This is a little earlier than usual, but it's incomplete. I will finish the defensive personnel in a couple of hours.
By Jim Comparoni
SpartanMag.com
East Lansing, Mich. - We all know MSU’s defense is faulty.
And most of you noticed that Maryland moved the ball pretty well against Michigan and are probably aware that Maryland has a highly-dangerous dual threat QB in Taulia Tagovailoa.
Unless rain and wind conditions become horrible, holding Maryland under 28 points is going to be difficult - based on Michigan State’s recent troubles and Maryland’s balanced explosiveness.
FINAL ANALYSIS FIRST
Can Michigan State score in the high 20s, or more, and win in a shootout? That’s the first thing I looked for.
Michigan’s Blake Corum rushed for 243 yards on 30 carries. That’s the next thing I investigated. Are there weaknesses along the Maryland d-line that could open the door for Michigan State to rush for 175 yards or more, establish some balance, and do damage in an offensive shootout?
Well, the Maryland run defense wasn’t nearly as bad as those numbers indicate. Corum was just that good on six or seven explosive plays. Maryland’s run defense was actually respectable on the vast majority of Corum’s rush attempts.
Michigan State doesn’t have a RB like Corum, and doesn’t yet have an o-line like Michigan’s, and doesn’t have anything close to Michigan’s tight end blocking.
But what about SMU? SMU rushed for 151 yards (3.6 per carry) against Maryland two weeks ago. Maryland won in a shootout, 34-27.
Well, SMU had very good balance as a pass-first, uptempo offense.
Maryland got caught sucking wind a few times against the tempo, was without one of its best CBs for much of the game. SMU ran 96 offensive plays. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an offense run 96 plays in a game. And they lost (three turnovers).
Anyway, what about Maryland’s run defense? Well, although SMU rushed for 151 yards, the 3.6 average wasn’t great. And in 42 run attempts, the longest ground gainer Maryland allowed went for just 13 yards. So overall, the run defense played winning football against SMU, considering they had to put so many resources into chasing around SMU’s pass game.
(As for SMU, that’s an annoying offense to play against. SMU could have won this game. Then they went out and lost to TCU, 42-34, last week. I don’t know anything about TCU, but they are 3-0 and they play Oklahoma this week. Oklahoma had better be strapped in for that game or else they could lose two straight).
As for Maryland’s run defense, I think they have pretty good talent in the middle, on the edges and at linebacker. Their safeties are hammer hitters. I don’t see run defense as a weakness, despite Corum’s numbers. I think Michigan is going to put a hole in a lot of defenses with the run this year if Corum can stay healthy.
THE LATEST ON MICHIGAN STATE
The Spartans obviously need to stop the bleeding on defense and get the run game going
The run game still has promise. I didn’t see Michigan State o-linemen losing last week against Minnesota. I think tight end blocking has been inconsistent and unreliable. And Minnesota’s run defense is Grade B-plus quality.
Michigan State had the run game going decently well on the opening drive of the second half last week, with a chance to cut the lead to 17-7. But QB Payton Thorne fumbled at the 3-yard line on first-and-goal. Soon it was 24-0 and the run game was out the window.
Center Nick Samac played perhaps the best football of his career. He was good. Not great. He was good. That’s progress.
Pass protection was good. All five o-linemen graded out really well by PFF (and myself) in pass pro against Minnesota.
Michigan State had to pass way too much yet allowed only one sack, and that one was charged to RB Jarek Broussard. Why Broussard was in for pass protection on third-and-long, I do not know. I thought that was Harold Joiner’s role. But sometimes players seem to disappear from the playing group. Maybe Joiner was hurt. We don’t know.
As for run blocking, we didn’t see a great surge, but we weren’t seeing purges, either. There were no offensive linemen getting uprooted.
As for Maryland, they won’t be easy to move out of the way, either. As a program, their defense has improved.
Weather needs to be a factor for Michigan State. Maryland has the better passing attack of the two. Michigan State has the poorer pass defense of the two teams. With Michigan State battling injuries, Maryland is the more talented team. For those reasons, bad weather would favor the less-talented, more-troubled team, and that’s Michigan State.
I’m seeing a 65 pct chance of rain, clearing up in the second half, if my mediocre weather app is correct. Winds of 10 to 20 mph. That’s a factor, but probably not enough to help Michigan State all that much.
That being said, the ability to establish the run is always important. And if there’s rain and some wind, that WILL lead to a few more incompletions than normal, and put MORE emphasis on establishing the run.
So Michigan State comes out of last week’s embarrassing loss with every position group and position coach calling for extreme effort and all the physicality they can muster. That was also the call last week, but the call goes out even harder now. And after another week of teaching, and apparent good health on the o-line, I wouldn’t be surprised to see some run game progress in this game, even against a Maryland run defense that is quite respectable.
What does run game progress look like for Michigan State? I would consider 150 yards rushing progress. I think 175 is possible. 125 is maybe more likely. But anything resembling the Black Corum show is highly doubtful.
125 yards rushing won’t be enough of a run game complement to keep up with Maryland’s offense. Thorne was pretty good at Washington, but we haven’t seen Thorne do anything that suggests he and the receivers are capable of carrying the offense to a 380-yard passing game or anything like that.
Maryland’s pass defense is good. The safeties are sound and physical. The cornerbacks are good. The pass rush is okay.
SMU threw for 369 yards (29 of 54, 3 TDs, 2 Ints) for an average of 6.8 yards per attempt, which isn’t great. SMU QB Tanner Mordecai, an Oklahoma transfer, is more dangerous than Thorne right now, and SMU go-to WR Rashee Rice is better than anyone Michigan State has at the moment, and SMU’s uptempo, pass-happy attack is not something Michigan State is going to emulate.
Maryland held Michigan wonderboy JJ McCarthy to 220 yards passing on 18 of 26 attempts. Not a bad day for McCarthy, but he was spotty.
McCarthy was on his way toward an exceedingly mediocre day, and maybe a loss, until he found Ronnie Bell for a game-changing 49-yard deep shot on third-and-long with 8:37 left in the game and Michigan clinging to a 24-19 lead. McCarthy had missed on four or five deep balls previously. If he doesn’t connect on that pass, the McCarthy (and Maryland) narrative might be completely different today.
Michigan ended up winning 34-27.
Maryland QB Tagovailoa was 20 of 30 for 207 yards against Michigan, with a two INTs, including a crippler of a rare bad decision with Maryland down 8 and 5:55 to play.
Tagovailoa left the game in the third quarter with an apparent rib injury. He returned. But then he left for good after that INT.
Maryland head coach Mike Locksley said on Monday that Tagovailoa and standout WR Rakim Jarrett would be gametimes decisions. Jarrett suffered an apparent shoulder injury when landing hard on it midway through last week’s game, and did not return.
Tagovailoa posted on social media this week that he is 100 percent healthy.
I’m expecting Tagovailoa to play, and be fine through the air. But the rib injury will likely curtail some or most of his running ability. They like to use him on designed runs a handful of times per game. I assume those are out.
He is very good at moving and shimmying in the pocket as a scramble-to-throw guy. That part of his game, his footwork in the pocket and when getting flushed while still looking to throw, will probably be unaffected. But could he be one or two hard hits away from being on the ropes again? Possibly. And something like that could alter this game.
APPLES TO APPLES
* Maryland has the better QB. He is hard to contain, plain and simple. He has a high completion rate and he runs a scheme that spreads the ball all over the place with creativity.
Payton Thorne showed some frustration bordering on despondency last week. He missed Jayden Reed on a deep post that might have been a TD. Connect on that one, and avoid the fumble inside the 5-yard line, and MAYBE Michigan State might have been able to hang around within 10 points heading into the fourth quarter.
He needs to shake it off and get help from his defense (and route runners, Daniel Barker made an error on the fourth down INT last week).
* Maryland has the better running backs. This might surprise you. Redshirt-freshman Roman Hemby is one of the top newcomers in the Big Ten. He averages 7.1 yards per carry and was difference-maker as a runner and receiver against SMU.
Hemby and power back Antwain Littleton were strong against Michigan.
MSU’s Jalen Berger has been slowed by a hip flexor. Jarek Broussard showed some life last week. I wouldn’t be shocked to see Eli Collins get some carries. But Hemby looks like he is a tad better than MSU’s RBs right now.
* At WR, I said two weeks ago that Washington had better WRs than Michigan State. I think Maryland’s cast of WRs is just slightly below Washington’s and a bit better than MSU’s. They have four good ones, including a former five-star (Jarrett) and a transfer who led Florida in receiving last year.
* At TE, their guy Corey Dyches is tied for the team lead in catches with 15. I haven’t noticed him as a blocker. He has WR size. He’s more of a WR than a TE. It’s kind of inconclusive as to how he compares to Michigan State. It’s not apples to apples because Maryland doesn’t try to use the TE like Michigan State. But the back-up TE, DiPree, is more of a connsumate TE. Edge probably goes to Maryland.
* On the o-line, Maryland is solid and firm and at least as good as Michigan State. And I think MSU’s o-line isn’t as bad as the numbers have shown in the past two weeks. But based on recent body of work, I would give the edge to Maryland.
* On the d-line, Michigan State has good players, but who is available? Khris Bogle did not look good at all when he exited the game last week and headed down the tunnel. I’m not expecting him to play.
Maverick Hansen went down in the last five minutes. I don’t know what to think about him.
Jacob Slade? We haven’t seen him since the Akron game. Not sure. Simeon Barrow? Not sure. Jeff Pietrowski? We haven’t seen him since the first quarter of the Washington game. Not sure.
So if you take away Slade, Barrow, Pietrowski and Bogle, that’s pretty much MSU’s starting defensive line from opening night, although Jacoby Windmon has stepped up as a threat, and Derrick Harmon has been doing a good job as a replacement starter. But Harmon wore down in the fourth quarter last week, logging 58 snaps. That’s way more than he has been asked to play in the past.
So who is in the d-line rotation this week? Windmon, Harmon and who else? Assuming that Bogle isn’t available, and if Slade and Pietrowski are still out, then you’re getting into Jalen Hunt, who played three snaps last week, and Alex VanSumeren, who played six snaps last week.
VanSumeren hasn’t been good against double-teams. He’s a freshman who is still learning. Can’t expect too much from a true frosh DT.
Hunt has looked strong and firm in short segments this year. I’ve heard a little more about the injuries he battled during the off-season. Give him credit for coming back. It hasn’t been easy. He seems committed and dialed in. But how many snaps can he provide? I’m not sure. But he has looked strong in short stints.
After those guys, Michael Fletcher and DaShaun Mallory played for the first time this season, last week. Mallory played seven snaps. He didn’t look bad, didn’t look great. He’s a good kid but he hasn’t shaped into the player we thought he might be two years ago.
Fletcher played some d-tackle last week, believe it or not. That’s not his position. He played some d-end too. He logged 13 snaps. He was serviceable, but a little awkward. He’s just a guy.
At d-end, there’s Windmon and then Fletcher and Avery Dunn and true freshman Zion Young. Dunn played a career-high 38 snaps and did his best, but he was a weakness against double-teams. Michigan State had him at strong-side DE. He isn’t made to take on TE/OT double teams, and it showed. But neither is Windmon.
Zion Young has shown some promise, but I was a little surprised he played only eight snaps compared to Dunn’s 38. Young was involved in a couple of gap assignment errors.
For now, Fletcher, Dunn, Mallory and even Young and VanSumeren are just “guys.”
If you get caught playing with too many “just guys” on the d-line in the Big Ten, the boat won’t float. And d-line was one of the few strengths on the defense through most of last week. But these back-ups aren’t bad back-ups. If they keep hammering and play with will and punch and correctness, they can be competent as a group.
As for Maryland’s d-line, I don’t see weaknesses. I don’t see awesome strengths. But I don’t see weaknesses. They aren’t bad. The compare favorably to Minnesota. They don’t quite have the backing at LB that the Gophers had, but the overall front six is solid and competent.
Based on the injury unknowns for Michigan State on the d-line, I would have to give the slight edge to Maryland in the d-line comparison. That changes if Slade and Barrow are back in good shape, plus Bogle.
As for Bogle, he’s firm and useful against the run. They miss that with him out.
* At linebacker, Ben VanSumeren is struggling to play with quick instincts and punch. Cal Haladay is playing reasonably well.
Maryland’s linebackers aren’t great. But they aren’t weaknesses. Edge to Maryland.
* At cornerback, Michigan State isn’t bad. But Maryland is better.
* At safety, Kendell Brooks has been a pleasant surprise. Angelo Grose has struggled to earn trust. Minnesota’s safeties hit hard and I don’t see them making mistakes. Edge Maryland.
So, as you can see, this isn’t about Tagovailoa being a one-man team. Maryland has improved from top to bottom. Maryland isn’t great, but - of course - neither is Michigan State, especially with the injuries on defense and the Michigan State defensive coaches trying to merely get death by inches tightened up in order to see what the leftover lack of talent is actually capable of. Not a good situation.
These apples to apples comparisons would have been different in week two. But Maryland is trending positively right now. Michigan State is in survival and recovery mode.
It’s cliché, but the goal is to play hard and play smart and win collisions. Michigan State isn’t going to win vs Ohio State next week, which makes this somewhat winnable game against Maryland extremely important, just to keep hopes above water.
ADD IT ALL UP
Maryland was jacked and correct and excited and physical last week against Michigan. They gave as good as they got. That was impressive.
I don’t know if Michigan was sleepy or too full of themselves or what, but if Michigan had played Minnesota last week, Minnesota would have beaten them.
And if Maryland had played Michigan State last week, Maryland would have won by two touchdowns.
So what happens this week. Is Maryland as sharp and willful and skillful as they were last week? Has Michigan State tightened up enough loose screws?
Then we get back into the injury question and wonder how good Michigan State can be even if the screws are tightened up, with half of their defensive starters out or questionable.
I’m expecting Tagovailoa to play, and play well, and for Michigan State to have trouble containing him, and the RBs, and the WRs, and the flex TE. Unless Tagovailoa is hurt, or becomes re-injured, or unless there’s a 20 MPH crosswind, I think Maryland is scoring 28 or more.
For Michigan State, without last year’s explosiveness, it’s become difficult to merely put together a 10-play scoring drive. Unless Michigan State changes its stripes drastically, I’m having trouble forecasting more than 20 points out of Michigan State, and maybe less if the weather is bad.
From there, Michigan State will need turnovers and help on special teams. A big day from Payton Thorne, Jayden Reed and Keon Coleman isn’t impossible. Michigan State has a better chance to win this game than last week’s game, but it will take some quick tightening of screws on defense and some explosive good fortune.
If Michigan State had played Maryland in week three, I would have picked Michigan State. If they had played last week, I would have leaned toward Michigan State. But now, after Maryland’s strong showing last week, and Michigan State falling into deeper injury and execution disarray, Maryland is simply the more trustworthy, improving commodity at this juncture.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MARYLAND
* The Terrapins (3-1) have won six six straight home games vs unranked opponents. Maryland has become a solidly respectable team and program. Maryland beat Virginia Tech, 54-10, in the Pinstripe Bowl last year and finished 7-6.
* Maryland lost at Michigan State last year, 40-21, but that game was played in 39-degree temperatures and a decent breeze. Still Tagovailoa threw for 350 yards on 29 of 48 passing. He had bouts of inaccuracy early in the game which I think was due to getting accustomed to the cold temperatures. He had never taken a snap in weather that cold in a game or practice.
Tagovailoa is kind of streaky. He threw for 300 yards in the first half against a weak Charlotte team. He had some excellent moments against Michigan, and then kind of went quiet.
He started quiet against SMU and then heated up after the Terrapins’ run game got things rolling.
His overall stats are undisputable. He’s a pain in the rear.
* Maryland played better last week against Michigan than the Terps did the previous week in a sloppy shootout victory over SMU.
Maryland results thus far:
Maryland 31, Buffalo 10
Maryland 56, Charlotte 21
Maryland 34, SMU 27
Michigan 34, Maryland 27
If Maryland beats Michigan State, I could see Maryland beating Purdue, Indiana and Northwestern in its next three games and climbing to 7-1. Maryland isn’t great, but things are breaking favorably for them.
* Scottie Hazelton was talking about the challenge of playing two completely different style of offenses in Washington and Minnesota. Well, if I were to describe Maryland, they are kind of a combination of the two, but with a more mobile QB.
Maryland doesn’t run the ball as well as Minnesota, but they run it okay. As for downfield passing, Tagovailoa is good. Not as good as Michael Penix, but he’s good. And his receivers are comparable to Washington’s, arguably even better.
Maryland’s play design is creative and diverse. They can get into rhythm and keep you off balance while spreading it around to several quality skill players, like Washington.
* Maryland does NOT come to the line of scrimmage and delay the snap, make you show your coverage, look to the sideline and change the play. They would rather get into a rhythm. They don’t necessarily go with fast tempo, but they aren’t going to read at the line like Minnesota did, which was SO successful against MSU’s early-show, no-disguise coverages last week.
THE MICHIGAN GAME
Michigan fumbled twice in the first half (and was fortunate to recover both), was granted an INT when Maryland was driving in the 2Q on a play that would have been ruled an INC if the replay officials had looked at it, and Maryland fumbled the opening kickoff of the game, which Michigan punched in for a touchdown. All four of those game-changing bounces went Michigan’s away. The Wolverines were very fortunate to be leading 17-13 at halftime.
Michigan led only 24-19 with 8:37 left when they went deep on this third-and-six for the game changer of the day and turning point.
Maryland trailed by 8 with five minutes to play with Tagovailoa threw into double coverage for an INT when he had a WR breaking wide open over the middle on a dig.
Ball game.
CAN MICHIGAN STATE FIX ITS DEFENSE?
Based on the mode of operation not only this year but last year, the chances of getting a quick fix seems unlikely. And at this point, it wouldn’t be a quick fix.
Even when healthy, Michigan State had problems getting on the same page at the LB level in pass defense, and with safeties. I wouldn’t be surprised to see continuing personnel changes in the back seven. Steep progress is needed but there are personnel holes, especially if Dunn has to play a lot and if Michigan State doesn’t get marked improvement at MLB and from Angelo Grose. Grose was a solid tackler against the run last week, but can he be trusted in pass defense against the things Maryland will throw at him?
The one thing Michigan State theoretically does well on defense is stop the run. But that strength will be dissipated by the continuation of the injuries. And further dissipated if the pass defense doesn’t get off the field on third down and if the Michigan State offense can’t posses the ball. An injury-riddled run defense will eventually break if left on thin ice too long without complementary help.
WHERE MARYLAND IS UNIQUE ON OFFENSE
Maryland throws short to the perimeter a lot. That’s something Ben VanSumeren defends well. So I wouldn’t be surprised to see him make some plays out there, but Maryland will also challenge you with physical zone runs up the middle, and VanSumeren needs to improve as a gap-hunting thumper in patrolling that area.
As for throws to the flat, I wouldn’t be surprised to see MSU’s big cornerbacks look a little more at home with some physical play on the edge in this game. Meanwhile, can they stand up to the passing game down the field?
Playing defense is a multi-dimensional thing, and Michigan State is down a few dimensions.
* The Terps run some triple option out of the pistol diamond, and began the 2H against SMU with it. But with Tagovailoa’s rib situation, those pages of the playbook might be off-limits.
* As for Maryland’s run game, some of their mid-line option stuff is a little wonky. On third-and-five at the Michigan 31 early in the 2Q, Michigan left nose guard Mazi Smith unblocked on purpose. It was mid-line option. Let him come free, option him, make him wrong.
But Tagovailoa left the ball with the RB when pulling and keeping would have been the better choice, possibly for first-down yardage. Instead, Mazi went straight for the RB and tackled him for a loss. Of course the funny papers made Mazi out to be super human for this play, but in actuality he didn’t beat anyone to get into the backfield. Taulia just made the wrong read.
Maryland made the field goal and took a 13-10 lead.
* As much as Maryland runs the ball, they complement it with the “trap pass.” That’s pulling a guard to show run action, then that pull guard becomes a de facto offensive tackle in pass protection. They do it pretty smoothly.
When the safeties and linebackers see the guard pulling, one or more of them might have the propensity to bite down too hard to play the run. If so, Maryland will look for a deep shot out of this look play action look, like they did on the first play of a drive for a Rakim Jarrett on a deep over route for a 51-yard TD pass against Michigan. Good concept. Trap pass, with a clearout deep route down the left sideline and the over route coming from the other side into that sideline void.
Maryland runs a lot of good concepts on offense. Kind of like Washington. Different in style than Washington, but similar in smarts.
MARYLAND PERSONNEL: OFFENSE
QB TAULIA TAGOVAILOA (5-11, 200, R-Jr., Ewa Beach, HI/Thompson, Ala.)
* Was a four-star recruit, ranked No. 9 in Alabama.
* Last year: 3,860 yards, 69 percent, 26 TDs. Those marks tied or set school records.
* This year he is completing a whopping 74.6 percent of his passes, averaging 275.5 yards passing per game with 7 TDs and 4 INTs.
* He initially left the game last week with 7:27 left in the third quarter with Maryland down 17-13 and driving to midfield. Rib injury caused by a hit from Michigan d-end Mike Morris. That was the first time that the Michigan pass rush got to him. Morris did a good job timing the snap on that play and getting by Maryland’s good left tackle.
He returned for the next two possessions, but then sat for the final 3:33 when Maryland fell behind 34-19.
* Some guys can run real well and pass okay. Some guys can pass real well and run okay. He’s one of the few guys that can run real well and pass real well. He puts enormous pressure on a defense, and now has a good o-line, good pair of RBs and good set of WRs to go with it.
+ Very good at the top of his drop with footwork, little side steps with quickness and control to buy a little time and/or improve his passing lane.
+ Third-and-8 in the red zone against Michigan, drop back, felt some pressure from d-end Mike Morris (who got a step vs the Maryland LT with a bull rush/arm-over). Then Tagavailoa saved the play by scrambling nine yards to the 3-yard line.
On the scramble, he threatened the pass non-stop and then tucked it and ran. He really froze the MLB Junior Colson with the pass fake.
* Tagovailoa absolutely trusted his protection last week, especially in the first half, especially against a four-man rush.
* He does a good job of checking down to RBs and TEs in the flat. They will run play action stuff to get it out to the flat to those guys, too.
- Made a major mistake with 6 minutes left, trailing by 8 points. It was second-and-six, no time to panic. But he threw into coverage and was intercepted. Forced a deep corner route against two deep safeties. Safety RJ Moten of Michigan slid over there and got the pick.
Tagovailoa had a WR coming wide open over the middle on a dig on that play.
* Good speed in the open field but his best footwork talent is his ultra quickness in the pocket, skittering out of trouble, usually while keeping cocked to throw downfield.
* He plays with a fired-up, cocky edge to him, so don’t be surprised when he nods and talks trash after a nice play.
* Tagovailoa is an excellent QB. Michigan State has faced some good ones this year. He’s the latest problem. It’s hard to keep him bottled up for an entire game. He’s probably going to get his 300-plus yards passing.
QB 9 Billy Edwards (6-3, 207, R-Fr., Burke, Va.)
* Was a 5.5 three-star recruit, No. 45 in Virginia.
* Transfer from Wake Forest.
* Entered the game with Maryland trailing 17-13 with 7:27 left in the third quarter, facing third-and-long due to a dropped pass on the previous play. UM brought pressure and he threw it away quickly.
+ Had a TD drive in the final 3 minutes against a prevent defense. Hit a fourth-and-13 pass over the middle.
* Wasn’t bad on that drive. Was sacked twice on the drive. Was a little unsettled at times but the experience was very good for Edwards in case they need him against Michigan State.
GUESS THE GAMEPLAN PART 1
* Maryland’s pass protection was very good in the 1H against Michigan.
Michigan got some heat on the QB in the third quarter, including once with a six-man rush on third-and-long while playing cover-six in the back. It was the first time I had charted UM playing cover-six in that game. He forced a pass that was nearly intercepted.
Get him in third-and-long, spring a new coverage on him, maybe you have a chance to get him to throw a bad pass.
Then I noticed SMU play cover-six on third-and-six with Maryland possessing the ball at Maryland’s own 6-yard line. Tagovailoa made a couple of reads then quickly converted to try to scramble, but was tackled for no gain.
For whatever reason, when throwing from the pocket, I’ve seen him choke down twice vs cover-six. If I’m Michigan State, I definitely test him with that on third-and-long, if not other situations.
What is cover-six? It’s cover-four on one half of the field and cover-two on the other half. It’s nothing too exotic. But if you don’t show it often, it can make a QB do a double-take, which can be just enough on third down against this guy to unsettle him.
Now, has he worked on reading cover-six this week in practice? Probably so. But shoot the dice anyway. Michigan State has cover-six in its playbook.
MARYLAND RUNNING GAME
* Maryland head coach Mike Locksley said his team did not run the ball against Michigan as well as he thinks they can and should. He said he expects they WILL run the ball well this weekend.
* Maryland has a quality running attack. A little bit better than MSU’s right now.
* After falling behind Michigan 24-13 early in the fourth quarter, Maryland went to the run game. They had gains of 6, 2, 4 and 6 yards on four straight inside zone plays. That might not sound flashy, but that’s confidence in the blocking and the backs.
* When trailing 13-3 in the 2Q to SMU, Maryland regained control of the game with a ground-oriented drive for a touchdown prior to halftime. They aren’t purely a finesse passing offense. They will try to pound it, and can do it.
RB 24 ROMAN HEMBY (6-0, 200, R-Fr., Edgewood, Md.)
* Was a two-star recruit, unranked by Rivals.com with offers from Boston College and mid-majojrs.
* Two 100-yard rushing games in September.
+ Very good speed. He’s a watered-down Kenneth Walker type.
* Has 10 receptions on the year.
* He had 48 yards rushing on 16 carries against Michigan. That’s not great, but against Michigan, that’s pretty good.
+ Gain of 15 vs UM on a swing bubble pass with counter sweep blocking action. Nice design, creative, unique.
+ 49 yards on a toss sweep on the first play of the game against SMU.
+ Good receiver. 25-yard gain out of the pistol diamond backfield, as the middle receiver on a three-receiver flood to the short sideline. Tagovailoa hit him with a sprint-out pass. Good design. RB probably the primary read on this play. Maryland puts speed in space with the ball.
+ 36-yard run on the first play of a drive late in the 3Q with Maryland trailing SMU 27-20. Maryland had four wide outs and a five-man OL vs six in the box. But Maryland blockers got a hat on a hat with good o-line play and the sixth man had to play Tagovailoa’s run threat. It can be a tough offense to stop.
+ Swing pass for a gain of 15 in the red zone on third-and-six on the last play of the 3Q vs SMU. Key play.
RB 31 Antwain Littleton (6-0, 235, R-Fr., Greenbelt, Md./St. John’s College)
* Was a three-star recruit, No. 5 in Washington DC.
* Came to Maryland as a 295 pound running back. You read that right.
* Direct, downhill power runner with some speed.
+ 2-yard TD last week on an inside zone read option give. He blasted in pretty easily as LT blocked down on UM d-lineman Kris Jenkins and cleared room. On that play, he TE kicked out the end man on the line of scrimmage and Maryland left the second-from-end man unblocked and optioned him.
+ Showed vision to daylight and ran through a tackle attempt by UM’s Kalel Mullings for a gain of 11, eight after contact.
- Was stopped for a gain of 2 on third-and-three in the 2Q against SMU. LT Duncan let the edge man slide off and make the tackle. Maryland trailed 13-3 at the time.
RECEIVERS
WR 1 RAKIM JARRETT (6-0, 190, Jr., Palmer Park, Md.)
* Was a five-star recruit, ranked No. 19 in the country.
* Was committed to LSU and flipped to Maryland on signing day.
* 15 catches on the year, averaging 52 receiving yards per game.
+ Excellent high catch on a third-and-four slant (with Michigan blitzing) for 10 yards last week in the 3Q.
* Suffered a left shoulder injury in the third quarter last week. Coaches said he would be a gametime decision on Saturday. Jogged off the field and looked okay but did not return to the game.
+ 51-yard TD on an over route against SMU in the 2Q. Good play design to feature him with all kinds of backfield window dressing and a vertical clearout to open the wake for him.
WR 7 DONTAY DEMUS (6-4, 215, Sr., Washington, DC)
* Three-time Honorable Mention All-Big Ten.
* He has seven career 100-yard receiving games, which ranks No. 2 in school history.
* Was HM All-Big Ten last year despite playing in only five games, being lost to the season in game five vs Iowa to a season-ending injury. Had 28 catches last year for 507 yards in five games. At the time of the injury, he led the Big Ten and was No. 11 in the country in receiving yards.
* This year he has 8 catches but is only averaging 8.6 yards per catch.
= Maryland put four WRs in a diamond to the right and Demus wide to the left. UM pressed him with CB Gemon Green. Maryland tried to go deep to him with a 20-yard fade. Green bodied him pretty good, INC. Green is listed at 6-2 but Demus made him look small.
* Held to 2 catches for 12 yards vs Michigan.
WR 2 JACOB COPELAND (6-0, 202, Jr., Pensacola, Fla.)
* Was a Rivals250 four-star recruit, ranked No. 132 in the country.
* Transfer from Florida. Started 11 games for the Gators last year.
* Led Florida with 41 catches last year for a team-high 642 yards.
* He had 86 career catches at Florida and 9 TDs.
* Four catches for 110 yards against Charlotte.
* Four catches for 52 yards against Michigan.
+ 11-yard reception on a comeback vs Gemon Green. Green pressed him. Copeland fought through the press, offered a nod to the post, then turned back to the sideline and cut back for a comeback and the ball was there. Good pass pro for QB Tagovailoa, good coverage, good route, good ball.
+ Next play, 13 yard comeback route to the right sideline vs DJ Turner in man-to-man. Again, all day to pass vs four-man rush. Maryland pulled the backside guard and fake a power run to the flanker. Pulling guard became the de facto RT in pass protection on a trap pass.
WR 6 JESHAUN JONES (6-2, 185, R-Sr., Fort Meyers, Fla.)
* Was a 5.6 three-star recruit. Also took official visits to Iowa State, Pitt, Tennessee and Nebraska.
* Has 13 catches on the year with 2 TDs.
+ Beat Michigan DB Rod Moore on an over route for 25 yards. Came off the line as part of a switch release. Gave Moore a nod to the seam and then cut on an over route. In man-to-man, Moore had to honor the nod. Good route, good ball, hard to cover.
+ Caught two-point conversion on a sprint out bubble to cut it to 34-27 with :45 seconds left.
+ 6-yard TD reception against SMU. From a bunch formation he was not open initially. So Tagovailoa escaped the pocket, elongated the play and Jones worked his way open. That’s one of the things that makes their offense difficult to defende, the QB’s ability to move quickly in the pocket while staying on the trigger. The play was flagged for holding and a personal foul, by the way. But still, the QB and the WRs are good.
TE 84 COREY DYCHES (6-2, 220, R-Soph., Oxon Hill, Md.)
* Was a 5.7 three-star, renaked No. 22 in Maryland.
* Tied for team high with 15 catches.
= They went deep to him vs press on third-and-four on the first drive last week, incomplete, decent coverage, he’s a threat.
+ Gain of 12 on a dual option shovel pass last week. They optioned the d-end and QB had a pitch man or a shovel man. Unique play which I first saw from either Tom Osborne’s Nebraska or Urban Meyer at Utah.
+ 28-yard catch and run on a well-timed delayed screen to the short side against a five-man Michigan rush in the second quarter.
- Dropped a 15 yard out midway through the 3Q.
+ 34-yard gain in the 4Q against Michigan on a crack-and-go. He lined up in the backfield on that play. QB Tagovailoa with a sprint out, looking for a drag from the back side but 84 Dyches became open on somewhat of a sneak route. Again, good design. Hadn’t shown that formation, hadn’t shown a sprint-out throw.
Maryland’s screen was very cagey. They didn’t let the d-linemen get upfield immediately, as is usually the case with screen blocking. D-linemen today are trained to know when they are getting screened, stop rushing and peel back immediately. That’s what Minnesota did last week when they intercepted Thorne.
On this play, the Maryland o-line stayed in regular pass pro for a beat or two. The d-linemen didn’t know a screen was looming. The play-calling had trust that the pass pro would hold up long enough and that QB Tagovailoa would be patient enough to wait for the play to develop.
Part of the screen included the left guard pulling. So when he pulls, is it a power run? Is it a trap pass, like they had already established? Nope. Same window dressing, and they hit Michigan on the back side with a late-release screen. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a progression like that before.
Good play design.
Next play: Tagovailoa was intercepted on a square in. Dagger concept. Tried to clear out with a deep route by the slot, and cut in behind him with a square in or dig. Tagovailoa telegraphed it a bit and threw behind Copeland. Michigan CB DJ Turner pressed the receiver, handsy all the way down the sideline and was on top and position to make a break on the ball.
Michigan got a big break on that play. The TV commentators thought it should have been ruled a trap and non-INT.
TE 18 CJ Dippre (6-5, 260, Soph., Scranton, Pa)
* 10 catches on the year.
OFFENSIVE LINE
Fox commentator Joel Klatt, last week after the last play of the first quarter: “They are just overpowering this front seven for Michigan. This offensive line and (RB) Littleton, the big back, they are just too much right now for the Wolverines.”
* It’s a sizeable, veteran offensive line. The line is helped by the diversity of the attack.
Players of Note:
LT 71 JAELYN DUNCAN (6-6, 320, R-Sr., New Carrollton, Md.)
* Four-star recruit, ranked No. 9 in Maryland.
* NFL prospect.
* Two-time Honorable Mention All-Big Ten.
* Mobile enough to pull, turn the corner and rock the opposite end on a tackle pull (dart power).
* Good lateral quickness on the kick step and withstood a bull rush by Taylor Upshaw of Michigan. Upshaw (6-4, 255) put a pretty good blast into him but Duncan withstood it with no problem.
- Allowed a QB hit to DE Mike Morris on a speed rush. Morris, at 290, did a good job timing the snap. Morris hit Tagovailoa on the play and put him out for the game with a rib injury.
* The guard, center, guard trio is solid, sizeable and serviceable:
LG 78 MASON LUNSFORD (6-7, 305, Olney, Md.)
* 5.5 three-star recruit, No. 20 in Maryland.
LG 70 Amelio Moran (6-5, 310, R-Sr., Virginia Beach)
* 5.5 three-star, unranked in the state by Rivals.com.
- False start penalty cost Maryland a chance to go for it on fourth down in the 2Q against SMU.
C 50 JOHARI BRANCH (6-3, 330, Sr., Chicago)
* 5.5 three star coming out of Independence CC.
RG 54 SPENCER ANDERSON (6-5, 320, R-Sr., Bowie, Md.)
* 5.5 three star, No. 24 in Maryland.
* NFL prospect, said Joel Klatt.
RT 74 DELMAR GLAZE (6-5, 305, R-Soph, Charlotte, NC)
* two-star recruit.
+ Solid job with combo block on inside zone for gain of 6 in the 4Q last week.
DEFENSE:
MARYLAND DEFENSE
Run defense is the big question here.
Buffalo rushed for 108 yards (2.8 per carry) against Maryland.
Charlotte rushed for 96 yards (3.4 per carry).
SMU rushed for 151 (3.6 per carry).
Not bad, despite the big numbers for Corum, as I suspected.
SMU outgained Maryland 520-439.
SMU ran 96 offensive plays! 54 passes and 42 rushes. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a team run 96 offensive plays in a game. And lose, no less.
Maryland committed 15 penalties against SMU. 15! The most by a Maryland team in over 20 yards. But Maryland had zero penalties last week, deep into the fourth quarter.
* Maryland played defense differently vs Michigan than it did vs SMU.
Maryland played more two-deep zone against SMU, protecting against the pass. Maryland played more to stop the run against Michigan. It didn’t show in the final stats, but Maryland did enough to CONTAIN the Michigan run on enough downs, and survived enough deep incompletions, and moved the ball well enough on offense to stay competitive in that game.
But the moral of the story is that SMU’s productive running day against Maryland was due in part to Maryland playing safeties deep.
Maryland didn’t STOP Michigan’s running attack, but it contained it on the vast majority of the plays. That’s part of the reason the game was close. If Maryland can contain the Michigan running game then - based on what we’ve seen from Michigan State this year - the Terps probably have a good chance to stop MSU’s running attack. That’s IF Maryland plays with as much toughness and fire as it did vs Michigan.
GUESS (SOME OF) THE GAMEPLAN 2
How will Maryland play against Michigan State? To begin with, if the weather isn’t terrible, I would expect Maryland to play with two safeties deep, discourage the pass with the belief that Michigan State won’t be nearly as dangerous as Michigan in the run game. Make Michigan State prove it can bust a grape in the run game.
* SMU scored with a jet sweep pop pass from 17 yards out against two-deep. Will Maryland go two deep against Michigan State in the red zone? Probably not. But I wouldn’t be surprised if Michigan State trots out that copy cat play in this game.
* Coaches love to steal or borrow plans from other teams that have worked. SMU and Michigan both had success, on fourth-and-one, with hurry-up, quick-hitting running plays between the tackles. Maryland’s defense was caught off guard both times and allowed a gain of 5 to SMU and a 30-plus yard TD run to Corum of Michigan.
Has Maryland worked on this since then? I would assume so. But if Michigan State tries it, you’ll know the history of the play.
MARYLAND DEFENSIVE WRINKLES
* With 4 minutes to go in the 1H against SMU, with Maryland having come back from a 13-3 deficit to take a 17-13 lead, Maryland changed gears on defense by rushing three and covering with eight. It didn’t work. SMU drove for a TD.
HOW CORUM DID IT
* In the first half, Corum had chunk runs of 33 yards (TD), 24, 23, 21 and 11. It might sound stupid, but Maryland was sturdy and stout on almost all of his other runs, which is NOT easy against Michigan with the way they will pull excellent o-linemen at you with excellent run-blocking tight ends in your chest all the time.
Michigan State doesn’t have a Blake Corum, or blocking tight ends like Michigan’s. So the vast majority of MSU’s run plays will probably look unlike those Corum chunk runs and more like the ones that get hemmed in by Maryland’s solid defenders for gains of 3 or fewer.
For instance, Michigan’s opening drive of the 2H ended with a punt when three straight runs netted 8 yards. The first two runs were pin-and-pull gap plays for Corum, for gains of 1 and 5. UM ran THE EXACT SAME PLAY on consecutive snaps. Then on third-and-four, Maryland stacked up UM RB Isaiah Gash for a gain of 2. That’s good run defense. The score was 17-13 at the time.
What does all this mean? It means despite the big number of rush yards that Corum put up, I don’t think there is a lot of evidence that Michigan State can do the same.
Can Michigan State rush for 175? Now we’re talking. That’s imperative. Rush for 175, get some balance going and hope for a few bounces and special teams plays to go their way, as was the case for Michigan last week.
As I said in the opener, Michigan State rushing for 175 is possible, but 125 might be more likely.
* With 6 minutes to play in the game, Corum had 177 yards on 25 carries. 112 of those yards came on five carries.
He averaged 3.5 yards on his other 18 carries. Those are still good numbers, but you need to understand that Michigan does an excellent job of run blocking and Corum is an excellent tailback. To hold him to carries of 2, 3, 4, 1 yard on many of those carries is the sign of a respectable run defense, considering Michigan’s strength in that area opponent. Maryland’s run defense WON a lot of plays in this game.
* Michigan RB Corum got loose for a 33-yard TD run in the final minute of the first half. That was on a quick-snap, fourth-and-one situation. Good ploy by Michigan. Maryland was caught a little off-guard, and the Maryland LBs were all stuck sniffing in the pile while Corum bounced outside to no one. No Maryland player was pounded on this play.
He bounced outside for a 47-yard TD on third-and-four with 3:33 to go. Maryland stuffed the box inside and was weak for the bounce outside, just like the fourth-and-short TD in the first half. He got 80 of his yards on those two bounce-outside speed plays. Error by Maryland in outside containment? Yes. Players getting bulldozed? No.
Conclusion: I don’t think Maryland’s run defense is a weakness. It won’t be a weakness against most teams.
MARYLAND DEFENSIVE TRAITS
* They ran some old school 3-4 against UM’s two-TE sets. They also ran some 4-3. Mostly a two-gapping team with guys who are decently stout against double team blocking.
* They stay home. They don’t gamble. Michigan tried to hit them with a reverse pass, but they stayed home, no one was open and the WR who was looking to throw (Ronnie Bell) was tackled for a loss.
* They allowed 30 plus points per game in each of the last three seasons. But this year they look like they CAN be better on defense. Haven’t proven it yet. This Michigan State game is a big game for Maryland, as it was for Minnesota.
DEFENSIVE LINE
* Big DTs at 300-pounds plus. Solid on the edge. Decent pass rushers, nothing super scary. Solid up front all the way around. No big weaknesses.
DE 30 DURELL NCHAMI (6-4, 260, R-Sr., Silver Spring, Md.)
* Three-star recruit, No. 15 in Maryland.
* Quick north-and-south twitch for his size.
+ Stand-up DE covered Blake Corum pretty well initially on a wheel route last week. QB went elsewhere with the ball for an INC. Corum was coming open after 15 yards but QB McCarthy didn’t stay with him.
+ Fought through a pin-and-pull to his side, recognized it, didn’t hesitate, shot the gap, made the tackle for no gain, early in the 3Q.
DE 95 AUSTIN FONTAINE (6-3, 260, R-Sr., Waldorf, Md.)
* Was a Rivals250 four-star recruit, ranked No. 183 and No. 5 in Maryland.
+ Solid vs Michigan LT Ryan Hayes, getting some knock-back on him, providing room for LB Caleb Wheatland to scrape across for a tacke on Corum for a gain of 1.
- Then was very weak vs a TE down block on a power run right at him, kind of olayed it, ducked out of there, didn’t logjam it. Corum gain of about 15.
92 DL HENRY CHIBUEZE (6-3, 310, Sr., Woodbridge, Va.)
* Was a 5.5 three star. Signed with Liberty.
* Team-high two sacks.
* Transfer from Liberty. Did not play last year.
NT 54 AMI FINAU (6-2, 320, Sr., Kahuku, HI/Independence CC)
+ Solid when two-gapping the LG with a boundary shade on an inside run late in the 3Q, China-Rose bottled Corum up for a loss of 1.
DT 33 MOSIAH NASILI-KITE (6-2, 310, R-Sr., Pittsburg, Calif./Independence CC)
* Was a 5.6 three-star recruit. No. 44 juco player in the country by Rivals.com.
+ Solid when two-gapping the RG with a boundary shade on an inside run late in the 3Q, China-Rose bottled Corum up for a loss of 1.
* Leads team with 2.5 TFLs.
DT 88 Anthony Booker (6-4, 320, R-Jr., Cincinnati Winton Woods)
* Was a 5.6 three-star recruit, ranked No. 40 in Ohio. Also visited Cincinnati, Kansas and Toledo.
+ Caused a fumble in the 2Q vs Michigan. Michigan recovered. On the play, he two-gapped into Michigan’s star center, stood his ground, disengaged, reached out, ripped the ball from QB McCarthy on a QB draw.
* Two TFLs on the year.
Solid impact play for a back-up DT.
(When they went to second-string DTs like No. 40, Taizse Johnson, 6-1 ,310, Soph., they weren’t as firm inside against SMU.)
LINEBACKERS
* A deep set of capable linebackers. Not great, but good. No one looks out of place or bad.
OLB 1 JAISHAWN BARHAM (6-3, 230, Fr., District Heights, Md.)
* Rivals250 four-star, ranked No. 122 in the nation and No. 3 in Maryland.
* Looks like this guy is going to be a standout.
* Good feet and wiry strong in bending around the edge to stop Corum on third-and-four for a gain of 2.
+ Good pass drop and leap to get a piece of a pass in the 2Q leading to INT by safety 25.
+ Sack in 2Q against SMU. Well-timed blitz, good job turning the corner.
JACK LB 0 GREG CHINA-ROSE (6-2, 295, R-Sr., Los Angeles/Lackwanna CC/DeMatha Catholic)
* Former walk-on and junior college transfer.
* Plays a stand-up edge/DE position.
* I didn’t see any weaknesses from him.
+ Good job taking on the Michigan LT, two-gapping him, disengaging and tackling low on back-up RB Isaiah Gash of Michigan to hold him to a gain of 2 on third-and-2 in the 3Q. Michigan punted.
+ Had a sack against SMU with a pretty good speed rush and body lean against a mediocre right tackle.
WLB 11 RUEBEN HYPPOLITE (6-0, 230, Jr., Fort Lauderdale)
* Four-star, ranked No. 61 in Florida.
* No real opinion of him other than I didn’t see him do anything poorly.
SLB 8 VANDARIUS COWAN (6-4, 253, Sr., Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.)
* Transfer from West Virginia. Signed with Alabama, then transferred to West Virginia for four years.
* Was a Rivals100 four-star, ranked No. 67 in the country and No. 13 in Florida.
* Had 38 career tackles and three sacks in 16 games at West Virginia.
+ TFL last week on back-up RB Stokes, caused a fumble. Cowan was left unblocked and a TE kind of ran past him. He didn’t defeat a block to make this play, just came in untouched and got the punch/strip.
LB 44 Caleb Wheatland (6-2, 235, Fr., Centreville, Va.)
* Three-star recruit. Also had offers from Liberty and MAC schools.
+ Good job scraping across to tackle Corum for a gain of 1. Fast. Tough play.
+ Nice TFL vs Corum, scraping and pursuing with a head of steam on a pin-and-pull to his side. That’s the type of play VanSumeren should be capable of making, with his quickness. But VanSumeren is not identifying and hitting the gas pedal like Wheatland.
LB 19 Amhad McCullough (6-2, 225, R-Sr., Baltimore)
* 5.5 three-star, transfer from Hutchinson CC
- Was late reacting to a pin-and-pull to his side, and Corum turned the corner for 21 yards in the 2Q.
PASS DEFENSE
* The two starting CBs are good. If and when No. 6 and/or 26 come into the game, I’ve seen teams attack them with success. They aren’t starters, but they play. I’ve seen No. 17 struggle at CB, too. Another bench player.
* Maryland’s pass rush was a non-factor against Michigan.
* Maryland's corners are quite good. Maryland trusts the CBs enough that they occasionally will send a modified zero blitz with the remaining safety in the middle spying the QB and not really helping the CBs vs WRs.
* Against Michigan, if UM went with two WRs to one side and no receiver to the other, Maryland would match it with “corners over,” both CBs to one side. That usually indicates man-to-man for most teams and that’s the way it was for Maryland. So if you go with twin WRs to one side, it can make the QB reads a little easier.
(Michigan went max pro and looked deep out of this set, but Maryland covered it, so QB McCarthy checked down to the TE for 15 yards).
* Maryland mixed it up and went with cover-two on third-and-eight late in the 3Q. QB McCarthy patted the ball, was blind-side sacked from behind at his own 10-yard line and was very fortunate not to fumble.
Maryland mixes coverages without messing themselves up, which is more than we can say for Michigan State right now.
* Maryland allowed a 51-yard TD to SMU on a TE to the seam. SMU’s tight end can fly. Maryland was playing a lot of two-deep coverage to protect against the pass, but two-deep zone leaves the middle of the field open if you can get to it sneaky fast. That’s what the TE did on this straight seam route. SMU used the wide out to draw the left safety over to the boundary, and the Maryland LB couldn’t run fast enough to keep up with that TE to the empty middle seam.
Does Michigan State have a TE that can fly like that? They can try with Barker or Maliq Carr. I don’t think either is as fast as the SMU TE. But if Maryland sits back in a two-deep zone play after play, look for Michigan State to try to steal that deep TE to the seam play.
CB 2 JAKORIAN BENNETT (5-11, 195, Sr., Mobile, Ala./Hutchinson CC)
* Plays slot CB
* Was Honorable Mention All-Big Ten last year.
* Was Pro Football Focus national Cornerback of the Week for the week of Sept. 7.
* Michigan attacked him deep in the slot vs Roman Wilson, incomplete.
CB 3 DEONTE BANKS (6-2, 205, R-Jr., Baltimore)
* Three-star recruit.
* Four-year starter who was lost for the season after two games last year.
* Looks like an All-Big Ten type of guy to me. He’ll get some votes.
+ solid man to man on scramble rules to break up pass to end Michigan’s second possession last week.
+ Good job with press, off-hand jam, hip turn and coverage vs Michigan’s Cornelius Johnson on a third-and-long in the 2Q (QB McCarthy picked up the first down with a long scramble).
+ Turned and ran vs a Roman Wilson deep shot last week pretty well.
- Allowed a 20-yard TD to Roman Wilson. Outside leverage, inside release, couldn’t make up the grass and air space. That’s the same strange outside leverage and free release that Michigan State’s Angelos Grose allowed to Minnesota last week. I’ll have to ask around to see what the deal is with that. Gave UM a 24-13 lead. But this guy is a good player.
4 CB TARHEEB STILL (6-0, 185, Jr., Sicklerville, NJ)
* Was a 5.7 three star recruit, ranked No. 14 in New Jersey.
* Third-year starter.
* Honorable Mention All-Big Ten as a freshman in 2020.
* In two games, I saw him play a lot of snaps, no noise.
NB 26 GAVIN GIBSON (5-11, 175, Fr., Hickory, N.C.)
* Was a 5.5 three-star, ranked No. 22 in North Carolina.
- Michigan attacked him deep on a third-and-long in the 2Q. The put WR Roman Wilson in the slot and attacked No. 26 on a deep route to the flag. He was open by a step and a half but JJ McCarthy overthrew him.
- He was a little off-balance with his hip turn when Wilson ran by him. Maybe he was a little surprised by Wilson’s speed.
+ Coverage sack in the 3Q vs Michigan as a slot rusher, part of a four-man rush.
CB 17 Lionell Whitaker (5-11, 175, Fr., Miami)
* 5.6 three-star recruit, ranked No. 94 in Florida.
* Was in the game for some reason and Ronnie Bell ran by his off man coverage for a deep ball gain of 48 yards to the 24-yard line. Michigan went deep several times and hadn’t connected until that one. Michigan led only 24-19 with 8:37 left when they went deep on this third-and-six for the game changer of the day and turning point.
(Back-up CB Corey Coley, No. 6, 6-2, 180, Soph., Jacksonville, Fla.)
* Was a 5.6 three-star recruit
- was beaten on a corner fade in the red zone against SMU for a short TD. Really good double move by the SMU WR. SMU has some offensive talent.
- beaten deep for an INC by SMU in the fourth quarter. They really picked on him in the fourth quarter. Deonte Banks was out for some reason.
= Maryland took Coley, No. 6 out, moved Bennett from slot to CB and put 26 Gibson in the slot.
+ Then they put him back in and survived by playing a decent version of cover-two.
SAFETIES
* 25 and 12 are hammers. Not the biggest guys, but they will crank you. They play with disregard to their well-being. Good players, good hitters.
S 25 BEAU BRADE (6-1, 200, Jr., Clarksville, Md.)
* Was a 5.5 three-star, ranked No. 36 in Maryland.
* First-year starter, looks good.
* Solid sweep tackle early in the SMU game. Sharp, physical.
* Hard hitter. Will break himself to deliver a hard hit.
+ INT vs SMU out of the two-deep shell they played most of the game. (They didn’t nearly as play much two-deep against Michigan).
+ Hard tackle on the ball caused a fumble by the SMU QB at the Maryland 3-yard line in the third quarter. Big play.
+ Good pass break-up out of cover-four on third-and-long against SMU in the third quarter. Good read and break on the ball.
FS 12 DANTE TRADER (6-0, 190, Soph., Delmar Del.)
* 5.6 three-star recruit, ranked No. 25 in Maryland
* Great lacrosse player, No. 5 recruit in the nation for 2021.
* Ran decently well vs Andrel Anthony on a deep post in the fourth quarter last week. Anthony was open by a step, but QB McCarthy missed him. Still, when being isolated one-on-one, this wasn’t a bad run by the safety to track Anthony.
+ INT in the fourth quarter vs SMU out of cover-two zone. QB overthrew over the middle with Maryland’s LBs taking good drops.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Their kicker has a long streak of makes, like the longest in the nation.
Tai Felton is a dangerous kick returner but fumbled one against SMU (SMU recovered). He averages 27.4 yards per return and has a long of 39.
Tarheeb Still is a good punt returner. Is averaging 14.7 yards on three punt returns this year, including a long of 18. Had a 92-yarder for a TD last year.
ADD IT ALL UP
I already wrote an Add It All Up, but the best way I can summarize it is to say that Maryland is trending up at RB, WR, OL and even in run defense despite last week, and they’re good at CB. A really good passing attack and offense, like SMU, can put up numbers against them. But Michigan didn’t or couldn’t.
So that’s what you have to go against in order to outscore a balanced, well-conceived Tagovailoa offense.
Last week, I characterized Minnesota as being a program that has matured. Maryland seems to be getting there too.
Maryland traded blows with Michigan throughout that game and could have won with a couple of favorable bounces and a call. That was no fluke. They were good that day. NOW, the big question is whether Maryland is mature enough of a program to stack weeks of good games together. They had a horrible time with penalty discipline for their last home game, against SMU, and corrected that last week. Now, can they keep building as a team and program? They are getting to uncharted territory in the Locksley era. Can they build momentum or will they fall off? This looks like Maryland's game to lose, if they want to.
If Michigan State wins this game - like I said prior to the Washington game - I’m not sure Michigan State will get enough credit for defeating a solid team. But Michigan State will need to fix a lot of ills from the last two weeks in order to do so, and they’ll have to overcome a slew if injuries to make it happen. I’ll believe it when I see it. In the meantime, Spartan watchers need to be watching for continued effort on defense versus collisions, and less structural slippage. It’s baby steps and damage control at this point, with hopes of getting back to respectability at some point.
Pre-Snap Read: Michigan State vs Maryland
By Jim Comparoni
SpartanMag.com
East Lansing, Mich. - We all know MSU’s defense is faulty.
And most of you noticed that Maryland moved the ball pretty well against Michigan and are probably aware that Maryland has a highly-dangerous dual threat QB in Taulia Tagovailoa.
Unless rain and wind conditions become horrible, holding Maryland under 28 points is going to be difficult - based on Michigan State’s recent troubles and Maryland’s balanced explosiveness.
FINAL ANALYSIS FIRST
Can Michigan State score in the high 20s, or more, and win in a shootout? That’s the first thing I looked for.
Michigan’s Blake Corum rushed for 243 yards on 30 carries. That’s the next thing I investigated. Are there weaknesses along the Maryland d-line that could open the door for Michigan State to rush for 175 yards or more, establish some balance, and do damage in an offensive shootout?
Well, the Maryland run defense wasn’t nearly as bad as those numbers indicate. Corum was just that good on six or seven explosive plays. Maryland’s run defense was actually respectable on the vast majority of Corum’s rush attempts.
Michigan State doesn’t have a RB like Corum, and doesn’t yet have an o-line like Michigan’s, and doesn’t have anything close to Michigan’s tight end blocking.
But what about SMU? SMU rushed for 151 yards (3.6 per carry) against Maryland two weeks ago. Maryland won in a shootout, 34-27.
Well, SMU had very good balance as a pass-first, uptempo offense.
Maryland got caught sucking wind a few times against the tempo, was without one of its best CBs for much of the game. SMU ran 96 offensive plays. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an offense run 96 plays in a game. And they lost (three turnovers).
Anyway, what about Maryland’s run defense? Well, although SMU rushed for 151 yards, the 3.6 average wasn’t great. And in 42 run attempts, the longest ground gainer Maryland allowed went for just 13 yards. So overall, the run defense played winning football against SMU, considering they had to put so many resources into chasing around SMU’s pass game.
(As for SMU, that’s an annoying offense to play against. SMU could have won this game. Then they went out and lost to TCU, 42-34, last week. I don’t know anything about TCU, but they are 3-0 and they play Oklahoma this week. Oklahoma had better be strapped in for that game or else they could lose two straight).
As for Maryland’s run defense, I think they have pretty good talent in the middle, on the edges and at linebacker. Their safeties are hammer hitters. I don’t see run defense as a weakness, despite Corum’s numbers. I think Michigan is going to put a hole in a lot of defenses with the run this year if Corum can stay healthy.
THE LATEST ON MICHIGAN STATE
The Spartans obviously need to stop the bleeding on defense and get the run game going
The run game still has promise. I didn’t see Michigan State o-linemen losing last week against Minnesota. I think tight end blocking has been inconsistent and unreliable. And Minnesota’s run defense is Grade B-plus quality.
Michigan State had the run game going decently well on the opening drive of the second half last week, with a chance to cut the lead to 17-7. But QB Payton Thorne fumbled at the 3-yard line on first-and-goal. Soon it was 24-0 and the run game was out the window.
Center Nick Samac played perhaps the best football of his career. He was good. Not great. He was good. That’s progress.
Pass protection was good. All five o-linemen graded out really well by PFF (and myself) in pass pro against Minnesota.
Michigan State had to pass way too much yet allowed only one sack, and that one was charged to RB Jarek Broussard. Why Broussard was in for pass protection on third-and-long, I do not know. I thought that was Harold Joiner’s role. But sometimes players seem to disappear from the playing group. Maybe Joiner was hurt. We don’t know.
As for run blocking, we didn’t see a great surge, but we weren’t seeing purges, either. There were no offensive linemen getting uprooted.
As for Maryland, they won’t be easy to move out of the way, either. As a program, their defense has improved.
Weather needs to be a factor for Michigan State. Maryland has the better passing attack of the two. Michigan State has the poorer pass defense of the two teams. With Michigan State battling injuries, Maryland is the more talented team. For those reasons, bad weather would favor the less-talented, more-troubled team, and that’s Michigan State.
I’m seeing a 65 pct chance of rain, clearing up in the second half, if my mediocre weather app is correct. Winds of 10 to 20 mph. That’s a factor, but probably not enough to help Michigan State all that much.
That being said, the ability to establish the run is always important. And if there’s rain and some wind, that WILL lead to a few more incompletions than normal, and put MORE emphasis on establishing the run.
So Michigan State comes out of last week’s embarrassing loss with every position group and position coach calling for extreme effort and all the physicality they can muster. That was also the call last week, but the call goes out even harder now. And after another week of teaching, and apparent good health on the o-line, I wouldn’t be surprised to see some run game progress in this game, even against a Maryland run defense that is quite respectable.
What does run game progress look like for Michigan State? I would consider 150 yards rushing progress. I think 175 is possible. 125 is maybe more likely. But anything resembling the Black Corum show is highly doubtful.
125 yards rushing won’t be enough of a run game complement to keep up with Maryland’s offense. Thorne was pretty good at Washington, but we haven’t seen Thorne do anything that suggests he and the receivers are capable of carrying the offense to a 380-yard passing game or anything like that.
Maryland’s pass defense is good. The safeties are sound and physical. The cornerbacks are good. The pass rush is okay.
SMU threw for 369 yards (29 of 54, 3 TDs, 2 Ints) for an average of 6.8 yards per attempt, which isn’t great. SMU QB Tanner Mordecai, an Oklahoma transfer, is more dangerous than Thorne right now, and SMU go-to WR Rashee Rice is better than anyone Michigan State has at the moment, and SMU’s uptempo, pass-happy attack is not something Michigan State is going to emulate.
Maryland held Michigan wonderboy JJ McCarthy to 220 yards passing on 18 of 26 attempts. Not a bad day for McCarthy, but he was spotty.
McCarthy was on his way toward an exceedingly mediocre day, and maybe a loss, until he found Ronnie Bell for a game-changing 49-yard deep shot on third-and-long with 8:37 left in the game and Michigan clinging to a 24-19 lead. McCarthy had missed on four or five deep balls previously. If he doesn’t connect on that pass, the McCarthy (and Maryland) narrative might be completely different today.
Michigan ended up winning 34-27.
Maryland QB Tagovailoa was 20 of 30 for 207 yards against Michigan, with a two INTs, including a crippler of a rare bad decision with Maryland down 8 and 5:55 to play.
Tagovailoa left the game in the third quarter with an apparent rib injury. He returned. But then he left for good after that INT.
Maryland head coach Mike Locksley said on Monday that Tagovailoa and standout WR Rakim Jarrett would be gametimes decisions. Jarrett suffered an apparent shoulder injury when landing hard on it midway through last week’s game, and did not return.
Tagovailoa posted on social media this week that he is 100 percent healthy.
I’m expecting Tagovailoa to play, and be fine through the air. But the rib injury will likely curtail some or most of his running ability. They like to use him on designed runs a handful of times per game. I assume those are out.
He is very good at moving and shimmying in the pocket as a scramble-to-throw guy. That part of his game, his footwork in the pocket and when getting flushed while still looking to throw, will probably be unaffected. But could he be one or two hard hits away from being on the ropes again? Possibly. And something like that could alter this game.
APPLES TO APPLES
* Maryland has the better QB. He is hard to contain, plain and simple. He has a high completion rate and he runs a scheme that spreads the ball all over the place with creativity.
Payton Thorne showed some frustration bordering on despondency last week. He missed Jayden Reed on a deep post that might have been a TD. Connect on that one, and avoid the fumble inside the 5-yard line, and MAYBE Michigan State might have been able to hang around within 10 points heading into the fourth quarter.
He needs to shake it off and get help from his defense (and route runners, Daniel Barker made an error on the fourth down INT last week).
* Maryland has the better running backs. This might surprise you. Redshirt-freshman Roman Hemby is one of the top newcomers in the Big Ten. He averages 7.1 yards per carry and was difference-maker as a runner and receiver against SMU.
Hemby and power back Antwain Littleton were strong against Michigan.
MSU’s Jalen Berger has been slowed by a hip flexor. Jarek Broussard showed some life last week. I wouldn’t be shocked to see Eli Collins get some carries. But Hemby looks like he is a tad better than MSU’s RBs right now.
* At WR, I said two weeks ago that Washington had better WRs than Michigan State. I think Maryland’s cast of WRs is just slightly below Washington’s and a bit better than MSU’s. They have four good ones, including a former five-star (Jarrett) and a transfer who led Florida in receiving last year.
* At TE, their guy Corey Dyches is tied for the team lead in catches with 15. I haven’t noticed him as a blocker. He has WR size. He’s more of a WR than a TE. It’s kind of inconclusive as to how he compares to Michigan State. It’s not apples to apples because Maryland doesn’t try to use the TE like Michigan State. But the back-up TE, DiPree, is more of a connsumate TE. Edge probably goes to Maryland.
* On the o-line, Maryland is solid and firm and at least as good as Michigan State. And I think MSU’s o-line isn’t as bad as the numbers have shown in the past two weeks. But based on recent body of work, I would give the edge to Maryland.
* On the d-line, Michigan State has good players, but who is available? Khris Bogle did not look good at all when he exited the game last week and headed down the tunnel. I’m not expecting him to play.
Maverick Hansen went down in the last five minutes. I don’t know what to think about him.
Jacob Slade? We haven’t seen him since the Akron game. Not sure. Simeon Barrow? Not sure. Jeff Pietrowski? We haven’t seen him since the first quarter of the Washington game. Not sure.
So if you take away Slade, Barrow, Pietrowski and Bogle, that’s pretty much MSU’s starting defensive line from opening night, although Jacoby Windmon has stepped up as a threat, and Derrick Harmon has been doing a good job as a replacement starter. But Harmon wore down in the fourth quarter last week, logging 58 snaps. That’s way more than he has been asked to play in the past.
So who is in the d-line rotation this week? Windmon, Harmon and who else? Assuming that Bogle isn’t available, and if Slade and Pietrowski are still out, then you’re getting into Jalen Hunt, who played three snaps last week, and Alex VanSumeren, who played six snaps last week.
VanSumeren hasn’t been good against double-teams. He’s a freshman who is still learning. Can’t expect too much from a true frosh DT.
Hunt has looked strong and firm in short segments this year. I’ve heard a little more about the injuries he battled during the off-season. Give him credit for coming back. It hasn’t been easy. He seems committed and dialed in. But how many snaps can he provide? I’m not sure. But he has looked strong in short stints.
After those guys, Michael Fletcher and DaShaun Mallory played for the first time this season, last week. Mallory played seven snaps. He didn’t look bad, didn’t look great. He’s a good kid but he hasn’t shaped into the player we thought he might be two years ago.
Fletcher played some d-tackle last week, believe it or not. That’s not his position. He played some d-end too. He logged 13 snaps. He was serviceable, but a little awkward. He’s just a guy.
At d-end, there’s Windmon and then Fletcher and Avery Dunn and true freshman Zion Young. Dunn played a career-high 38 snaps and did his best, but he was a weakness against double-teams. Michigan State had him at strong-side DE. He isn’t made to take on TE/OT double teams, and it showed. But neither is Windmon.
Zion Young has shown some promise, but I was a little surprised he played only eight snaps compared to Dunn’s 38. Young was involved in a couple of gap assignment errors.
For now, Fletcher, Dunn, Mallory and even Young and VanSumeren are just “guys.”
If you get caught playing with too many “just guys” on the d-line in the Big Ten, the boat won’t float. And d-line was one of the few strengths on the defense through most of last week. But these back-ups aren’t bad back-ups. If they keep hammering and play with will and punch and correctness, they can be competent as a group.
As for Maryland’s d-line, I don’t see weaknesses. I don’t see awesome strengths. But I don’t see weaknesses. They aren’t bad. The compare favorably to Minnesota. They don’t quite have the backing at LB that the Gophers had, but the overall front six is solid and competent.
Based on the injury unknowns for Michigan State on the d-line, I would have to give the slight edge to Maryland in the d-line comparison. That changes if Slade and Barrow are back in good shape, plus Bogle.
As for Bogle, he’s firm and useful against the run. They miss that with him out.
* At linebacker, Ben VanSumeren is struggling to play with quick instincts and punch. Cal Haladay is playing reasonably well.
Maryland’s linebackers aren’t great. But they aren’t weaknesses. Edge to Maryland.
* At cornerback, Michigan State isn’t bad. But Maryland is better.
* At safety, Kendell Brooks has been a pleasant surprise. Angelo Grose has struggled to earn trust. Minnesota’s safeties hit hard and I don’t see them making mistakes. Edge Maryland.
So, as you can see, this isn’t about Tagovailoa being a one-man team. Maryland has improved from top to bottom. Maryland isn’t great, but - of course - neither is Michigan State, especially with the injuries on defense and the Michigan State defensive coaches trying to merely get death by inches tightened up in order to see what the leftover lack of talent is actually capable of. Not a good situation.
These apples to apples comparisons would have been different in week two. But Maryland is trending positively right now. Michigan State is in survival and recovery mode.
It’s cliché, but the goal is to play hard and play smart and win collisions. Michigan State isn’t going to win vs Ohio State next week, which makes this somewhat winnable game against Maryland extremely important, just to keep hopes above water.
ADD IT ALL UP
Maryland was jacked and correct and excited and physical last week against Michigan. They gave as good as they got. That was impressive.
I don’t know if Michigan was sleepy or too full of themselves or what, but if Michigan had played Minnesota last week, Minnesota would have beaten them.
And if Maryland had played Michigan State last week, Maryland would have won by two touchdowns.
So what happens this week. Is Maryland as sharp and willful and skillful as they were last week? Has Michigan State tightened up enough loose screws?
Then we get back into the injury question and wonder how good Michigan State can be even if the screws are tightened up, with half of their defensive starters out or questionable.
I’m expecting Tagovailoa to play, and play well, and for Michigan State to have trouble containing him, and the RBs, and the WRs, and the flex TE. Unless Tagovailoa is hurt, or becomes re-injured, or unless there’s a 20 MPH crosswind, I think Maryland is scoring 28 or more.
For Michigan State, without last year’s explosiveness, it’s become difficult to merely put together a 10-play scoring drive. Unless Michigan State changes its stripes drastically, I’m having trouble forecasting more than 20 points out of Michigan State, and maybe less if the weather is bad.
From there, Michigan State will need turnovers and help on special teams. A big day from Payton Thorne, Jayden Reed and Keon Coleman isn’t impossible. Michigan State has a better chance to win this game than last week’s game, but it will take some quick tightening of screws on defense and some explosive good fortune.
If Michigan State had played Maryland in week three, I would have picked Michigan State. If they had played last week, I would have leaned toward Michigan State. But now, after Maryland’s strong showing last week, and Michigan State falling into deeper injury and execution disarray, Maryland is simply the more trustworthy, improving commodity at this juncture.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MARYLAND
* The Terrapins (3-1) have won six six straight home games vs unranked opponents. Maryland has become a solidly respectable team and program. Maryland beat Virginia Tech, 54-10, in the Pinstripe Bowl last year and finished 7-6.
* Maryland lost at Michigan State last year, 40-21, but that game was played in 39-degree temperatures and a decent breeze. Still Tagovailoa threw for 350 yards on 29 of 48 passing. He had bouts of inaccuracy early in the game which I think was due to getting accustomed to the cold temperatures. He had never taken a snap in weather that cold in a game or practice.
Tagovailoa is kind of streaky. He threw for 300 yards in the first half against a weak Charlotte team. He had some excellent moments against Michigan, and then kind of went quiet.
He started quiet against SMU and then heated up after the Terrapins’ run game got things rolling.
His overall stats are undisputable. He’s a pain in the rear.
* Maryland played better last week against Michigan than the Terps did the previous week in a sloppy shootout victory over SMU.
Maryland results thus far:
Maryland 31, Buffalo 10
Maryland 56, Charlotte 21
Maryland 34, SMU 27
Michigan 34, Maryland 27
If Maryland beats Michigan State, I could see Maryland beating Purdue, Indiana and Northwestern in its next three games and climbing to 7-1. Maryland isn’t great, but things are breaking favorably for them.
* Scottie Hazelton was talking about the challenge of playing two completely different style of offenses in Washington and Minnesota. Well, if I were to describe Maryland, they are kind of a combination of the two, but with a more mobile QB.
Maryland doesn’t run the ball as well as Minnesota, but they run it okay. As for downfield passing, Tagovailoa is good. Not as good as Michael Penix, but he’s good. And his receivers are comparable to Washington’s, arguably even better.
Maryland’s play design is creative and diverse. They can get into rhythm and keep you off balance while spreading it around to several quality skill players, like Washington.
* Maryland does NOT come to the line of scrimmage and delay the snap, make you show your coverage, look to the sideline and change the play. They would rather get into a rhythm. They don’t necessarily go with fast tempo, but they aren’t going to read at the line like Minnesota did, which was SO successful against MSU’s early-show, no-disguise coverages last week.
THE MICHIGAN GAME
Michigan fumbled twice in the first half (and was fortunate to recover both), was granted an INT when Maryland was driving in the 2Q on a play that would have been ruled an INC if the replay officials had looked at it, and Maryland fumbled the opening kickoff of the game, which Michigan punched in for a touchdown. All four of those game-changing bounces went Michigan’s away. The Wolverines were very fortunate to be leading 17-13 at halftime.
Michigan led only 24-19 with 8:37 left when they went deep on this third-and-six for the game changer of the day and turning point.
Maryland trailed by 8 with five minutes to play with Tagovailoa threw into double coverage for an INT when he had a WR breaking wide open over the middle on a dig.
Ball game.
CAN MICHIGAN STATE FIX ITS DEFENSE?
Based on the mode of operation not only this year but last year, the chances of getting a quick fix seems unlikely. And at this point, it wouldn’t be a quick fix.
Even when healthy, Michigan State had problems getting on the same page at the LB level in pass defense, and with safeties. I wouldn’t be surprised to see continuing personnel changes in the back seven. Steep progress is needed but there are personnel holes, especially if Dunn has to play a lot and if Michigan State doesn’t get marked improvement at MLB and from Angelo Grose. Grose was a solid tackler against the run last week, but can he be trusted in pass defense against the things Maryland will throw at him?
The one thing Michigan State theoretically does well on defense is stop the run. But that strength will be dissipated by the continuation of the injuries. And further dissipated if the pass defense doesn’t get off the field on third down and if the Michigan State offense can’t posses the ball. An injury-riddled run defense will eventually break if left on thin ice too long without complementary help.
WHERE MARYLAND IS UNIQUE ON OFFENSE
Maryland throws short to the perimeter a lot. That’s something Ben VanSumeren defends well. So I wouldn’t be surprised to see him make some plays out there, but Maryland will also challenge you with physical zone runs up the middle, and VanSumeren needs to improve as a gap-hunting thumper in patrolling that area.
As for throws to the flat, I wouldn’t be surprised to see MSU’s big cornerbacks look a little more at home with some physical play on the edge in this game. Meanwhile, can they stand up to the passing game down the field?
Playing defense is a multi-dimensional thing, and Michigan State is down a few dimensions.
* The Terps run some triple option out of the pistol diamond, and began the 2H against SMU with it. But with Tagovailoa’s rib situation, those pages of the playbook might be off-limits.
* As for Maryland’s run game, some of their mid-line option stuff is a little wonky. On third-and-five at the Michigan 31 early in the 2Q, Michigan left nose guard Mazi Smith unblocked on purpose. It was mid-line option. Let him come free, option him, make him wrong.
But Tagovailoa left the ball with the RB when pulling and keeping would have been the better choice, possibly for first-down yardage. Instead, Mazi went straight for the RB and tackled him for a loss. Of course the funny papers made Mazi out to be super human for this play, but in actuality he didn’t beat anyone to get into the backfield. Taulia just made the wrong read.
Maryland made the field goal and took a 13-10 lead.
* As much as Maryland runs the ball, they complement it with the “trap pass.” That’s pulling a guard to show run action, then that pull guard becomes a de facto offensive tackle in pass protection. They do it pretty smoothly.
When the safeties and linebackers see the guard pulling, one or more of them might have the propensity to bite down too hard to play the run. If so, Maryland will look for a deep shot out of this look play action look, like they did on the first play of a drive for a Rakim Jarrett on a deep over route for a 51-yard TD pass against Michigan. Good concept. Trap pass, with a clearout deep route down the left sideline and the over route coming from the other side into that sideline void.
Maryland runs a lot of good concepts on offense. Kind of like Washington. Different in style than Washington, but similar in smarts.
MARYLAND PERSONNEL: OFFENSE
QB TAULIA TAGOVAILOA (5-11, 200, R-Jr., Ewa Beach, HI/Thompson, Ala.)
* Was a four-star recruit, ranked No. 9 in Alabama.
* Last year: 3,860 yards, 69 percent, 26 TDs. Those marks tied or set school records.
* This year he is completing a whopping 74.6 percent of his passes, averaging 275.5 yards passing per game with 7 TDs and 4 INTs.
* He initially left the game last week with 7:27 left in the third quarter with Maryland down 17-13 and driving to midfield. Rib injury caused by a hit from Michigan d-end Mike Morris. That was the first time that the Michigan pass rush got to him. Morris did a good job timing the snap on that play and getting by Maryland’s good left tackle.
He returned for the next two possessions, but then sat for the final 3:33 when Maryland fell behind 34-19.
* Some guys can run real well and pass okay. Some guys can pass real well and run okay. He’s one of the few guys that can run real well and pass real well. He puts enormous pressure on a defense, and now has a good o-line, good pair of RBs and good set of WRs to go with it.
+ Very good at the top of his drop with footwork, little side steps with quickness and control to buy a little time and/or improve his passing lane.
+ Third-and-8 in the red zone against Michigan, drop back, felt some pressure from d-end Mike Morris (who got a step vs the Maryland LT with a bull rush/arm-over). Then Tagavailoa saved the play by scrambling nine yards to the 3-yard line.
On the scramble, he threatened the pass non-stop and then tucked it and ran. He really froze the MLB Junior Colson with the pass fake.
* Tagovailoa absolutely trusted his protection last week, especially in the first half, especially against a four-man rush.
* He does a good job of checking down to RBs and TEs in the flat. They will run play action stuff to get it out to the flat to those guys, too.
- Made a major mistake with 6 minutes left, trailing by 8 points. It was second-and-six, no time to panic. But he threw into coverage and was intercepted. Forced a deep corner route against two deep safeties. Safety RJ Moten of Michigan slid over there and got the pick.
Tagovailoa had a WR coming wide open over the middle on a dig on that play.
* Good speed in the open field but his best footwork talent is his ultra quickness in the pocket, skittering out of trouble, usually while keeping cocked to throw downfield.
* He plays with a fired-up, cocky edge to him, so don’t be surprised when he nods and talks trash after a nice play.
* Tagovailoa is an excellent QB. Michigan State has faced some good ones this year. He’s the latest problem. It’s hard to keep him bottled up for an entire game. He’s probably going to get his 300-plus yards passing.
QB 9 Billy Edwards (6-3, 207, R-Fr., Burke, Va.)
* Was a 5.5 three-star recruit, No. 45 in Virginia.
* Transfer from Wake Forest.
* Entered the game with Maryland trailing 17-13 with 7:27 left in the third quarter, facing third-and-long due to a dropped pass on the previous play. UM brought pressure and he threw it away quickly.
+ Had a TD drive in the final 3 minutes against a prevent defense. Hit a fourth-and-13 pass over the middle.
* Wasn’t bad on that drive. Was sacked twice on the drive. Was a little unsettled at times but the experience was very good for Edwards in case they need him against Michigan State.
GUESS THE GAMEPLAN PART 1
* Maryland’s pass protection was very good in the 1H against Michigan.
Michigan got some heat on the QB in the third quarter, including once with a six-man rush on third-and-long while playing cover-six in the back. It was the first time I had charted UM playing cover-six in that game. He forced a pass that was nearly intercepted.
Get him in third-and-long, spring a new coverage on him, maybe you have a chance to get him to throw a bad pass.
Then I noticed SMU play cover-six on third-and-six with Maryland possessing the ball at Maryland’s own 6-yard line. Tagovailoa made a couple of reads then quickly converted to try to scramble, but was tackled for no gain.
For whatever reason, when throwing from the pocket, I’ve seen him choke down twice vs cover-six. If I’m Michigan State, I definitely test him with that on third-and-long, if not other situations.
What is cover-six? It’s cover-four on one half of the field and cover-two on the other half. It’s nothing too exotic. But if you don’t show it often, it can make a QB do a double-take, which can be just enough on third down against this guy to unsettle him.
Now, has he worked on reading cover-six this week in practice? Probably so. But shoot the dice anyway. Michigan State has cover-six in its playbook.
MARYLAND RUNNING GAME
* Maryland head coach Mike Locksley said his team did not run the ball against Michigan as well as he thinks they can and should. He said he expects they WILL run the ball well this weekend.
* Maryland has a quality running attack. A little bit better than MSU’s right now.
* After falling behind Michigan 24-13 early in the fourth quarter, Maryland went to the run game. They had gains of 6, 2, 4 and 6 yards on four straight inside zone plays. That might not sound flashy, but that’s confidence in the blocking and the backs.
* When trailing 13-3 in the 2Q to SMU, Maryland regained control of the game with a ground-oriented drive for a touchdown prior to halftime. They aren’t purely a finesse passing offense. They will try to pound it, and can do it.
RB 24 ROMAN HEMBY (6-0, 200, R-Fr., Edgewood, Md.)
* Was a two-star recruit, unranked by Rivals.com with offers from Boston College and mid-majojrs.
* Two 100-yard rushing games in September.
+ Very good speed. He’s a watered-down Kenneth Walker type.
* Has 10 receptions on the year.
* He had 48 yards rushing on 16 carries against Michigan. That’s not great, but against Michigan, that’s pretty good.
+ Gain of 15 vs UM on a swing bubble pass with counter sweep blocking action. Nice design, creative, unique.
+ 49 yards on a toss sweep on the first play of the game against SMU.
+ Good receiver. 25-yard gain out of the pistol diamond backfield, as the middle receiver on a three-receiver flood to the short sideline. Tagovailoa hit him with a sprint-out pass. Good design. RB probably the primary read on this play. Maryland puts speed in space with the ball.
+ 36-yard run on the first play of a drive late in the 3Q with Maryland trailing SMU 27-20. Maryland had four wide outs and a five-man OL vs six in the box. But Maryland blockers got a hat on a hat with good o-line play and the sixth man had to play Tagovailoa’s run threat. It can be a tough offense to stop.
+ Swing pass for a gain of 15 in the red zone on third-and-six on the last play of the 3Q vs SMU. Key play.
RB 31 Antwain Littleton (6-0, 235, R-Fr., Greenbelt, Md./St. John’s College)
* Was a three-star recruit, No. 5 in Washington DC.
* Came to Maryland as a 295 pound running back. You read that right.
* Direct, downhill power runner with some speed.
+ 2-yard TD last week on an inside zone read option give. He blasted in pretty easily as LT blocked down on UM d-lineman Kris Jenkins and cleared room. On that play, he TE kicked out the end man on the line of scrimmage and Maryland left the second-from-end man unblocked and optioned him.
+ Showed vision to daylight and ran through a tackle attempt by UM’s Kalel Mullings for a gain of 11, eight after contact.
- Was stopped for a gain of 2 on third-and-three in the 2Q against SMU. LT Duncan let the edge man slide off and make the tackle. Maryland trailed 13-3 at the time.
RECEIVERS
WR 1 RAKIM JARRETT (6-0, 190, Jr., Palmer Park, Md.)
* Was a five-star recruit, ranked No. 19 in the country.
* Was committed to LSU and flipped to Maryland on signing day.
* 15 catches on the year, averaging 52 receiving yards per game.
+ Excellent high catch on a third-and-four slant (with Michigan blitzing) for 10 yards last week in the 3Q.
* Suffered a left shoulder injury in the third quarter last week. Coaches said he would be a gametime decision on Saturday. Jogged off the field and looked okay but did not return to the game.
+ 51-yard TD on an over route against SMU in the 2Q. Good play design to feature him with all kinds of backfield window dressing and a vertical clearout to open the wake for him.
WR 7 DONTAY DEMUS (6-4, 215, Sr., Washington, DC)
* Three-time Honorable Mention All-Big Ten.
* He has seven career 100-yard receiving games, which ranks No. 2 in school history.
* Was HM All-Big Ten last year despite playing in only five games, being lost to the season in game five vs Iowa to a season-ending injury. Had 28 catches last year for 507 yards in five games. At the time of the injury, he led the Big Ten and was No. 11 in the country in receiving yards.
* This year he has 8 catches but is only averaging 8.6 yards per catch.
= Maryland put four WRs in a diamond to the right and Demus wide to the left. UM pressed him with CB Gemon Green. Maryland tried to go deep to him with a 20-yard fade. Green bodied him pretty good, INC. Green is listed at 6-2 but Demus made him look small.
* Held to 2 catches for 12 yards vs Michigan.
WR 2 JACOB COPELAND (6-0, 202, Jr., Pensacola, Fla.)
* Was a Rivals250 four-star recruit, ranked No. 132 in the country.
* Transfer from Florida. Started 11 games for the Gators last year.
* Led Florida with 41 catches last year for a team-high 642 yards.
* He had 86 career catches at Florida and 9 TDs.
* Four catches for 110 yards against Charlotte.
* Four catches for 52 yards against Michigan.
+ 11-yard reception on a comeback vs Gemon Green. Green pressed him. Copeland fought through the press, offered a nod to the post, then turned back to the sideline and cut back for a comeback and the ball was there. Good pass pro for QB Tagovailoa, good coverage, good route, good ball.
+ Next play, 13 yard comeback route to the right sideline vs DJ Turner in man-to-man. Again, all day to pass vs four-man rush. Maryland pulled the backside guard and fake a power run to the flanker. Pulling guard became the de facto RT in pass protection on a trap pass.
WR 6 JESHAUN JONES (6-2, 185, R-Sr., Fort Meyers, Fla.)
* Was a 5.6 three-star recruit. Also took official visits to Iowa State, Pitt, Tennessee and Nebraska.
* Has 13 catches on the year with 2 TDs.
+ Beat Michigan DB Rod Moore on an over route for 25 yards. Came off the line as part of a switch release. Gave Moore a nod to the seam and then cut on an over route. In man-to-man, Moore had to honor the nod. Good route, good ball, hard to cover.
+ Caught two-point conversion on a sprint out bubble to cut it to 34-27 with :45 seconds left.
+ 6-yard TD reception against SMU. From a bunch formation he was not open initially. So Tagovailoa escaped the pocket, elongated the play and Jones worked his way open. That’s one of the things that makes their offense difficult to defende, the QB’s ability to move quickly in the pocket while staying on the trigger. The play was flagged for holding and a personal foul, by the way. But still, the QB and the WRs are good.
TE 84 COREY DYCHES (6-2, 220, R-Soph., Oxon Hill, Md.)
* Was a 5.7 three-star, renaked No. 22 in Maryland.
* Tied for team high with 15 catches.
= They went deep to him vs press on third-and-four on the first drive last week, incomplete, decent coverage, he’s a threat.
+ Gain of 12 on a dual option shovel pass last week. They optioned the d-end and QB had a pitch man or a shovel man. Unique play which I first saw from either Tom Osborne’s Nebraska or Urban Meyer at Utah.
+ 28-yard catch and run on a well-timed delayed screen to the short side against a five-man Michigan rush in the second quarter.
- Dropped a 15 yard out midway through the 3Q.
+ 34-yard gain in the 4Q against Michigan on a crack-and-go. He lined up in the backfield on that play. QB Tagovailoa with a sprint out, looking for a drag from the back side but 84 Dyches became open on somewhat of a sneak route. Again, good design. Hadn’t shown that formation, hadn’t shown a sprint-out throw.
Maryland’s screen was very cagey. They didn’t let the d-linemen get upfield immediately, as is usually the case with screen blocking. D-linemen today are trained to know when they are getting screened, stop rushing and peel back immediately. That’s what Minnesota did last week when they intercepted Thorne.
On this play, the Maryland o-line stayed in regular pass pro for a beat or two. The d-linemen didn’t know a screen was looming. The play-calling had trust that the pass pro would hold up long enough and that QB Tagovailoa would be patient enough to wait for the play to develop.
Part of the screen included the left guard pulling. So when he pulls, is it a power run? Is it a trap pass, like they had already established? Nope. Same window dressing, and they hit Michigan on the back side with a late-release screen. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a progression like that before.
Good play design.
Next play: Tagovailoa was intercepted on a square in. Dagger concept. Tried to clear out with a deep route by the slot, and cut in behind him with a square in or dig. Tagovailoa telegraphed it a bit and threw behind Copeland. Michigan CB DJ Turner pressed the receiver, handsy all the way down the sideline and was on top and position to make a break on the ball.
Michigan got a big break on that play. The TV commentators thought it should have been ruled a trap and non-INT.
TE 18 CJ Dippre (6-5, 260, Soph., Scranton, Pa)
* 10 catches on the year.
OFFENSIVE LINE
Fox commentator Joel Klatt, last week after the last play of the first quarter: “They are just overpowering this front seven for Michigan. This offensive line and (RB) Littleton, the big back, they are just too much right now for the Wolverines.”
* It’s a sizeable, veteran offensive line. The line is helped by the diversity of the attack.
Players of Note:
LT 71 JAELYN DUNCAN (6-6, 320, R-Sr., New Carrollton, Md.)
* Four-star recruit, ranked No. 9 in Maryland.
* NFL prospect.
* Two-time Honorable Mention All-Big Ten.
* Mobile enough to pull, turn the corner and rock the opposite end on a tackle pull (dart power).
* Good lateral quickness on the kick step and withstood a bull rush by Taylor Upshaw of Michigan. Upshaw (6-4, 255) put a pretty good blast into him but Duncan withstood it with no problem.
- Allowed a QB hit to DE Mike Morris on a speed rush. Morris, at 290, did a good job timing the snap. Morris hit Tagovailoa on the play and put him out for the game with a rib injury.
* The guard, center, guard trio is solid, sizeable and serviceable:
LG 78 MASON LUNSFORD (6-7, 305, Olney, Md.)
* 5.5 three-star recruit, No. 20 in Maryland.
LG 70 Amelio Moran (6-5, 310, R-Sr., Virginia Beach)
* 5.5 three-star, unranked in the state by Rivals.com.
- False start penalty cost Maryland a chance to go for it on fourth down in the 2Q against SMU.
C 50 JOHARI BRANCH (6-3, 330, Sr., Chicago)
* 5.5 three star coming out of Independence CC.
RG 54 SPENCER ANDERSON (6-5, 320, R-Sr., Bowie, Md.)
* 5.5 three star, No. 24 in Maryland.
* NFL prospect, said Joel Klatt.
RT 74 DELMAR GLAZE (6-5, 305, R-Soph, Charlotte, NC)
* two-star recruit.
+ Solid job with combo block on inside zone for gain of 6 in the 4Q last week.
DEFENSE:
MARYLAND DEFENSE
Run defense is the big question here.
Buffalo rushed for 108 yards (2.8 per carry) against Maryland.
Charlotte rushed for 96 yards (3.4 per carry).
SMU rushed for 151 (3.6 per carry).
Not bad, despite the big numbers for Corum, as I suspected.
SMU outgained Maryland 520-439.
SMU ran 96 offensive plays! 54 passes and 42 rushes. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a team run 96 offensive plays in a game. And lose, no less.
Maryland committed 15 penalties against SMU. 15! The most by a Maryland team in over 20 yards. But Maryland had zero penalties last week, deep into the fourth quarter.
* Maryland played defense differently vs Michigan than it did vs SMU.
Maryland played more two-deep zone against SMU, protecting against the pass. Maryland played more to stop the run against Michigan. It didn’t show in the final stats, but Maryland did enough to CONTAIN the Michigan run on enough downs, and survived enough deep incompletions, and moved the ball well enough on offense to stay competitive in that game.
But the moral of the story is that SMU’s productive running day against Maryland was due in part to Maryland playing safeties deep.
Maryland didn’t STOP Michigan’s running attack, but it contained it on the vast majority of the plays. That’s part of the reason the game was close. If Maryland can contain the Michigan running game then - based on what we’ve seen from Michigan State this year - the Terps probably have a good chance to stop MSU’s running attack. That’s IF Maryland plays with as much toughness and fire as it did vs Michigan.
GUESS (SOME OF) THE GAMEPLAN 2
How will Maryland play against Michigan State? To begin with, if the weather isn’t terrible, I would expect Maryland to play with two safeties deep, discourage the pass with the belief that Michigan State won’t be nearly as dangerous as Michigan in the run game. Make Michigan State prove it can bust a grape in the run game.
* SMU scored with a jet sweep pop pass from 17 yards out against two-deep. Will Maryland go two deep against Michigan State in the red zone? Probably not. But I wouldn’t be surprised if Michigan State trots out that copy cat play in this game.
* Coaches love to steal or borrow plans from other teams that have worked. SMU and Michigan both had success, on fourth-and-one, with hurry-up, quick-hitting running plays between the tackles. Maryland’s defense was caught off guard both times and allowed a gain of 5 to SMU and a 30-plus yard TD run to Corum of Michigan.
Has Maryland worked on this since then? I would assume so. But if Michigan State tries it, you’ll know the history of the play.
MARYLAND DEFENSIVE WRINKLES
* With 4 minutes to go in the 1H against SMU, with Maryland having come back from a 13-3 deficit to take a 17-13 lead, Maryland changed gears on defense by rushing three and covering with eight. It didn’t work. SMU drove for a TD.
HOW CORUM DID IT
* In the first half, Corum had chunk runs of 33 yards (TD), 24, 23, 21 and 11. It might sound stupid, but Maryland was sturdy and stout on almost all of his other runs, which is NOT easy against Michigan with the way they will pull excellent o-linemen at you with excellent run-blocking tight ends in your chest all the time.
Michigan State doesn’t have a Blake Corum, or blocking tight ends like Michigan’s. So the vast majority of MSU’s run plays will probably look unlike those Corum chunk runs and more like the ones that get hemmed in by Maryland’s solid defenders for gains of 3 or fewer.
For instance, Michigan’s opening drive of the 2H ended with a punt when three straight runs netted 8 yards. The first two runs were pin-and-pull gap plays for Corum, for gains of 1 and 5. UM ran THE EXACT SAME PLAY on consecutive snaps. Then on third-and-four, Maryland stacked up UM RB Isaiah Gash for a gain of 2. That’s good run defense. The score was 17-13 at the time.
What does all this mean? It means despite the big number of rush yards that Corum put up, I don’t think there is a lot of evidence that Michigan State can do the same.
Can Michigan State rush for 175? Now we’re talking. That’s imperative. Rush for 175, get some balance going and hope for a few bounces and special teams plays to go their way, as was the case for Michigan last week.
As I said in the opener, Michigan State rushing for 175 is possible, but 125 might be more likely.
* With 6 minutes to play in the game, Corum had 177 yards on 25 carries. 112 of those yards came on five carries.
He averaged 3.5 yards on his other 18 carries. Those are still good numbers, but you need to understand that Michigan does an excellent job of run blocking and Corum is an excellent tailback. To hold him to carries of 2, 3, 4, 1 yard on many of those carries is the sign of a respectable run defense, considering Michigan’s strength in that area opponent. Maryland’s run defense WON a lot of plays in this game.
* Michigan RB Corum got loose for a 33-yard TD run in the final minute of the first half. That was on a quick-snap, fourth-and-one situation. Good ploy by Michigan. Maryland was caught a little off-guard, and the Maryland LBs were all stuck sniffing in the pile while Corum bounced outside to no one. No Maryland player was pounded on this play.
He bounced outside for a 47-yard TD on third-and-four with 3:33 to go. Maryland stuffed the box inside and was weak for the bounce outside, just like the fourth-and-short TD in the first half. He got 80 of his yards on those two bounce-outside speed plays. Error by Maryland in outside containment? Yes. Players getting bulldozed? No.
Conclusion: I don’t think Maryland’s run defense is a weakness. It won’t be a weakness against most teams.
MARYLAND DEFENSIVE TRAITS
* They ran some old school 3-4 against UM’s two-TE sets. They also ran some 4-3. Mostly a two-gapping team with guys who are decently stout against double team blocking.
* They stay home. They don’t gamble. Michigan tried to hit them with a reverse pass, but they stayed home, no one was open and the WR who was looking to throw (Ronnie Bell) was tackled for a loss.
* They allowed 30 plus points per game in each of the last three seasons. But this year they look like they CAN be better on defense. Haven’t proven it yet. This Michigan State game is a big game for Maryland, as it was for Minnesota.
DEFENSIVE LINE
* Big DTs at 300-pounds plus. Solid on the edge. Decent pass rushers, nothing super scary. Solid up front all the way around. No big weaknesses.
DE 30 DURELL NCHAMI (6-4, 260, R-Sr., Silver Spring, Md.)
* Three-star recruit, No. 15 in Maryland.
* Quick north-and-south twitch for his size.
+ Stand-up DE covered Blake Corum pretty well initially on a wheel route last week. QB went elsewhere with the ball for an INC. Corum was coming open after 15 yards but QB McCarthy didn’t stay with him.
+ Fought through a pin-and-pull to his side, recognized it, didn’t hesitate, shot the gap, made the tackle for no gain, early in the 3Q.
DE 95 AUSTIN FONTAINE (6-3, 260, R-Sr., Waldorf, Md.)
* Was a Rivals250 four-star recruit, ranked No. 183 and No. 5 in Maryland.
+ Solid vs Michigan LT Ryan Hayes, getting some knock-back on him, providing room for LB Caleb Wheatland to scrape across for a tacke on Corum for a gain of 1.
- Then was very weak vs a TE down block on a power run right at him, kind of olayed it, ducked out of there, didn’t logjam it. Corum gain of about 15.
92 DL HENRY CHIBUEZE (6-3, 310, Sr., Woodbridge, Va.)
* Was a 5.5 three star. Signed with Liberty.
* Team-high two sacks.
* Transfer from Liberty. Did not play last year.
NT 54 AMI FINAU (6-2, 320, Sr., Kahuku, HI/Independence CC)
+ Solid when two-gapping the LG with a boundary shade on an inside run late in the 3Q, China-Rose bottled Corum up for a loss of 1.
DT 33 MOSIAH NASILI-KITE (6-2, 310, R-Sr., Pittsburg, Calif./Independence CC)
* Was a 5.6 three-star recruit. No. 44 juco player in the country by Rivals.com.
+ Solid when two-gapping the RG with a boundary shade on an inside run late in the 3Q, China-Rose bottled Corum up for a loss of 1.
* Leads team with 2.5 TFLs.
DT 88 Anthony Booker (6-4, 320, R-Jr., Cincinnati Winton Woods)
* Was a 5.6 three-star recruit, ranked No. 40 in Ohio. Also visited Cincinnati, Kansas and Toledo.
+ Caused a fumble in the 2Q vs Michigan. Michigan recovered. On the play, he two-gapped into Michigan’s star center, stood his ground, disengaged, reached out, ripped the ball from QB McCarthy on a QB draw.
* Two TFLs on the year.
Solid impact play for a back-up DT.
(When they went to second-string DTs like No. 40, Taizse Johnson, 6-1 ,310, Soph., they weren’t as firm inside against SMU.)
LINEBACKERS
* A deep set of capable linebackers. Not great, but good. No one looks out of place or bad.
OLB 1 JAISHAWN BARHAM (6-3, 230, Fr., District Heights, Md.)
* Rivals250 four-star, ranked No. 122 in the nation and No. 3 in Maryland.
* Looks like this guy is going to be a standout.
* Good feet and wiry strong in bending around the edge to stop Corum on third-and-four for a gain of 2.
+ Good pass drop and leap to get a piece of a pass in the 2Q leading to INT by safety 25.
+ Sack in 2Q against SMU. Well-timed blitz, good job turning the corner.
JACK LB 0 GREG CHINA-ROSE (6-2, 295, R-Sr., Los Angeles/Lackwanna CC/DeMatha Catholic)
* Former walk-on and junior college transfer.
* Plays a stand-up edge/DE position.
* I didn’t see any weaknesses from him.
+ Good job taking on the Michigan LT, two-gapping him, disengaging and tackling low on back-up RB Isaiah Gash of Michigan to hold him to a gain of 2 on third-and-2 in the 3Q. Michigan punted.
+ Had a sack against SMU with a pretty good speed rush and body lean against a mediocre right tackle.
WLB 11 RUEBEN HYPPOLITE (6-0, 230, Jr., Fort Lauderdale)
* Four-star, ranked No. 61 in Florida.
* No real opinion of him other than I didn’t see him do anything poorly.
SLB 8 VANDARIUS COWAN (6-4, 253, Sr., Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.)
* Transfer from West Virginia. Signed with Alabama, then transferred to West Virginia for four years.
* Was a Rivals100 four-star, ranked No. 67 in the country and No. 13 in Florida.
* Had 38 career tackles and three sacks in 16 games at West Virginia.
+ TFL last week on back-up RB Stokes, caused a fumble. Cowan was left unblocked and a TE kind of ran past him. He didn’t defeat a block to make this play, just came in untouched and got the punch/strip.
LB 44 Caleb Wheatland (6-2, 235, Fr., Centreville, Va.)
* Three-star recruit. Also had offers from Liberty and MAC schools.
+ Good job scraping across to tackle Corum for a gain of 1. Fast. Tough play.
+ Nice TFL vs Corum, scraping and pursuing with a head of steam on a pin-and-pull to his side. That’s the type of play VanSumeren should be capable of making, with his quickness. But VanSumeren is not identifying and hitting the gas pedal like Wheatland.
LB 19 Amhad McCullough (6-2, 225, R-Sr., Baltimore)
* 5.5 three-star, transfer from Hutchinson CC
- Was late reacting to a pin-and-pull to his side, and Corum turned the corner for 21 yards in the 2Q.
PASS DEFENSE
* The two starting CBs are good. If and when No. 6 and/or 26 come into the game, I’ve seen teams attack them with success. They aren’t starters, but they play. I’ve seen No. 17 struggle at CB, too. Another bench player.
* Maryland’s pass rush was a non-factor against Michigan.
* Maryland's corners are quite good. Maryland trusts the CBs enough that they occasionally will send a modified zero blitz with the remaining safety in the middle spying the QB and not really helping the CBs vs WRs.
* Against Michigan, if UM went with two WRs to one side and no receiver to the other, Maryland would match it with “corners over,” both CBs to one side. That usually indicates man-to-man for most teams and that’s the way it was for Maryland. So if you go with twin WRs to one side, it can make the QB reads a little easier.
(Michigan went max pro and looked deep out of this set, but Maryland covered it, so QB McCarthy checked down to the TE for 15 yards).
* Maryland mixed it up and went with cover-two on third-and-eight late in the 3Q. QB McCarthy patted the ball, was blind-side sacked from behind at his own 10-yard line and was very fortunate not to fumble.
Maryland mixes coverages without messing themselves up, which is more than we can say for Michigan State right now.
* Maryland allowed a 51-yard TD to SMU on a TE to the seam. SMU’s tight end can fly. Maryland was playing a lot of two-deep coverage to protect against the pass, but two-deep zone leaves the middle of the field open if you can get to it sneaky fast. That’s what the TE did on this straight seam route. SMU used the wide out to draw the left safety over to the boundary, and the Maryland LB couldn’t run fast enough to keep up with that TE to the empty middle seam.
Does Michigan State have a TE that can fly like that? They can try with Barker or Maliq Carr. I don’t think either is as fast as the SMU TE. But if Maryland sits back in a two-deep zone play after play, look for Michigan State to try to steal that deep TE to the seam play.
CB 2 JAKORIAN BENNETT (5-11, 195, Sr., Mobile, Ala./Hutchinson CC)
* Plays slot CB
* Was Honorable Mention All-Big Ten last year.
* Was Pro Football Focus national Cornerback of the Week for the week of Sept. 7.
* Michigan attacked him deep in the slot vs Roman Wilson, incomplete.
CB 3 DEONTE BANKS (6-2, 205, R-Jr., Baltimore)
* Three-star recruit.
* Four-year starter who was lost for the season after two games last year.
* Looks like an All-Big Ten type of guy to me. He’ll get some votes.
+ solid man to man on scramble rules to break up pass to end Michigan’s second possession last week.
+ Good job with press, off-hand jam, hip turn and coverage vs Michigan’s Cornelius Johnson on a third-and-long in the 2Q (QB McCarthy picked up the first down with a long scramble).
+ Turned and ran vs a Roman Wilson deep shot last week pretty well.
- Allowed a 20-yard TD to Roman Wilson. Outside leverage, inside release, couldn’t make up the grass and air space. That’s the same strange outside leverage and free release that Michigan State’s Angelos Grose allowed to Minnesota last week. I’ll have to ask around to see what the deal is with that. Gave UM a 24-13 lead. But this guy is a good player.
4 CB TARHEEB STILL (6-0, 185, Jr., Sicklerville, NJ)
* Was a 5.7 three star recruit, ranked No. 14 in New Jersey.
* Third-year starter.
* Honorable Mention All-Big Ten as a freshman in 2020.
* In two games, I saw him play a lot of snaps, no noise.
NB 26 GAVIN GIBSON (5-11, 175, Fr., Hickory, N.C.)
* Was a 5.5 three-star, ranked No. 22 in North Carolina.
- Michigan attacked him deep on a third-and-long in the 2Q. The put WR Roman Wilson in the slot and attacked No. 26 on a deep route to the flag. He was open by a step and a half but JJ McCarthy overthrew him.
- He was a little off-balance with his hip turn when Wilson ran by him. Maybe he was a little surprised by Wilson’s speed.
+ Coverage sack in the 3Q vs Michigan as a slot rusher, part of a four-man rush.
CB 17 Lionell Whitaker (5-11, 175, Fr., Miami)
* 5.6 three-star recruit, ranked No. 94 in Florida.
* Was in the game for some reason and Ronnie Bell ran by his off man coverage for a deep ball gain of 48 yards to the 24-yard line. Michigan went deep several times and hadn’t connected until that one. Michigan led only 24-19 with 8:37 left when they went deep on this third-and-six for the game changer of the day and turning point.
(Back-up CB Corey Coley, No. 6, 6-2, 180, Soph., Jacksonville, Fla.)
* Was a 5.6 three-star recruit
- was beaten on a corner fade in the red zone against SMU for a short TD. Really good double move by the SMU WR. SMU has some offensive talent.
- beaten deep for an INC by SMU in the fourth quarter. They really picked on him in the fourth quarter. Deonte Banks was out for some reason.
= Maryland took Coley, No. 6 out, moved Bennett from slot to CB and put 26 Gibson in the slot.
+ Then they put him back in and survived by playing a decent version of cover-two.
SAFETIES
* 25 and 12 are hammers. Not the biggest guys, but they will crank you. They play with disregard to their well-being. Good players, good hitters.
S 25 BEAU BRADE (6-1, 200, Jr., Clarksville, Md.)
* Was a 5.5 three-star, ranked No. 36 in Maryland.
* First-year starter, looks good.
* Solid sweep tackle early in the SMU game. Sharp, physical.
* Hard hitter. Will break himself to deliver a hard hit.
+ INT vs SMU out of the two-deep shell they played most of the game. (They didn’t nearly as play much two-deep against Michigan).
+ Hard tackle on the ball caused a fumble by the SMU QB at the Maryland 3-yard line in the third quarter. Big play.
+ Good pass break-up out of cover-four on third-and-long against SMU in the third quarter. Good read and break on the ball.
FS 12 DANTE TRADER (6-0, 190, Soph., Delmar Del.)
* 5.6 three-star recruit, ranked No. 25 in Maryland
* Great lacrosse player, No. 5 recruit in the nation for 2021.
* Ran decently well vs Andrel Anthony on a deep post in the fourth quarter last week. Anthony was open by a step, but QB McCarthy missed him. Still, when being isolated one-on-one, this wasn’t a bad run by the safety to track Anthony.
+ INT in the fourth quarter vs SMU out of cover-two zone. QB overthrew over the middle with Maryland’s LBs taking good drops.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Their kicker has a long streak of makes, like the longest in the nation.
Tai Felton is a dangerous kick returner but fumbled one against SMU (SMU recovered). He averages 27.4 yards per return and has a long of 39.
Tarheeb Still is a good punt returner. Is averaging 14.7 yards on three punt returns this year, including a long of 18. Had a 92-yarder for a TD last year.
ADD IT ALL UP
I already wrote an Add It All Up, but the best way I can summarize it is to say that Maryland is trending up at RB, WR, OL and even in run defense despite last week, and they’re good at CB. A really good passing attack and offense, like SMU, can put up numbers against them. But Michigan didn’t or couldn’t.
So that’s what you have to go against in order to outscore a balanced, well-conceived Tagovailoa offense.
Last week, I characterized Minnesota as being a program that has matured. Maryland seems to be getting there too.
Maryland traded blows with Michigan throughout that game and could have won with a couple of favorable bounces and a call. That was no fluke. They were good that day. NOW, the big question is whether Maryland is mature enough of a program to stack weeks of good games together. They had a horrible time with penalty discipline for their last home game, against SMU, and corrected that last week. Now, can they keep building as a team and program? They are getting to uncharted territory in the Locksley era. Can they build momentum or will they fall off? This looks like Maryland's game to lose, if they want to.
If Michigan State wins this game - like I said prior to the Washington game - I’m not sure Michigan State will get enough credit for defeating a solid team. But Michigan State will need to fix a lot of ills from the last two weeks in order to do so, and they’ll have to overcome a slew if injuries to make it happen. I’ll believe it when I see it. In the meantime, Spartan watchers need to be watching for continued effort on defense versus collisions, and less structural slippage. It’s baby steps and damage control at this point, with hopes of getting back to respectability at some point.
