Saturday at SECU Stadium in College Park, the Maryland Terrapins hosts the Towson Tigers (2-0) for only the fourth time. The schools are only an hour apart. In the three previous games, Maryland has outscored Towson 129-26.
Facing His Roots
Maryland Head Coach Mike Locksley faces his alma mater in Towson.
“A place I have an affinity for,” Locksley said. “It’s because of Towson I’m able to stand here before you guys.”
Towson is coached by Pete Shinnick, who is in his third season at the helm. Shinnick has a 164-73 record as a head coach over 21 seasons and is a former National Champion (2019) and two-time National Coach of the Year while at the University of West Florida (UWF).
“Coach Shinnick is a winning guy,” Locksley said. “He’s built programs, and you can tell he’s got this program going in the right direction.”
Towson will be led on the field by sending out their own freshman quarterback, Andrew Indorf, who has 373 yards passing and four touchdowns. And in the backfield, freshman running back Kemarrion Battles leads the team in rushing with 132 yards and a touchdown.
Fixing Their Mistakes
Maryland still has work to do. If Maryland wants to compete on a higher level with the elites of the Big Ten, this is the game where those flaws need to be corrected.
“We’re still working to correct some things that allow us to be the best version of ourselves,” said Head Coach Mike Locksley.
He spoke about the team decreasing penalties from sixteen to two from game one to three. Locksley also discussed that in game one, twenty-five percent of the plays contained a self-inflicted error, while in game two, that decreased to under ten percent.
“We played a lot cleaner as a team,” said Locksley.
The Offense Is Not Quite There Yet.
Maryland must improve on its third-down efficiency, which ranks 110th in the nation. Also, opponents have won the time of possession battle against Maryland by an average of four minutes per game. Those steps need to be corrected before the meat of the schedule hits.
“I think really just capitalizing on every possession,” said quarterback Malik Washington. “In this game, it gets hard; those possessions are few and far between just with the way the game is played later in the season.”
Washington emphasized taking advantage of every possession and capitalizing on red zone opportunities. Maryland ranks 124th in red zone offense.
The Defense Has Been Bent, but Not Broken Yet
Defensively, Maryland allowed only sixteen points in its first two games. However, that is not the whole story. Teams have been able to move the ball on the ground, compiling 322 yards, while Maryland has only rushed for 216. This leads back to the point of time of possession.
Maryland has allowed opponents to convert 35 percent of their third downs (71st nationally) and 46.7 percent of their fourth downs.
The front seven must close those gaps in the running game and be able to get off the field regularly on third down.
“I want more dominance out of our defense,” said defensive lineman Zahir Mathis. “Create more dominance, getting off the field faster, it would be a lot better for us.”
How to Listen and Watch
The radio call is through the Maryland Sports Radio Network. Johnny Holliday will be on the call with Steve Suter, and LaMont Jordon will cover the sideline on 105.7 FM (Baltimore) and 980 AM (DC). For streaming and satellite options, the One Maryland App, the Audacy Radio app, and on SiriusXM Channel 85.
To watch this matchup on television, the game will be streamed on Peacock, called by Michael Grandy and Michael Robinson with Caroline Pineda on the sideline.
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