Terps take down Sparty: The 3-2-1
The Terps got back on track Saturday night in College Park with a 28-17 win against Michigan State.
Maryland’s offensive attack was perhaps the most balanced it has been all season long, as quarterback Perry Hills stepped back in as the Terps’ starter under center, and running backs Ty Johnson and Lorenzo Harrison continued their impressive seasons with two big games out of the backfield.
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On defense, Maryland did bend at times but did not break much against the Spartans. Cornerback Alvin Hill recorded his second interception of the year to swing the momentum in the Terps’ direction during the first quarter, but run defense remained an issue for defensive coordinator Andy Buh’s bunch.
With Maryland set to travel to Indiana for its next conference game, here’s the latest installment of The 3-2-1.
More from TSR: LORENZO HARRISON NAMED BIG TEN FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK | MARYLAND HANDLES MICHIGAN STATE UNDER THE LIGHTS
Three things we learned
1 -- Perry Hills is the quarterback that gives the Terps the best chance to win
After missing the second half against Penn State and the entire Minnesota game, Hills came back to have his best performance of the season against Michigan State. Hills went 21-for-27 passing for 200 yards and two touchdowns against the Spartans, but where the fifth-year senior was most impressive was in crunch time when the Terps had to seal the victory. With Maryland’s offense getting the ball back in the fourth quarter up 21-17 with 8:32 left on the clock, Hills led the Terps’ offense on a 10-play, 82-yard drive that took just over five minutes and was capped off by a 9-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Levern Jacobs. Hills’ pocket presence and throwing accuracy have both improved drastically in College Park over the years and the Terps’ as a whole just seem to play harder when he is starting under center. The importance of Hills’ toughness and leadership to Maryland should not be overlooked. As long as the Terps’ offensive line can continue to protect Hills like it did against Michigan State, he is in for a career season that should end with him starting in a bowl game.
2 -- Lorenzo Harrison is human, but still impressive
Terps true freshman running back Lorenzo Harrison’s 105 yards and a rushing touchdown against Michigan State were enough to earn him Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors, but his fumble at the end of the first half was almost costly for Maryland. Fortunately for Harrison, the Terps defense held strong on the ensuing drive and didn’t allow any points before the half. Harrison is having one of the finest seasons a true freshman has ever had in College Park, but he did show one of his few weaknesses Saturday night when he coughed up the ball. Harrison hasn’t been plagued by fumbles as a Terp, but he did have a bit of an issue holding onto the ball at times in high school at Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha Catholic. Head coach D.J. Durkin said during his teleconference Monday morning that he would address Harrison’s ball security this week just as he would with any other play, but was quick to add that he has not lost any confidence in the first-year tailback and does not plan to limit his touches at all moving forward.
3 -- Offenses have little interest in passing against Maryland
Saturday night was the first time an offense has attempted more than 20 passes in a game against the Terps in the last three weeks. But Michigan State’s play distribution is a skewed because the Spartans played from behind for much of the second half. While the game was close, Michigan State ran the ball nearly every play with either LJ Scott or Gerald Holmes. Maryland’s defense has still found no answer for the run and is now allowing 192.4 yards on the ground per game. As long as that remains the case, don’t expect many offensive gameplans to include throwing the ball excessively against the Terps. There’s just no need to take the chance throwing the ball when a defense is allowing 4.3 yards per rush. However, Maryland has been better at stopping the run in the red zone, having only allowed nine rushing touchdowns this season, many of which were gains of 20 yards or more. However, Maryland’s matchup this weekend with Indiana could be the exception to the rule. The Hoosiers like to toss the ball around, currently ranking second in the Big Ten in pass offense and 11th in rush offense.
Two questions
1 -- Lorenzo Harrison is the best Maryland freshman since…?
It has been well documented recently that Harrison is chasing LaMont Jordan’s Maryland freshman rushing record for a single season, but position aside, Harrison is doing things in his first year in College Park that many of us have not seen before. It’s not just about Harrison’s stats, which would be much higher if not for the bevy of talent in Maryland’s backfield, but anyone who has seen him run this year knows that the Terps have something special on their hands, and they have it for several years to come. Danny O’Brien’s ACC Rookie of the Year season was impressive. Stefon Diggs got his career at Maryland started with a bang. But Harrison is making a great case for the best newcomer in Terps’ history.
2 -- Can Ty Johnson keep up his insane yards per carry average?
As of now, Johnson is averaging 10.3 yards per carry this season while slightly trailing Harrison for Maryland’s lead rusher with 482 yards. The first couple of games where Johnson broke off huge runs might have seemed a bit flukey, but the sophomore has shown that he can sustain his home run-hitting ability by continuing to pick up big gains on the ground in conference play. But anyone who has been following the Cumberland (Md.) Fort Hill High School graduate since his days as a Sentinel knows that gaudy per rush averages are nothing new to Johnson. In fact, Johnson told TSR after the victory over Michigan State that he averaged over 15 yards per carry in his junior and senior seasons at Fort Hill.
One prediction: Maryland’s pass defense and rush offense keep things close against Indiana
As stated earlier, Indiana likes to throw more than run, which plays right into the strengths of Maryland’s defense. The Terps haven’t been able to stop the run recently but the defensive backs are doing their job despite several key injuries in Maryland’s secondary. Senior leaders Will Likely and Denzel Conyers are done for the season and the health of sophomore starting safety Darnell Savage Jr. is now in question after he was shaken up in the Michigan State game, so the Terps might need even more defensive backs to step up against Indiana. But Maryland’s pass defense ranks fourth in the Big Ten, allowing just 173.6 yards through the air per game, and the Hoosiers have only faced one decent secondary (Ohio State) so far this year. On the other side of the ball for Maryland, expect the Terps to go back to a run-heavy gameplan in order to aid in the attempt to slow Indiana’s offensive attack. Offensive coordinator Walt Bell has to be liking his chances to effectively run the ball against the Hoosiers’ run defense that is allowing 160.4 yards per game and ranks eighth in the conference.