Maryland football is set to face a daunting Big Ten schedule. It can’t afford more slow starts.

It was deja vu for Maryland football’s Ja’Quan Sheppard on Virginia’s first offensive play of the game.

A week earlier, a miscommunication in the secondary left the senior cornerback watching a long Charlotte touchdown on a deep ball down the left sideline. This time, a flea flicker got him out of position, and the Cavaliers took advantage with a 49-yard bomb in the same area of the field.

Mistakes on both sides of the ball spiraled the Terps into a 14-0 first-quarter deficit for a second consecutive week.

Maryland came back from those disastrous starts, turning both into comfortable wins. But the comebacks came against a Group of Five opponent in Charlotte and a Virginia program that hasn’t won a contest since last October.

The Terps kick off their Big Ten slate Saturday in East Lansing against Michigan State. They won’t be able to rely on late surges against higher-level conference foes.

“I can tell you we’re still not playing our best football,” coach Michael Locksley said. “It’s always tough in the Big Ten on the road. So we’ve got our work cut out for us.”

Early consistency relies on a reliable run game, and Maryland has not had that in the beginning stages of its first two contests.

The Terps ran the ball six times for 22 yards in the first quarter against the Cavaliers. They garnered even less production early against the 49ers — rushing just twice for a total of one yard. Maryland was faced with constant third-and-longs, making it hard for the offense to find any rhythm.

“In the first half, I thought we missed a couple of reads by running backs and a couple of times [blockers] weren’t on the right people,” Locksley said after the Charlotte game. “At the end of the day … it’s usually about us.”

Despite its slow starts, the Terps have proven they can get into a groove on the ground this season. They averaged 4.3 yards per carry in the second half against Virginia and exploded for 220 rush yards at an 8.5 yards-per-carry clip over the final 30 minutes against Charlotte.

Roman Hemby carved up the 49ers in the second half, exploding for 149 yards and a touchdown on just 15 carries. Colby McDonald joined the effort to seal the win, rushing for 72 yards and a score in the fourth quarter.

The duo combined for seven runs of 10 or more yards after halftime. Those explosive plays were backbreakers for a Charlotte defense worn down by Maryland’s size up front.

The Terps’ defense has run into similar problems as their offensive rushing attack. They’ve suffered from early mistakes — like the two busted coverages from Sheppard — and struggled against the run. 

“It’s been a little frustrating because I know how good we can be on defense,” Locksley said. “We tend to give up, I call it dumb yardage …  those plays are the ones that stick in my craw a little bit.”

Maryland bounced back as the games went on, however, and those rebounds were stifling. It allowed only six more points from Charlotte after the early burst, and shut out Virginia over the final three quarters.

The Terps’ defensive front has been especially impressive in these efforts. 12 linemen have played over 20 percent of snaps through three games, according to Pro Football Focus. That depth allows them to stay fresh late into games — particularly important in obvious passing situations, when pass rushers can tee up on quarterbacks to disrupt drives.

In the back-end of Brian Williams’ defense, a new-look cornerback room has more than held its own in crunch time. Tarheeb Still sealed the win against Virginia with two fourth-quarter interceptions, and Sheppard has held opposing quarterbacks to a 36.4 completion percentage through three games, according to PFF.

It’ll be hard for Maryland to come back from double-digit deficits against Big Ten elites, no matter how well both sides of the ball perform in the second half of contests.

The Terps will likely need to sweep their conference schedule outside of Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State in order to achieve Locksley’s goal of a Big Ten title. Going down early isn’t a luxury they can afford.

“We know we can finish games, we know we can finish well,” Still said. “Coach really just wants to emphasize coming out strong and not beating ourselves in the beginning.”