Maryland was 3-1 to begin the season and the Terrapins were thinking they could be players in the Big Ten.
But then Indiana scored 42 points on them and the defense and the team as a whole haven’t completely recovered. As with typical .500 teams, one could say the defense is consistently inconsistent.
The Terrapins have had trouble keeping the opponent out of the end zone for the past month and the offense hasn’t been able to keep up. The Ducks are thinking that trend is going to continue on Saturday.
On the other hand, Maryland will have had two weeks to correct those problems as it enjoyed a much-needed bye week before making the cross-country flight to the west coast.
In their last outing, the Terps played an average Minnesota team and it turned ugly as the Golden Gophers defeated them 48-23.
Maryland’s defensive questions are difficult to grasp because the Terps have some very good players on the field. But for some reason, it’s just coming together as a unit.
The linebackers lead this defense, beginning with Ruben Hyppolite II. He’s an all-conference performer from a year ago and he leads the Terrapins with 39 tackles, 4.5 for loss and an interception.
Hyppolite’s fellow linebacker, Caleb Wheatland, leads the teams with six tackles for loss among his 31 total tackles and he has three sacks.
Opponents tend to attack the Maryland secondary as often as they can. In their last game with Minnesota, the Terps allowed 320 yards through the air and Gophers quarterback Max Brosmer tossed for a quartet of touchdowns.
As a team, the Terrapin defense allows 276 yards in the air and another 105 on the ground. If Maryland wants to be in the game with the No. 1 Ducks, those numbers will have to improve or Oregon will have a relatively easy time of hit and Dillon Gabriel will just add on to his Heisman candidacy.
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