Maryland vs Indiana Preview

The Indiana Hoosiers (3-4) will travel to College park this Saturday Oct. 28th to face the Maryland Terrapins (3-4).

Maryland has faced even more hardship since losing their top two starters Tyrell Pigrome and Kasim Hill to torn ACLs in the first month. They have gone 1-4 since losing Hill, as Max Bortenschlager has taken the reigns and been largely overwhelmed. In the 4.5 games since the Hill injury, the Terps have been outscored 197-83.

The Terps will look to get back on track against an Indiana team that has lost its first four Big Ten games this season, albeit all losses came against ranked teams in Ohio St, Michigan St, Michigan, and Penn State.

What To Watch For:

1. Indiana Defense: simply, they have playmakers. they showed flashes last year against the Terps in Indiana, a game which Maryland lost 42-36. More seasoned this year, they have showed their teeth, holding all-american offenses like Penn st. and Ohio St. to close game late. If they can hold Maryland’s playmakers, it could be a long day.

2. Who is the quarterback?: There weren’t high expectations for  QB Max Bortenschlager last week when he came in to play this season due to his poor performances last year. Ultimately, these low expectations have been met, with Bortenschlager seemingly overwhelmed by the defenses in his starts. Should he be unavailable at any point, the QB for Maryland would be Caleb Henderson, who transferred to UMD this past offseason from UNC. Henderson was believed to be the favorite to win the starting job in spring practice so he likely would not be a significant downgrade at the position.

3. Find the playmakers: Ty Johnson and DJ Moore have been undoubtedly the best players at their positions in the Big 10. Johnson specifically has won a couple of games for the Terps in his Maryland tenure, the most recent instance being his game-winning touchdown run at Minnesota about a month ago. Moore, meanwhile is currently leading the Big 10 in receptions (47), yards (668), and touchdowns (7). If Maryland can find these two in space early and often, they can combat the tough Indiana defense.

Prediction: Hoosiers win 27-10. Maryland simply hasn’t shown the ability to hang with and beat even average Big 10 teams and an upgrade in competition won’t fare them well.

Catch the game this Saturday the 28th at 3:30PM on Big Ten Network.

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Jeremy Train

Jeremy Train is a Senior Psych major with a business minor at the University of Maryland at College Park. He has been writing for Maryland Sports Blog since January 2017 and has since been made editor as well. Jeremy used to work as an usher for the Orioles along the first base line in the lower seating bowl.

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