Maryland (4-2 SU, 4-2 ATS, 1-2 B10) travels to Bloomington to take on Indiana (3-3 SU, 2-4 ATS,1-2 B10) in a Big 10 matchup on Saturday at 3:30pmET.
Last season, the Terps edged the Hoosiers 38-35 as a 3.5-point home favorite.
Maryland is coming off a tough 31-29 home defeat to Purdue as a 3-point favorite. IU has lost three straight to Cincinnati (45-24), Nebraska (35-21) and Michigan (31-10) at home.
Maryland had a chance to make some waves in the Big 10 and possibly enter the Top 25 on Saturday, but a loss to Purdue showed that they still have work to do to not only become even a second-tier Big 10 team, but also to garner respect from the officials. Penalties reared their ugly head again when the Terps were going for a 2-point conversion to tie the game with 35 seconds left. They were called for an ineligible man downfield and what would have been a successful attempt from Taulia Tagovailoa to Rakim Jarrett.
First INT for Jakorian Bennett of the season is a big one. ??@Jakorian23 x @TerpsFootball pic.twitter.com/u57WWlsErY
— Maryland On BTN (@MarylandOnBTN) October 8, 2022
You can't just blame penalties (9 for 76 yards) when the Terps allowed 360 yards in the air to Aidan O'Connell and company. Tagovailoa had 315 yards passing with three TDs but also an interception. TE Corey Dyches had an excellent game with four catches for 106 yards and two TDs. Maryland never really got their running game going as they rushed for just 72 yards on 25 carries.
With 7:47 left in the game, Roman Hemby caught an 11-yard TD pass from Tagovailoa to break a 17-all tie, but the extra point was blocked on what appeared to be a potential offside on Cam Allen, who blocked it.
“I’ll say this: The blocked extra point had a major impact on the game. It’s a one-score game, it takes us into overtime, it adjusts and changes how they play the game,” Terrapins coach Michael Locksley said after the game to the Washington Post. “The illegal man downfield had no impact on the touch down, so I’ll just leave it at that.”
Maryland has done it with offense as they average 463.2 yards per game (25th) and 305.5 passing yards. Defensively, they have struggled against the pass, allowing 270.3 yards per game (111th) and have been solid against the run (118.5ypg). Tagovailoa ranks second in the Big 10 with 1,731 passing yards, 11 touchdowns and five interceptions.