The Terps (5-2) are coming off of a bye week and looking to get back in the win column Saturday when they take on Northwestern (3-4).

The Terps were without five starters in their loss to Illinois, but all are back healthy and participating this week according to head coach Mike Locksley.

Northwestern is coming off of a 17-9 loss at Nebraska following their bye week.

TSR went in depth with WildcatReport.com publisher Louie Vaccher to get some perspective on the Wildcats and his thoughts on Saturday's matchup between Maryland and Northwestern.

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How would you rate the job interim head coach David Braun has done so far this season? How does he compare to Pat Fitzgerald?

I think Braun has done an exceptional job and has exceeded just about everyone’s expectations this season. Think about what he inherited. Fitzgerald, the face of the program and probably the most beloved Wildcat of all-time, was fired. Hazing lawsuits are swirling around the program. His bosses – AD Derrick Gragg and president Michael Schill – are both also under fire. The team was coming off of a 1-11 season and had won just four of 24 games over the last two seasons. Braun, who never coached at the FBS level before, had only arrived in Evanston in January.

So, to have the Wildcats at 3-4 and still in the hunt for a potential bowl bid is impressive. More than that, he has been able to keep the team focused, and if you watch the Wildcats, there’s no question that they play hard for 60 minutes, regardless of the score.

There are a lot of similarities between Fitzgerald and Braun – who, ironically, lived with Fitzgerald’s family for a couple months before he and his family were able to find a home in the Chicagoland area. They are both players coaches, and players love playing for them. They are both defensive guys, and Braun still calls the plays as the Wildcats’ defensive coordinator. They are both also family men.

There are differences, too, of course, mostly in terms of personality. Fitzgerald is a funny and engaging guy who was a great spokesperson for the program and consistently produced some classic sound bites. Braun is much more quite and reserved and gives us the media mostly coach-speak. (Who can blame him?)

Who do you expect to start at QB for the Wildcats on Saturday? Why have they struggled so much on the offensive side of the ball?

I expect Brendan Sullivan, who has started the last two weeks, to trot out with the first team offense on Saturday. Ben Bryant, who started the first five games, has an “upper body injury,” believed to be a shoulder. While Braun didn’t come out and say Bryant was out, but his words hinted that the grad transfer isn’t ready to play quite yet.

"We're very confident that Ben will be back at some point this season," Braun said. "It's just kind of a fickle thing he's working through and we're hopeful that he's healthy sooner than later."

Bryant can be a difference-maker. Against Minnesota, he threw for 144 yards in the fourth quarter and overtime to lead the Wildcats back from a 21-point fourth-quarter deficit and beat the Gophers in overtime. So, having a backup QB run the offense has certainly hampered production. Sullivan is making the seventh start of his career – his first one was against Maryland last season – but he’s been inconsistent.

All that said, the biggest issue has been the offensive line. The Wildcats don’t get much of a push up front and the running game ranks last in the Big Ten and 120th in the nation at just 99.9 yards per game. They don’t protect the quarterback well, either. Northwestern has allowed 30 sacks this season, second-most in the Big Ten. Last week, Nebraska registered eight sacks against them, even with the mobile Sullivan behind center.

Who are some playmakers on the offensive side of the ball that Maryland fans should know about?

Northwestern has its best starting wide receiver group in more than a decade. Cam Johnson, a grad transfer from Vanderbilt and Arizona State, leads the Wildcats with 29 catches. He’s a big, physical possession receiver. Bryce Kirtz has some speed and leads the team with 423 receiver yards and three TDs. He had a monster 10-catch, 215-yard effort against Minnesota, the best for a Wildcat receiver since 1980. Finally, they have a burner in Michigan grad transfer AJ Henning, who can stretch the field on a defense, and that’s something we don’t see very often in Evanston.

How has the defense adjusted with defensive coordinator David Braun now also serving as head coach? What are the strengths of this Wildcat defense?

Northwestern’s defense has been much better and more fundamentally sound than they were the previous two seasons under former DC Jim O’Neil. The Cats are allowing an average of 345.7 yards per game this season, an improvement 62.7 yards per game over the first seven games of last season (408.4). They are playing more of the bend-but-don’t break system that longtime DC Mike Hankwitz employed with great success during his 13-year run in Evanston that ended in 2020. They haven’t given up a lot of big plays, so they will make you earn it when you score on them.

The Wildcats have had some issues stopping the run, but they’ve been strong against the pass, allowing an average of 174.7 passing yards per game, fifth-best in the Big Ten the fewest over the first seven games of a season since 2015 (146.7).

Who are some names to know on the defensive side of the ball for Northwestern?

Linebackers Bryce Gallagher and Xander Mueller are experienced playmakers who both rank in the Top 10 in the Big Ten in tackles. Mueller, who they like to send on blitzes, also leads the team with 3.5 sacks.

Northwestern also has some playmakers at safety. Coco Azema, Devin Turner and Rod Heard II (the nickelback) are all active defenders who can make plays against both the pass and run. Turner and Heard both picked off first-quarter passes against Nebraska last week.

What needs to happen for Northwestern to pull the upset Saturday?

What most concerns me about Maryland is that they can score, and the Wildcats really can’t. Northwestern’s offense is struggling right now, posting just seven points in the second half against FCS Howard and failing to score a touchdown last week against the Huskers, despite having first downs at the Nebraska 9- and 13-yard lines.

So to win, Northwestern is going to have to muck the game up. They haven’t had much success running the ball this season, but they’ll try to establish it to eat some clock and take some steam out of the Terps’ pass rush. Defensively, I think they’ll have success taking away the run and making Maryland one-dimensional. Northwestern doesn’t have much of a pass rush, so I think you’ll see them dropping seven or eight into coverage more often than they’ll blitz.

But the biggest key for Northwestern to pull off a surprise will be turnovers. If Maryland coughs the ball up a couple times and NU can get some short fields to work with on offense, the Wildcats may be able to keep it close. Then, a big play or two could decide the outcome.

Finally, how do you see the game unfolding, and what is your prediction for a final score?

Northwestern’s defense and special teams played well enough to beat Nebraska last week, but the offense just couldn’t get into any kind of a rhythm and it cost them the game. I think the same thing will probably happen on Saturday. The Wildcats may keep it closer than expected, but in the end, I just don’t think they’ll be able to score enough to get the win.

I’ll call it Maryland 24, Northwestern 16.

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