2014-15 Football Previews – (Big 10) – Terrapins
Randy Edsall’s Maryland Terrapins are newcomers in the Big Ten Conference this year. Along with Rutgers, Maryland is taking a significant step up in competition this year.
Big Ten 2014-2015 College Football Preview – Maryland Terrapins (Link)
Head Coach: Randy Edsall
2013 Record: 7-6
Maryland Odds to win the National Championship: +60,000
Season Win Total: 6.5
While almost nothing is expected of Rutgers, there are relatively high expectations for Maryland in the year ahead.
Maryland went 7-5 in the regular season before losing to Marshall in their bowl game last year. The Terrapins benefited from players staying a bit healthier than they did in 2012. In 2012, Maryland went 4-8 during a season where they were forced to play their fifth-string quarterback (who also happened to be a linebacker).
Check out our in-house Handicapper!!! Buy Razor Ray’s College Picks in 2014!
It’s amazing what kind of things a team can do when they stay healthy. Moving from the ACC to the Big Ten is a major challenge though. Do the Terrapins have what it takes to have a successful season?
Team Strengths:
Maryland is absolutely stacked at the wide receiver spot. Stefon Diggs was a very highly touted recruit out of high school, and he was a great get for Maryland. Diggs is now in his junior year, and I expect a big jump in production out of him. Deon Long is another elite pass catcher.
Both Diggs and Long missed significant playing time with injuries last year, but they are healthy heading into this season. Maryland’s depth at this position is arguably the best it is at any spot on their entire roster.
[soliloquy id=”82219″]
Maryland’s secondary is extremely experienced, and they are also very talented. Maryland returns 7 of their top 8 players from a group that was solid a year ago. I expect them to be more than just solid this season. Athleticism runs deep in this group.
Maryland probably has the best special teams group in the Big Ten. Diggs excels as a returner and cornerback William Likely was great as a returner as a freshman as well. Brad Craddock made 21 out of 25 field goal attempts last year and he’s back for another season as well.
Team Weaknesses:
Maryland’s talent at running back is very thin. Brandon Ross will be the starter at tailback, but he had just 776 rushing yards last year. CJ Brown is asked to do a lot of the running, but he needs some pressure taken off him. I expect Maryland’s lack of a running game to really hurt them in the Big Ten this season.
CJ Brown and Caleb Rowe shared time at the quarterback position last year. Brown should see most of the reps this year, but he isn’t a particularly good passer.
The Terrapins have great receivers, but they must use a bunch of short passes to get them the ball because they don’t have a downfield passing quarterback. Expect Big Ten defenses to key in on this weakness.
The Terrapins defensive line put up decent numbers last year in the ACC, but this is a group I expect to regress when they face much stronger Big Ten offensive fronts.
2014-2015 Maryland Football Prediction: 6-6
Maryland has an extremely easy schedule early in the year, and then the schedule gets brutally tough late. They better win at least four of their first five, or they won’t have a chance at a bowl game this season. Maryland plays Ohio State, Iowa, Wisconsin, Penn State, Michigan State, and Michigan right in a row.
Talk about a really tough schedule in October and November.
Expect a .500 season here as a pretty good team gets pulled down by playing in a much stronger conference.
Maryland Football Schedule
- 8/30/14 TBD JMU
- 9/6/14 3:30 PM ET @USF
- 9/13/14 TBD WVU
- 9/20/14 TBD @SYR
- 9/27/14 TBD @IND
- 10/4/14 TBD OSU
- 10/18/14 12:00 PM ET IOWA
- 10/25/14 12:00 PM ET @WIS
- 11/1/14 TBD @PSU
- 11/15/14 8:00 PM ET MSU
- 11/22/14 TBD @MICH
- 11/29/14 TBD RUTG
