| Last week was a tough pill the swallow for the Terps, but the ultimate test of whether this is a different team, or the same old Maryland which plays great in September, then collapses at the first sign of adversity is how they bounce back, on the road, against a team they should beat. This isn't a total must win for Maryland's bowl hopes, they still have Northwestern and Rutgers, but with their other three being against Wisconsin, Penn State and Ohio State, all in a row, it would likely remove any room for error. And it might let that narrative about the fragile mental state of this team, return. Where this Maryland team is different, is that its front will get after you. Even while the Hoosiers hung with Michigan for longer than expected last Saturday, it never really felt like they had a chance, absent a major turnover or special teams play. Because the Hoosier offensive line never gave Connor Bazelak a chance. Michigan was in the backfield on every play, frequently only bringing four. Typically, you could maybe relax with Maryland coming in, but the Terps aren't far behind, ranking third in the Big Ten in sack rate. For a Hoosier line which has allowed the most sacks in the conference, it has all the makings of another long afternoon for those five. Former Northern Illinois and Temple head coach, and former Indiana offensive lineman, Rod Carey, who had spent his entire 13 year assistant tenure as an offensive line coach, was promoted from analyst to offensive line coach. It is nice they had such a qualified member on staff, but I do wonder what he can do in just 6 days. As the offensive line has collapsed, so has the entire offense, ranking in the bottom 4 of the FBS in ypp, conversion rate, and rushing yards. Indiana came from behind in each of their 3 wins to open the year, twice scoring in the final minute. They didn't score a single point in the second half of either of their last two games. |
