Terps look to turn more heads

The Blue Devils will face a potent rushing attack and a stingy red zone defense when they travel to Maryland.
The Blue Devils will face a potent rushing attack and a stingy red zone defense when they travel to Maryland.

The Maryland Terrapins are off to a 3-1 start this season, but not many people, on a national or local level, seem to be taking an interest. The Terrapins haven’t received any votes in the AP poll, and last week’s contest against Florida International in College Park drew just 33,254 fans to Byrd Stadium (capacity 54,000). It was the smallest home crowd at any Maryland home football game since head coach Ralph Friedgen took over at his alma mater 10 years ago. Wide receiver Torrey Smith told The Washington Post: “It stunk.”

While not many Maryland fans were in the stands a week ago, the Duke coaching staff has certainly had a close eye on the Terrapins.

“My hat’s off to Maryland,” head coach David Cutcliffe said. “They had a tough year a year ago, they’ve worked themselves right out of it.... They have a lot of weapons on both sides of the ball.”

The weapons on offense are led by the explosive Smith, whose 355 receiving yards rank him 18th among FBS wide receivers—even though Maryland has yet to find a solution at quarterback this season. Add in five touchdown catches in the team’s last three games, and it’s clear that Duke’s frequently leaky secondary will have to key in on Smith.

The running back corps provides more armament for offensive coordinator James Franklin’s offense. Junior Davin Meggett hasn’t gotten more than nine carries in any game thus far, but he has still racked up 268 yards on his 33 attempts, good for an 8.1 yards-per-carry average.

His two rushing touchdowns are second on the team to redshirt senior Da’Rel Scott, who rushed for 1,133 yards and eight scores in 2008 before missing five games due to a broken wrist and seeing his production drop in 2009. Scott has been handed the ball 37 times this season, scoring three times and averaging 5.6 yards per carry for a 209 yard total.

Fortunately for Duke, two more of Maryland’s big guns—the team’s best offensive lineman Justin Gilbert and highly-rated tight end Lansford Watson—are on the bench for the season rehabbing torn ACLs.

The one place Maryland doesn’t have an established threat on offense is at quarterback, but the team nonetheless possesses dangerous talent at the position.

The Terrapin coaching staff spent much of the spring excited about returning starter Jamarr Robinson, who led the team during the latter part of its dismal 2-10 season last year.

Robinson, however, opened the season with a thud against Navy, as he attempted five passes and completed just two of them for 11 yards and an interception. He did rush for 92 yards, though, showing off his strong running ability.

He was relieved early in the next game as Maryland ran away with a 62-3 victory over Morgan State. His replacement, redshirt-freshman Danny O’Brien, wasted no time making a name for himself: Three of his first four passes went for touchdowns.

Robinson came back strong the following week against West Virginia, tossing 13 completions for 227 yards and two touchdowns, but he hurt his shoulder in the game. O’Brien, who was recruited by Cutcliffe and received a scholarship offer from Duke, relieved him and promptly suffered a high ankle sprain.

With both signal callers ailing, the Terrapin coaching staff waited until just before kickoff to announce the starter against Florida International last week, and O’Brien became the first freshman to start for Maryland since 1999. He responded by garnering ACC Rookie of the Week honors for his performance: 18-for-27 for 250 yards with two touchdowns.

The Maryland coaches have yet to announce their starter against the Blue Devils.

“I think they’ll both play,” Franklin told the AP. “Now who starts, I don’t know. We’ll see. A lot of it is going to depend on just how Jamarr feels.”

On defense, the Terrapins work from a bend-but-don’t-break philosophy. Led by linebackers Alex Wujciak—who Cutcliffe called “one of the better linebackers in the country”—and Adrian Moten, they rank 80th out of 120 schools in the FBS with 377.8 yards allowed per game.

However, Maryland has only allowed 10 scores out of 18 opponent trips to the red zone, the second-best red zone efficiency rating in the nation. The Blue Devils, by comparison, have allowed an identical 18 red zone chances, and yielded 16 scores.

While Duke’s main focus will be on the field, Maryland is counting on a bigger crowd in Byrd Stadium to help them avoid its second defeat.

“[The fans will] come out,” defensive lineman A.J. Francis said to The Post. “No one around here likes Duke.”

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