After trekking to Ann Arbor last weekend, Maryland football returns home for its conference home opener against Michigan State.
The Terps fought hard but just didn’t have enough firepower on both sides of the ball to pull off a monumental upset win versus No. 4 Michigan their last time out. The loss dropped Maryland to 3-1.
“The team’s mindset is moving forward onto the next week,” linebacker Vandarius Cowan said. “There’s some things we could’ve fixed last week … but we’re focused on moving forward.”
Despite going down 7-0 within eight seconds, Maryland showed excellent poise and resilience. The Terps trailed by eight with four minutes left until a Blake Corum 47-yard touchdown run put the nail in the coffin for the Wolverines.
Taulia Tagovailoa kept Maryland’s offense afloat in the first half despite throwing an interception. On Maryland’s first drive of the second half, Tagovailoa took a massive hit and showed pain on the field. Tagovailoa walked off on his own before exiting and quickly entering the medical tent.
Tagovailoa re-entered but did not return after his second interception late in the fourth that put the Wolverines on the field for their game-sealing touchdown drive.
After the game, coach Mike Locksley said that Tagovailoa was dealing with soreness in his ribs and knee.
Tagovailoa will be a game-time decision against the Spartans, according to Locksley. Tagovailoa said he feels “100 percent.”
The expectation is that Maryland’s star signal-caller will suit up against the Spartans.
Tagovailoa may be without one of his star weapons, as Rakim Jarrett fell hard on his head on a jump ball in the third quarter against Michigan and did not return.
Similarly to Tagovailoa, Locksley said that Jarrett is a game-time decision.
If Jarrett can’t suit up, the Terps will be without a big weapon on the outside. Jarrett leads Maryland in receiving yards (208) and is tied for the lead in catches (15).
Luckily, Tagovailoa has spread the wealth around this season as five different receivers have registered over 100 yards, so Maryland will still have options in the passing game. Corey Dyches, Jeshaun Jones, Jacob Copeland, CJ Dippre and Dontay Demus Jr. would assume an increased role in the offense without Jarrett.
Maryland’s running game struggled against Michigan, notching just 3.8 yards-per-carry. The Spartans rank in the bottom half in the conference in rushing yards allowed, laying a path for the Terps to find success on the ground.
After a slow start to the season in the takeaway category, the Terps’ defense has forced five the past two weeks.
“It was more of an emphasis for us the last two weeks in practice of more turnover circuits so we implemented that more into our drills,” linebacker Ahmad McCullough said.
After starting the season 2-0, Michigan State’s lost its way ahead of Saturday’s contest. The Spartans lost by nine against Washington before a crushing 34-7 defeat versus Minnesota.
Michigan State had relatively no success on offense against the Golden Gophers. The Spartans finished with just 240 yards of offense, less than the amount of yardage Minnesota recorded both on the ground and through the air.
Signal caller Payton Thorne had a day to forget, throwing for just 132 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions. Thorne’s 11.2 QBR was the worst of his career.
The Spartans have struggled all around on offense this season, averaging just 382.8 yards-per-game, third-worst in the Big Ten.
Michigan State’s defense hasn’t fared much better. The Spartans are allowing an average of 392.5 yards-per-game to opposing offenses, fourth-worst in the conference. Michigan State is the only Big Ten school without an interception.
A bright spot from the Spartans’ defense is that they are tied for the conference-lead in sacks (12).
“Well coached team,” Locksley said. “When you look at their record you can say ‘Hey, they’re struggling,’ … but they’ve had losses to two good teams and we expect them to come in here to try and get back on track.”
Michigan State easily handled Maryland 40-21 the last time these teams met in 2021.
Kenneth Walker III gashed the Terps’ run defense, going for 154 yards and two scores. Thorne played one of the best games of his career, throwing for 287 yards and four scores, and finished with a 90.5 QBR.
Jarrett and running back Colby McDonald are the only current Terps who registered a catch in the matchup last season, so Maryland’s offense should look very different — especially if Jarrett is unable to play.
The game on Saturday will start at 3:30 p.m. and will take place at the newly-named SECU Stadium in College Park.
