The Indiana Hoosiers travel to College Park, Maryland, for the start of an important next month of football. The team takes on the Maryland Terrapins in a game that will have large implications for the rest of Indiana's season.
Setting the Scene
Indiana jumped out of its bye week and earned a 35-0 victory over Rutgers last Saturday. Now begins an important stretch of winnable games for the Hoosiers, and Indiana head coach Tom Allen will have to steer his team to victory.
The program has been on the negative end of countless, hard-fought defeats over the past few seasons, and the team has shown it can compete against some of the better competition in the conference. For Indiana to turn the table, wins against teams like Maryland are necessities.
The Terrapins opened up the season with two dominant victories and propelled into the AP Top-25 before losing three of its last four. Maryland was crushed by Purdue last week in a 40-14 loss that featured the Boilermakers' backup quarterback tossing for 420 yards.
Should Indiana lose this game, the certainty in games against Nebraska and Northwestern in the coming weeks become shaky, especially with Michigan and Penn State looming on the schedule down the stretch.
Positional matchup to watch
Indiana linebackers vs. Maryland running backs
Maryland's biggest strength has been its rushing attack, averaging nearly 213 yards per game. However, the team's starting running back — sophomore Anthony McFarland — has been recovering from a high ankle sprain and his availability for this matchup is questionable. In his place, junior Javon Leake will carry the workload as the team's leading rusher. Leake currently averages 9.5 yards per carry and has scored five touchdowns for the Terrapins on the season.
Indiana will have to counter Maryland's strong rushing attack with proper run fits from linebackers Reakwon Jones, Micah McFadden and Cam Jones, as well as hone in on quarterback Tyrell Pigrome and his ability to run. Pigrome scored on a 61-yard rushing touchdown against Purdue a week ago.
The trio of linebackers have combined for 73 tackles this season, and are the top three tacklers on Indiana's entire defense.
X-factor for Indiana
Whop Philyor
Junior wide receiver Whop Philyor has been easily the most productive player for Indiana over the past two weeks. He's accounted for 24 catches, 324 yards and two touchdowns in that span alone, and the Terrapins' have shown to have a pitiful passing defense this season. We've outlined their struggles in another article here.
This season, Philyor has been a completely different player with quarterback Michael Penix Jr. in the lineup. With the redshirt freshman under center, Philyor has averaged 8.5 receptions and 116.3 yards per game. He's gotten it done on short screens, pitch-and-catch completions over the middle and deep down the field. He's a do-it-all type of player for the Hoosiers' offense.
Despite sophomore running back Stevie Scott coming off of his first 100-yard performance of the season, I suspect offensive coordinator Kalen DeBoer to go back to the short passing attack in order to open up his receivers down the field. Execution and big plays will make or break the offense this week.
Players to watch for Maryland
Javon Leake
As mentioned above, Leake is Maryland's leading rusher on the season but has only carried the ball 36 times this season. It's his astounding 9.5 rushing yards per carry will need to be mitigated in order for the team to succeed.
Leake hasn't received more than eight carries in a single game this season, but that could increase against the Hoosiers on Saturday. The Terrapins' running back has also transitioned into a solid special teams contributor on kick off returns. Against Rutgers, Leake returned a kick 100 yards for a score and is averaging more than 28 yards per return.
Ayinde Eley
On the defensive side of the ball, sophomore linebacker Ayinde Eley has been all over the football field and leads the Terrapins in tackles this season. He has contributed 46 total tackles on defense — including four tackles for loss — and has also come away with an interception this season.
Eley has been a player that has done his best to hold his own in coverage. While the linebackers as a group have allowed opponents to find success in the passing game, Eley has found himself as one of five Maryland players to record an interception and is also second on the team with two pass breakups, second in quarterback hits and has recovered one fumble.
Prediction
Indiana trots into Maryland as 5.5 point favorites in this contest. If the Hoosiers can protect the football and stop the Terrapins' rushing attack, the team may overshoot the one-score projection. However, this game is still a Big Ten matchup, and Maryland will look got get back on the right track after being embarrassed by Purdue. It could spell trouble if the Terrapins start clicking on offense and the Hoosier defense fails to put it to a halt.
Score: Indiana 33, Maryland 17
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