The Terps head into their Big Ten home opener with a perfect 4-0 after defeating Michigan State 31-9 to open league play last Saturday.
With a win over the Hoosiers, the Terps would move to 5-0 for the first time since 2001 with the Ohio State Buckeyes on deck.
Below, TSR takes a look at three things to watch for Saturday when the Terps take on the Hoosiers at 3:30 p.m. ET on BTN.
RELATED: Behind Enemy Lines: Indiana | Looking back at Maryland and Indiana starters as recruits
Who wins the turnover battle?
The Terps come into Saturday afternoon's Big Ten home opener versus the Hoosiers ranked second nationally in turnover margin.
Among those forced turnovers are seven interceptions by the Terps, including three by senior cornerback Tarheeb Still and two by FCS transfer linebacker Donnell Brown.
The Hoosiers are no slouch in the turnover department, either. Indiana comes into Saturday's game with Maryland with a positive turnover margin, also. They are also just behind the Terps in interceptions with six, including three by sophomore safety Phillip Dunnam and two by senior safety Louis Moore.
In football, the team that wins the turnover battle often wins the game. In the Terps' case, they have excelled at not only creating turnvovers, but scoring points off of those turnovers, with 21 points coming directly off of three Michigan State turnovers in their most recent win. If the Terps can continue that trend on Saturday they should be in good shape versus the Hoosiers.
Is this a trap game?
This might seem like a silly thing to say about a team like Maryland, but could Saturday's game versus the Hoosiers be a trap game?
The Terps have the chance to go 5-0 for the first time since Ralph Friedgen took the Terps to the Orange Bowl in his first season as Maryland's head coach.
A win versus Indiana would also likely put the national spotlight on Maryland next weekend when they travel to Columbus to play Ohio State. The game has already been announced as the FOX Big Noon Saturday game for the week.
It wouldn't be hard to imagine Maryland players dreaming about a scenario of going into the Horseshoe undefeated with a chance to knock of a top-5 Buckeye squad.
But given the Terps' poor starts in two of their four outings so far this season, they need to make sure they are laser focused out of the gate versus Indiana and try to make sure they don't get behind early and give the Hoosiers early momentum. A quick start from the Terps would likely keep the Family Weekend Terps crowd into the game throughout as they look to remain undefeated.
Can the Terps establish the run game?
The Terps have struggled running the ball in each of the past two games. Versus Virginia, Maryland's running backs combined to rush for 126 yards, while versus Michigan State they struggled even further, combining for just 83 yards between them.
Starting running back Roman Hemby was non-existent versus Michigan State, finishing with 10 rushes for 12 yards. he was only slightly better versus Virginia, finishing with 23 yards on nine carries, although he did have a pair of rushing touchdowns.
Maryland offensive coordinator Josh Gattis needs to figure out a way to get Maryland's running backs into some sort of a rhythm.
One thing worth noting from last week's game was that the Terps seemed to have figured out their starting offensive line. As that group plays together more and more, hopefully they will do a better job at creating holes for Maryland's backs.
Indiana's rush defense comes into Saturday's game ranked 100th nationally, giving up an average of 165.5 yards per game and having allowed seven rushing touchdowns so far. The Terps should be able go get some things going on the ground this week after facing a fairly stout run defense last week in East Lansing.
Not a Terrapin Sports Report subscriber? Join today for access to all our premium content and message board community. Already an insider? Join the conversation on the TERPS INSIDER PREMIUM FORUM!
