Maryland football vs. Indiana preview

Maryland football (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) looks to stay undefeated in its Big Ten home opener against Indiana (2-2, 0-1), a team that’s challenged the Terps in recent years.

A season ago, the Hoosiers brought the heavily-favored Terps to the wire, keeping the game within one score for much of the afternoon before Maryland pulled away for a 38-33 victory. 

It was the Terps’ second-straight win over Indiana, but the Hoosiers had taken the previous three contests. The Terps are 4-5 against Indiana since joining the Big Ten, and three of those wins came by one-score margins.

“This has always been … a tough, tough game for the Terps and I expect it to be the same here,” coach Michael Locksley said.

The Hoosiers are coming off a nail-biter against Akron, a game that took four overtimes before the Hoosiers could come away with a 29-27 victory.

They lost Connor Bazelak, last year’s starting quarterback, to the transfer portal. They used the same portal for his replacement, redshirt freshman Tayven Jackson, who left an uber-talented Tennessee quarterback room for a starting opportunity in Indiana.

Jackson has been underwhelming thus far, averaging under 200 passing yards and one passing touchdown per game. But he hasn’t received much help from the offense around him.

Opposing defensive lines have teed up on the Hoosiers’ offensive line — one that’s allowed quarterbacks to be pressured 49 times in four games. The group has also struggled to sustain a rushing attack — Indiana is one of only two Big Ten teams averaging under 110 yards per game on the ground.

Receiver Cam Camper provides speed out wide, leading the team with 249 receiving yards on just 13 catches — good for 19.2 yards per catch, sixth-best in the Big Ten. 

But Indiana’s true home-run threat is running back and return man Jaylin Lucas, who many outlets dubbed a first-team All American kick returner as a freshman last season. He’s a versatile player that can present challenges in multiple facets — Lucas has 42 carries, 15 receptions and 11 returns through four games.

“If I were to say what our objectives were for our defense this week, [number one] is to find a way to minimize [Lucas’s] impact on the game,” Locksley said.

Defensively, teams have dominated the Hoosiers in the run game. They’ve allowed opponents to average 4.7 yards per carry, tied for the conference’s highest mark.

Indiana’s secondary has not made it easy on passing attacks, however. The group has intercepted six balls in four games and holds opponents to the Big Ten’s fourth-lowest passing yardage mark.

Tight coverage allows the Hoosiers’ defensive star, linebacker Aaron Casey, to feast. He has five tackles for loss and two sacks while pressuring the quarterback 19 times so far this season, according to PFF.

That defensive group held Ohio State to just 23 points in Week 1. After a matchup with FCS opponent Indiana State, it held Louisville — who totes the country’s ninth-best scoring offense through four weeks — to just 21 points.

Maryland’s ground attack could benefit from a jump-start ahead of a key matchup with Ohio State. It averaged 4.5 yards per carry against Michigan State last weekend, but lead back Roman Hemby was bottled up all afternoon. The redshirt sophomore finished with 10 carries for 12 yards, his lowest yardage total since becoming a starter in 2022.

Hemby gashed the Hoosiers for 107 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries in last season’s game.

The Terps’ defense is holding opponents to just 12.3 points per game so far this season. Last season, the same group was allowing nearly double that heading into the match with Indiana.

They also lead the Big Ten with seven interceptions, and have forced four fumbles in their last two games.

“Our defense is lights-out for us,” redshirt senior quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa said. “I mean, they gave us four turnovers last week. It’s a big momentum shift for us, and it really [gets] the offense going too.”

Maryland’s defense will look to lower that point-per-game average against an Indiana offense averaging 11.3 points per game against FBS opponents, excluding points scored in the four overtimes against Akron.

Saturday’s kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. at SECU Stadium.