(Photo by Adrian J. Hernandez / New Day Review)
ORLANDO, Fla. – The University of Central Florida makes their first road trip of the year, as the Knights travel to College Park, Maryland, to take on the University of Maryland at Maryland Stadium on Saturday.
This will be the second year in a row UCF will take on Maryland to finish up their home-and-home series. Last season, Maryland visited Orlando at then-Bright House Networks Stadium and defeated the Knights in double overtime, 30-24. That game was quarterback McKenzie Milton’s first start as a true freshman, wherein he committed six fumbles, losing three, and threw an interception.
Both teams have seemingly improved from last year, though. The Terrapins are led by second-year head coach D.J. Durkin. Last season, Durkin led Maryland to a 4-0 start before finishing the season 6-6 and losing to Boston College in the Quick Lane Bowl 36-30.
This season, Maryland has gotten out to a fast, 2-0 start. The Terrapins opened the year with a surprising, 51-41 road victory over the then-No. 25 Texas Longhorns after being a 19-point underdog. Maryland followed that with a 63-17 demolishing of FCS program Towson University. Last weekend, Maryland did not play due to a scheduled bye.
With the impressive start, the Associated Press Top 25 Poll has taken notice. While the poll does not have Maryland ranked, the Terrapins are receiving votes. Maryland is receiving the third-most votes outside the top 25—behind the West Virginia Mountaineers and Colorado Buffaloes—which, in essence, makes the Terrapins ranked 28th in the nation.
A major part of this hot start from Maryland has been its offense. Maryland ranks second in the country in points per game at 57. The Terrapins are led by their rushing attack that is No. 8 in the country with 315 yards per game. Overall, the Terps average 508 yards per game.
But Maryland has succumbed to one of football’s worst obstacles: losing a starting quarterback to injury. Sophomore Tyrell Pigrome was the team’s starter until he suffered a torn ACL against Texas and was replaced by true freshman Kasim Hill. Hill, who was a four-star recruit and Rivals’ 93rd-overall prospect, has thrown for 207 yards and two touchdowns on 16-for-19 passing, adding 55 rushing yards on 10 carries.
Even before the change under center, Maryland’s offensive load had been carried by its rushing attack, which is led by explosive running back Ty Johnson. The junior has 256 yards and three touchdowns on only 17 carries this season so far.
As evident by Ty’s numbers, Maryland’s offense is aided by big plays. Johnson has had carries of 74, 54, 50, 46 and 40 yards this season. Freshman running back Javon Leake also has a 61-yard touchdown this year.
And while the passing attack hasn’t been a big part of the Terrapins’ offense yet, ranking just 97th with 193 yards per game, Maryland is still finding big plays through the air. Junior wide receiver D.J. Moore and senior wide receiver Taivon Jacobs have five and three catches of at least 20 yards, respectively.
That big-play element is something that Maryland thrives on. Their offense has scored 11 touchdowns on plays of 20 yards or more. Because of those big plays, the Terps’ offense averages 9.1 yards per play. Due to those big plays, Maryland’s short drives have resulted in little time of possession. In their two games combined, the Terrapins have only controlled the ball for 51 minutes and 27 seconds; in fact, the Terps have run only 112 plays this season, which is less than the number of points they’ve scored (114).
On defense, the Terrapins play a 4-2-5 base defense and are less impressive than the offense, giving up an average of 391 yards per game. That’s good enough for tied for 70th in the country. However, the defense has been able to generate turnovers and sacks with four and nine, respectively.
Maryland’s defense does come with some playmakers. Senior linebacker Jermaine Carter Jr. has 15 total tackles, 4.0 for loss, and 2.5 sacks on the season already. For Knights sophomore starting center Jordan Johnson, Carter Jr.’s a key player he’s singled out on the Terps’ defense.
“[They] have a good linebacker set. And [Carter Jr.] is pretty good,” Jordan said at the team’s game-week presser on Sept. 18. “And he’s gonna come out and—he’s not a guy that’s gonna come out attack us. He’s more of a read-and-react type of guy. He’s gonna try to be shifty and try to make us miss. And we just gotta go full speed and attack him.”
Facing a surprising Maryland team would have already been difficult as UCF’s first road game of the season, but, considering it’s just the Knights’ second game of 2017, the difficulty is, perhaps, that much more elevated.
The game will be a meeting of the FBS’s two top-scoring offenses, as UCF ranks first after one game. Kickoff is set for Saturday at 3 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on FS1.
For more on the Knights and their upcoming opponent in Maryland, follow Ryan Weiss on Twitter at @NDR_RyanWeiss.
