Indiana travels on the road to take on an unranked Maryland Terrapins squad.
The Hoosiers are looking for their first win against a Big Ten team and a win to end the current three-game losing streak.
TheHoosier.com staff give their picks for this weekend's game against Maryland.
Jim Coyle
Sitting at 2-5 and with three of their next five games on the road, every game has to be treated as a must-win game in order for Indiana to reach bowl eligibility. Maryland is 4-3 and only needs 2 more wins for bowl eligibility, but three of the Terp's final 5 games are vs ranked teams of the B1G East.
Maryland's quarterback situation is set with Taulia Tagovailoa, but their top receiver went down with an ACL tear. Neither team is currently an offensive juggernaut. Indiana will most likely play walk-on Grant Gremel and Donovan McCulley at QB? Indiana's offensive line should be able to provide better protection than they have most of the season as well as open some holes for Stephen Carr. The Hoosiers have to score some points. Although they are banged up, Indiana is much better defensively. The Terrapins do not have much of a running game and will try the Hoosiers patched up secondary. I think Indiana will find a way to put pressure on Tagovailoa and force some turnovers and maybe a score. Grant Gremel relishes in the moment, the offense does enough to win this game.
Prediction: Indiana 23, Maryland 17
Alec Lasley
Indiana will likely turn to true freshman quarterback Donaven McCulley this weekend. The biggest question is will he be fully prepared. We heard head coach Tom Allen and OC Nick Sheridan talk about specific packages that they had worked McCulley in on but not a full playbook. Now, that is needed. IU needs to be able to put some pressure on opposing defenses and the only way for that to happen is have a full playbook open -- or at least one that will create some opportunities for an athletic QB in McCulley. I think the defense plays with a chip on their shoulder after last week's poor outing and gets a few turnovers to give the offense a short field. At the end of the day, it's going to come down to if IU can turn a FG into a touchdown.
Prediction: Indiana 17, Maryland 14
Matt Byrne
With Donaven McCulley being the likely starter for Indiana, I don't expect that he's had enough time to prepare to improve an offense that's been struggling. Still, his running ability will be able to move the chains, leading to two scoring drives.
IU's defense has played well, not considering last week's matchup against No. 5 Ohio State. Taulia Tagovailoa has struggled with interceptions in the past but hasn't thrown one against an unranked conference opponent thus far. Plus, with members on IU's defense still questionable if they will play or not, it raises concerns for the effectiveness of the defense.
Overall, I'd say a low-scoring game, but Maryland wins in a one-possession game.
Prediction: Maryland 21, Indiana 14
Keegan Nickoson
I think both teams, coming off a rough stretch of games are going to play very well. Tagovailoa will bounce back and play a clean game of football unlike what we’ve seen as of late. Both teams are suffering with injuries, so I think it comes down to maturity at the end of the day, and the Terps having that under center is going to give them the edge.
Prediction: Maryland 24, Indiana 13
Trevor Gersmehl
It may seem foreign to Indiana fans - you may even have scrubbed your glasses once or twice to make sure you were seeing correctly - but there is not a number to the left of IU’s opponent this week. Maryland is the only power-five foe the Hoosiers have faced thus far who is not ranked, so does that mean a “get right” game is queued up for them? The defense will come to play, but with true freshman Donaven McCulley likely starting at quarterback for a lifeless offense, I just don’t have the confidence IU will put up enough points to win.
Prediction: Maryland 17, Indiana 14
John Alden
Indiana desperately needs to find a way to win this week to keep their bowl hopes alive. Assuming McCulley is the starter on Saturday, it's a lot to ask your true freshman quarterback to step in and be a difference maker, especially with a suspect offensive line. Indiana definitely has the defense to keep them in this game, but I'm not sure the offense can do enough right now to give the Hoosiers the victory.
Prediction: Maryland 21, Indiana 19
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