College Football News Preview 2020: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Maryland Terrapins season with what you need to know.
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– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Schedule Analysis
– Maryland Previews 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2019 Record: 3-9 overall, 1-8 in Big Ten
Head Coach: Mike Locksley, 2nd year, 3-9
2019 CFN Final Opinion Ranking: 101
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 113
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 53
NOTE: Obviously, no one knows what’s going to happen to the 2020 college football season. We’ll take a general look at where each team stands – doing it without spring ball to go by – while crossing our fingers that we’ll all have some well-deserved fun this fall. Hoping you and yours are safe and healthy.
5. College Football News Preview 2020: Maryland Terrapins Offense 3 Things To Know
– It looked like Maryland had something. It started out the season with 79 points against Howard, which didn’t seem like a big deal until it followed it up with a 63-point hit on Syracuse. And that was about it.
Take out those two games, and the 48-7 win over Rutgers, and the Terps averaged 12.5 points over the other nine games.
There weren’t any third down conversions, the O couldn’t control the tempo, and the offensive line got the quarterbacks crushed. This year’s offense is still undergoing a reboot, and it’s still going to take a whole lot of work.
Enter new offensive coordinators Joker Phillips and Scottie Montgomery, who’ll combine to jump-start the attack with more toughness for the ground game, while also trying to keep the quickened tempo.
CFN in 60 Video: Maryland Terrapins Preview
– If it seems like Maryland has 14 different quarterbacks who have been around for 16 years, it’s because it hasn’t been able to settle on one who can 1) take over and 2) stay healthy. Former Virginia Tech starter Josh Jackson is the best talent and needs to rise up into the role after struggling way too much behind the bad line, but on the way is Alabama transfer Taulia Tagovailoa.
Tua’s little brother still has to get the all-clear from the NCAA to be eligible for this year, and the team needs him as a good backup option with Tyrrell Pigrome and Max Bortenschlager transferring.
The receiving corps is also being hammered by the transfer portal with four targets leaving, but DeJuan Ellis is a decent prospect coming in from Virginia Tech. Dontay Demus and Brian Cobbs are a good 1-2 punch, and TE Chigoziem Okonkwo is a decent pass catcher who needs the ball more. On the way is Rakim Jarrett, a five-star talent who’ll soon be the team’s star for the passing attack.
– Running back is a question mark. Javon Leake and Anthony McFarlands were excellent backs who were wasted in last year’s debacle – they left early for the NFL. Senior Tayon Fleet-Davis is the presumptive No. 1 after finishing third on the team with 265 yards and two scores, but new recruits Peny Boone and Isaiah Jacobs are expected to play an instant role.
But the offensive line has to do its part.
Three starters are back, starting with sophomore tackles Jaelyn Duncan and Marcus Minor who have to be far, far stronger after taking their lumps. With guard a massive question mark, the interior should is a concern as long as senior Johnny Jordan is okay at center after missing time late last year.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Maryland Terrapins Defense 3 Things To Know
4. College Football News Preview 2020: Maryland Terrapins Defense 3 Things To Know
– The defense finished dead last in the Big Ten in total and scoring D, but it was really, really young. Three of the top four tacklers are gone, but nine of the top 13 tacklers were underclassmen. However, some of them have bolted.
34-tackle safety Deon Jones left for Boston College, and he’s not alone when it comes to defensive backs leaving. Leading tackler and the team’s top star, Antoine Brooks, is now a Pittsburgh Steeler, and in all, seven defensive backs are transferring out.
On the plus side, many of the top young talents are back, and the recruiting class is supposed to play a role right away. It would help in a big way if it gets help from better play from the defensive front.
– The line struggled. It couldn’t get behind the line and was blasted over and over again. No returning Terp defensive lineman came up with more than one sack, and 6-1, 285-pound senior Sam Okuayinonu is the only returning linemen who generated more than four tackles for loss – he came up with 4.5. An end – like 6-4, 268-pound junior Lawtez Rogers – has to quickly turn into a producer.
– In this defense, the linebackers have to be the stars. Junior Ayinde Eley is the team’s leading returning tackler coming up with 79, and junior Chance Campbell is a reliable hitter in the middle. Despite the overall lack of experience, there’s decent depth with enough options to play around with for the four spots.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Top Maryland Terrapins Players
College Football News Preview 2020: Top Maryland Terrapins Players
Best Maryland Terrapins Offensive Player
QB Josh Jackson, Sr.
This is a very, very fluid call.
Jackson looked like a potential star as a freshman at Virginia Tech – throwing for close to 3,000 yards with 20 touchdowns and nine picks, to go along with six rushing scores. Fast-forward through an injured sophomore year and the transfer to Maryland, where he came out roaring with two excellent performances before the team’s season fell apart.
He’s got the 6-2, 218-pound size, the mobility, and the experience, but he’s got to stay healthy and he needs help around him. Also, if Taulia Tagovailoa is able to go right away, he might replace Jackson in the spot.
2. WR Dontay Demus, Jr.
3. OT Jaelyn Duncan, Soph.
4. WR Brian Cobbs, Jr.
5. WR Rakim Jarrett, Fr.
Best Maryland Terrapins Defensive Player
LB Ayinde Eley, Jr.
There were a whole lot of problems last year, and there are a whole bunch of concerns this season, but the linebacking corps should be okay. The 6-3, 226-pound former great recruit earned All-Big Ten honors with 79 tackles with four tackles for loss and an interception. He missed the last game of the season, but before that he was one of the team’s few steady performers working on the weakside.
2. S Nick Cross, Soph.
3. LB Chance Campbell, Jr.
4. DT Sam Okuayinonu, Sr.
5. CB Deonte Banks, Soph.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Maryland Terrapins Keys To The Season
College Football News Preview 2020: Maryland Terrapins Keys To The Season
Biggest Key To The Maryland Terrapins Offense
Score whenever there’s a chance. Moving the chains is Job One after converting just 32% of the time on third downs. The offense simply has to move more, control the clock better, and just get into range to be able to score.
And then the Terps have to put up points when they get there. The kicking game was a disaster – hitting just two of five field goals on the year – and the offense was nightmare in the red zone.
Maryland scored a pathetic 66% of the time inside the 20, and even worse it only got there 15 times over the final nine games. By comparison, Ohio State got into the red zone 12 times in the 73-14 win.
Biggest Key To The Maryland Terrapins Defense
Find something it can do well. The Terp D suffered from an O that seemed like it wanted to get off the field as soon as possible, but it also didn’t do itself any favors.
Worst of all, the D got worse. Granted, the team went younger and younger as the season went on to get the new parts into the mix, but the line got killed for 300 rushing yards or more in a run of three games in four towards the end.
The secondary? It allowed more than 300 yards six times, and gave up over 400 in two of those. The pass rush wasn’t steady, there weren’t enough takeaways, and …
The defense needs to find a positive identity.
Key Maryland Terrapins Player To A Successful Season
OT Jaelyn Duncan, Soph. & OT Marcus Minor, Jr.
The Terps have to block better. That’s it. That’s everything. The Terps have promising skill parts, and there are enough good young options to hope for a bit of an improvement overall, but none of it works unless the front five can start to produce.
The Terps gave up 38 sacks and couldn’t run effectively enough throughout the year. The backs were in place, but after running for 671 yards in the first two games, things started to stall – being second-to-last in the nation in third down conversions was a part of it.
All three wins last year came when they ran for 200 yards or more, and as a program it’s 11-2 going back to 2016 when it hit two-bills.
It all starts with the young O line being a whole lot stronger.
Key Game To The Maryland Terrapins Season
Minnesota, Oct. 3
It’s all about building up the program and getting better and better over the first few games, and after a week off to rest up, be ready to dive into Big Ten season.
Last year, Maryland was coming off a decent performance in a loss to Indiana, and it looked like it was about to turn a corner. And then … Minnesota 52-10. Lose, and with two straight road games and with a brutal November to later deal with, it’s going to be a rough season.
– Maryland Terrapins Schedule Breakdown & Analysis
2019 Maryland Fun Stats
– Sacks: Opponents 38 for 262 yards – Maryland 21 for 123 yards
– Time of Possession: Opponents 34:15 – Maryland 25:45
– Field Goals: Opponents 16-of-23 – Maryland 2-of-5
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Maryland Terrapins Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen
1. College Football News Preview 2020: Maryland Terrapins Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen
Assume this is a second year of the rebuild.
Mike Locksley still has to prove he can win games as a head coach – going 6-40 between New Mexico and Maryland – but he and the program had to start over after the tragedy and fallout of two years ago.
It’s going to be a second year of the youth movement, but the overall talent level has to be better in a hurry. Locksley’s calling card is as a top-shelf recruiter and he’s done a solid job. Now all the young guys have to come through.
It all starts with the lines. The Terps have promise at the offensive skill spots, and the linebacking corps will be a positive, but the overall toughness up front on both sides have to be there.
The projection will be doom-and-gloom by most early linemakers, but …
Set The Maryland Terrapins Regular Season Win Total At … 4
Bet at BetMGM Win Total Line: 3.5
Trying to get to five wins might not seem like anything to shoot for, but for a team with so many question marks and problems, it would be a fantastic next step.
With Towson, Northern Illinois, and Rutgers all at home, coming up with three wins has to be a given. And then …
The Northern Illinois game isn’t a given, and the Terps are likely going to be big underdogs in every other game. However, they should be able to come up with a win somewhere – like against Michigan State to close out the regular season, or at Northwestern – but it’s going to be an uphill climb.
