TSR takes a look at five storylines to pay close attention to as the Terps travel to West Lafayette, Indiana, to take on Purdue Oct. 12.
Maryland will look to remain unbeaten in its all-time series against Purdue on Saturday, as the Terps gear up for their second straight Big Ten road game and hope to keep momentum rolling from a 48-7 win at Rutgers.
The Terps have been hit by their fair share of injuries this season — starting quarterback Josh Jackson being the latest with a high-ankle sprain — but they won’t get any sympathy from the Boilermakers, who have also lost their starting quarterback (Elijah Sindelar) and perhaps the most electric offensive player in the Big Ten, Rondale Moore.
Purdue will be a desperate team playing in its Homecoming game, but the Terps need a win just as bad in order to have a legitimate shot at the postseason this year.
Here are five things to watch when Maryland and Purdue take the field at Ross-Ade Stadium.
1. Battle of the Backup Quarterbacks
Both teams will feature backup quarterbacks in this contest, with the Terps having the edge with a more experienced and dynamic signal-caller in junior Tyrrell Pigrome. Pigrome played well at Rutgers after Jackson went down, and his coaches and teammates showed supreme confidence in him this week. The Terps maintain that their offense will not change much with Pigrome at the helm, but what will likely change is the way defenses play them. With defenders stacking the box to be prepared for Pigrome’s running ability, it should give Maryland some chances for some deep shots downfield. Pigrome’s deep ball has always been one of his strengths and he should be able to utilize it against the Boilermakers. On the other side, Purdue redshirt freshman Jack Plummer will make his second career start and hasn’t looked awful since filling in for Sindelar, but he hasn’t looked great either. He has some athleticism, but little arm strength. He’ll likely need to use all the mobility he has behind the Boilermakers’ shaky offensive line.
2. Purdue’s Porous O-line
Speaking of Purdue’s shaky offensive line, the Boilermakers allowed Penn State to rack up 10 sacks last weekend. That’s music to the ears of a Terps’ defense that currently ranks 19th in the FBS in sacks with 16 through the first five games. Maryland’s offensive line is having its own struggles, but Purdue’s has no continuity right now as the Boilermakers plan to trot out three new starting blockers on Saturday. This is an area where the game can be won or lost for Maryland. Dominating at the line of scrimmage can dictate the outcome of the game, and the Terps’ defensive front seven will have a chance to do just that in West Lafayette.
3. Containing Bell
With Moore still out as he recovers from a hamstring injury, Purdue’s best remaining offensive weapon is wide receiver David Bell. The true freshman led the Boilermakers against Penn State with 56 yards on three receptions, and he is the former No. 1 player in Indiana in the 2019 class. He is long, rangy, and could present matchup problems for any of Maryland’s defensive backs. Maryland primarily plays man coverage, so whoever is charged with covering Bell will have to win the one-on-one battle to take away the biggest threat on Purdue’s offense.
4. Terps’ Special Teams
Maryland’s special teams have quietly been one of the best in the Big Ten. In fact, the Terps are the only team in the conference to have both a kick return and punt return touchdown this season after running back Javon Leake took a kickoff 100 yards to the house last weekend against Rutgers. Maryland is one of only five FBS teams to accomplish that feat so far this season while leading the Big Ten in both kick return (29.4 ypr) and punt return (15.1 ypr) average.
5. Can Maryland Finish a Close Game?
All three of Maryland’s wins this season have come by more than 40 points. The Terps have one close loss and have been blown out once. So the question remains: Can this Maryland team win close games? It takes a certain mentality and focus to close out a close, back-and-forth game, and while the Terps came up short in that area against Temple, they could have another chance to prove they can be clutch this weekend against Purdue. The Boilermakers are struggling right now, but they’re certainly going to give their best effort and come out swinging in front of their Homecoming crowd. Betting on two consecutive blowout wins on the road might be a bit much for the Terps to ask for, so if it comes down to needing points or a stop late in the game, Maryland will have to prove that it is clutch enough to do so.
