The Terps are 3-1 and could easily be 4-0 if it weren’t for a letdown in Week 3 against a Temple team they were heavy favorites against at home. However, Maryland football is off to a great start despite a tumultuous offseason that continues to bring one distraction after another.
It’s now the bye week for Maryland, and it seems like a great time to pause and recap what we’ve seen from the Terps so far on the gridiron this season.
TSR is here to highlight it all in the latest edition of The 3-2-1.
Three things we learned
1 -- This team has great resiliency
“It’s UNBELIEVABLE!” interim head coach Matt Canada emphatically said about the resiliency his team showed after its 42-13 win in the conference-opener against Minnesota. The victory followed an embarrassing defeat in the Terps home-opener the week prior. But that wasn’t the first time this group has shown the ability to bounce back. This Maryland team has had to deal with more off-the-field distractions, including the tragic death of their redshirt freshman teammate Jordan McNair, than perhaps any of its predecessors. But that didn’t stop the Terps from starting their season with a 34-29 win at FedEx Field against a ranked Texas team that was clamoring for a revenge win. With an extremely tough conference schedule ahead and investigations still looming around the program, the Terps’ resiliency will likely be tested a few more times this season. But at least we know that this is a mentally tough group who has shown the ability to overcome already.
2 -- The Terps defense is better than expected
Not that there were many positives to point to last season at all, but the Terps defense in 2017 looked particularly bad at times, leaving many to wonder what to expect this year with virtually the exact same coaching staff returning on that side of the ball, sans new safeties coach Chuck Heater. But this group has performed admirably so far this year, highlighted by a second-half shutout against Bowling Green and allowing just three points after halftime to Minnesota. Maryland currently ranks first in the Big Ten and 17th nationally in third down defense and is in the top 20 in the FBS in yards allowed per game. Getting BUCK Jesse Aniebonam back from injury and adding Byron Cowart to the defensive line has done wonders for the Terps defense, and senior safety Darnell Savage Jr. as well as grad-transfer linebacker Tre Watson and NICKEL Antoine Brooks have been playing lights out.
3 -- Anthony McFarland is living up to the hype
Don’t look now, but the Terps have a redshirt freshman in the backfield that is looking like a transcendent talent. Those Maryland fans who don’t already will quickly get to know Anthony McFarland over the next few years as he likely climbs the rushing record book in College Park. McFarland is a former consensus four-star recruit out of DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Md.) who probably would have had a fifth star if it wasn’t for a leg injury that forced him to miss most of his senior season. But the hype was still there for McFarland as one of the biggest recruits the Terps have landed in quite some time, and he is handling the spotlight with ease. Through four games, McFarland is second on the team in rushing with 291 yards, but he has done so on just 27 carries (10.8 yards per attempt). He also has three receptions for 56 yards. Of those 30 touches, five have gone for 20-plus yards and two have been touchdowns. His role is growing and his talent is showing. Sit back and enjoy Terps fans. Oh, and don’t worry about the other talented Terps backs like Ty Johnson, Lorenzo Harrison, and Tayon Fleet-Davis getting their touches. They all have their place in the offense too and even Canada himself said after the Minnesota game that the running back room right now is a “situation, not a problem.”
Two questions
1 -- What will the offensive line look like when healthy?
So far this season Maryland has had to piecemeal its offensive line together because of various injuries to its blockers. Johnny Jordan, Derwin Gray, Damian Prince, and Terrance Davis have all missed time at one point another through the first four games, but the unit of Marcus Minor, Sean Christie, Brendan Moore, Davis, and Gray looked great last weekend against Minnesota so the Terps’ depth on the offensive front has come in handy. When this unit is fully healthy, we’ll likely see a starting five of Prince, Christie, Moore, Davis, and Gray, but if Minor and Jordan keep playing as well as they have in their limited action they could cause that to change.
2 -- Can Matt Canada withstand Big Ten play?
For an interim head coach, Matt Canada has looked good so far. Scratch that. Matt Canada has looked good as a head coach so far, period. When a situation such as Maryland’s has been thrust upon you and you’re 3-1 after that as an offensive coordinator turned interim head coach, you’re doing something right and clearly know a thing or two about running a program. There’s still a lot that needs to shake out from the ongoing investigations into the culture of the program and suspended head coach D.J. Durkin, but if a permanent replacement is needed, it’s likely Canada could get a strong look based on his performance so far. With one conference win already in the books, albeit against one of the lowlier teams in the Big Ten, the question now remains how effective can Canada be against big dogs like Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State.
One prediction: Maryland’s offensive line gets healthier and the Terps go bowling
In the one game Maryland has lost this season, one of the biggest issues the Terps had was blocking the Temple front seven, which led to an erratic game from quarterback Kasim Hill and a poor performance from the backfield. But that was with both starting tackles down and the offensive line showed it can turn it around with its performance against Minnesota. Maryland’s offensive front should only get better as it gets healthier and that could mean some special things for players like Hill, McFarland, Ty Johnson, Taivon Jacobs, and Jeshaun Jones. If Maryland’s offense gets rolling and the defense continues to play as it has for most of the season, there’s no reason the Terps shouldn’t be bowl eligible this season. It only takes six wins and Maryland already has three with three more very winnable games on the schedule in Rutgers, Illinois, and Indiana.
