antwain Littleton and Colby McDonald have also struggled to run with each under 300 total yards. Reserve back Ramon Brown hasn’t played yet this season due to injury.

Dig deeper, and the team totals become less impressive. In their first two games against FCS school Towson and non-Power 5 foe Charlotte, the Terrapins tallied 409 yards rushing and 5 touchdowns. That’s nearly half of their season rushing total of 986 yards. And after a four-rushing-touchdown performance against Virginia, Maryland hasn’t rushed for more than one in a game since.