After a very shaky week 1, huge improvements will be needed against Maryland
After a rough start to the season against Florida Atlantic, at least on the offensive side of the ball, the Spartans look for improvement as they begin Big Ten play at Maryland.
Despite a new coaching staff and huge roster turnover, it seemed like some of the same problems we’ve seen for the last two years kept rearing their head against FAU: receivers struggling to get open, not much push from the offensive line, poor quarterback play, and questionable decisions. Perhaps most frustrating for Spartan fans was the failed 4th and 1 call in the second half that saw a handoff to Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams get immediately stuffed well behind the line of scrimmage.
We might have to look hard for the bright spots on offense but there was the 63-yard TD run by Lynch-Adams with excellent blocking from the O line. Taking out that one play, Lynch-Adams still averaged 5 yards per carry on his other 8 runs and went over 100 yards for the game. Quarterback Aidan Chiles appeared confident going into his first college start but misfired on his downfield attempts and was intercepted at the goal line on a very ill-advised throw. Still, Chiles showed he does have a strong arm and performed well in limited action at Oregon State last year, where his performance rarely, if ever, represented what we saw on Friday. It might be worth considering how much the transition to being the “the guy” at starting quarterback compared to limited action last year affected Chiles. He presented himself as very confident before the game and sincerely frustrated after, which could indicate he was expecting a much better performance. Hopefully there actually is a lot more there and Chiles can settle in and appear much more comfortable and accurate this week.
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Except for a miscommunication that led to a coverage bust and FAU’s only touchdown, the MSU defense appeared solid in the opener limiting the Owls to 2.8 yards per carry and less than a 50% completion percentage while intercepting two passes. It looks like the Spartans will face a much more formidable attack against Maryland, however. The Terps put up 50 points and 629 total yards against Connecticut in their season opening win.
Maryland Coaching
Mike Locksley enters his sixth year leading the Terrapins, which has led to consistency and respectability for the Maryland program. Locksley is 29-28 at Maryland, including three straight winning seasons, each ending in a bowl win. He is also 2-2 against MSU while at Maryland, with the Terps winning 27-13 in 2022 in College Park and 31-9 last year in Spartan Stadium.
Locksley is a Washington, DC native who played at Towson State. Prior to taking the head job at Maryland, he has coached all over the country, most recently at Alabama under Nick Saban. Locksley spent three years with the Crimson Tide, serving as co-offensive coordinator on their 2017 national championship team and as offensive coordinator in 2018, when he won the Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant coach.
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Josh Gattis is in his second season as Maryland’s offensive coordinator. The Terrapins finished fourth in the Big Ten last year in points per game at 29.7. Gattis also mentored Taulia Tagovailoa in 2023, who finished his Maryland career as the Big Ten’s all time leader in passing yards. Prior to Maryland, Gattis spent one year as the OC at Miami, FL, was Michigan’s OC from 2019-2021, and, with Locksley, worked on Saban’s staff at Alabama in 2018 as the wide receivers coach. Gattis is also a Broyles Award winner, receiving the award in 2021 at Michigan.
The Maryland defense is coordinated by Brian Williams, who has been with Locksley at Maryland since 2019. Williams coached the outside linebackers and defensive line at Maryland prior to being promoted to co-DC in 2021 and DC in 2022. Maryland limited teams to 23.3 points per game in 2023, good for 48th in the nation.
Maryland Offense
It was thought that the Maryland offense might take a step back with the loss of Tagovailoa after last year, but that didn’t seem to be the case in week 1. Maryland crushed Connecticut 50-7 behind 311 passing yards and 2 touchdowns from starting quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. Backups Cameron Edge and MJ Morris combined for another 70 yards and a touchdown.
Edwards Jr. is a redshirt junior transfer from Wake Forest, in his third year at Maryland, and appears on the 2024 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award watch list. After backing up Taulia Tagovailoa for two years, Edwards Jr. started and won game MVP honors in Maryland’s win in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl last year after Tagovailoa opted out of the game.
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The Maryland receivers were led by senior Tai Felton, who hauled in 7 passes for 178 yards against Connecticut. Felton was third team All-Big Ten last year after catching 48 passes for 723 and 6 touchdowns and is a pre-season second team All-Big Ten this year.
Maryland had a balanced rushing attack against Connecticut which produced 248 yards and 46 carries (5.4 ypc). Roman Hemby (14 carries, 66 yards, 1 TD) and Nolan Ray (6-60-1) led the way in the rushing game. This was behind an inexperienced offensive line. At tackle, redshirt sophomore Andre Roye Jr. saw action in five games last year. Aliou Bah transfers in from Georgia where he played in 3 games last year. On the interior, Maryland returns Kyle Long (11 games in 2023) and Marcus Dumervil (4 games). Fifth year senior Josh Kaltenberger transferred from Purdue, where he played in 10 games last year. Fifth year senior Isaac Bunyan moves from Maryland’s defensive line last year where he recorded five tackles for loss, including 2 sacks, to the offensive line this year. The Terps obviously got it done against UConn last week but it will be interesting to see how this inexperienced group holds up going forward.
Maryland Defense
Maryland returns seven of 11 starters from last year’s defense, including three on the defensive line. Quashon Fuller, Jordan Phillips, and Tommy Akingbesote all return from last year, where they combined for 81 tackles and four sacks.
At linebacker, the Terps are led by senior Ruben Hyppolite II, who posted 66 tackles and one sack last year. Hyppolite recorded an interception in the opener vs. UConn. Fellow senior Donnell Brown and juniors Caleb Wheatland and Kellan Wyatt are also expected to be major contributors this year.
The secondary is where Maryland loses most of its production from last year with three of four starters gone. Bowling Green junior transfer Jalen Huskey is the Terps most experienced player in the back end, accounting for 4 interceptions and 6 passes defended for the Falcons last year. The inexperienced secondary did hold up well against UConn, limiting the Huskies quarterbacks to just 14-33 for 222 yards while picking off two passes.
How Worried Should We Be?
We should be worried.
MSU’s defense was solid against FAU, but this is to be expected against a group of five team that didn’t seem to pose much of a threat in the passing game. It should be a big step up against Maryland and their balanced offense. After MSU recorded 7 sacks against FAU, can the defensive line put pressure on Edwards Jr. and how will the MSU secondary hold up against a solid aerial attack?
The Spartans simply have to be better on offense to have any sort of chance against Maryland. Two touchdowns are unlikely to get the job done this week, nor is going 1-4 in the red zone. Last week, it seemed like the offensive attack consisted mostly of trying to ram the ball up the middle or heave it down downfield and, except for Lynch-Adams’ long run, neither option worked. How much will and can Brian Lindgren open it up this week? Can he come up with a scheme that settles Chiles down and allows him to settle into the game? Will we see any improvement from the offensive line and wide receivers?
The Spartans have a massive challenge entering Big Ten play on the road in week 2 and will need answers to these questions to have a chance at coming home with a victory.