College Football Predictions – Maryland Terrapins 2020 College Football Preview
July 2020
OCTOBER 2020 – Schedule notes updated.
2019 Recap
Record – 3-9
ATS – 5-7
In what can only be described as NUTS, the Terrapins flew out of the gate winning their first two games whilst scoring an impossible 142 (!) points, then proceeded to lose nine of their next ten games. Yup, that happened. Sure, there were injuries and a lack of depth to point to, but that was quite the TANK.
Mike Locksley enters his second full year on the job and has a lot of work to do. Let’s take a peek under the hood and see what he has to work with this year.
2020 MEGALOCKS Opening Power Rating
East Division – TBD
Big 10 – TBD
Maryland Terrapins 2020 Outlook
OFFENSE
The Terrapins ended last season ranked #11 in the Big Ten in both scoring offense (25.3 PPG) and total offense (343 YPG) despite having an anemic THROW GAME. Also note that they were brutal down the stretch averaging a measly 11 PPG in their final five games whilst failing to hit the 17-point barrier in any game during that time horizon. Senior QB Josh Jackson is back to lead the offense and he needs to greatly improve his consistency (47%, 12-6 TD to INT LY). The WR group has potential with the return of leading receiver Dontay Demus Jr (625, 6 TD LY), Jeshaun Jones (5 TDs in 2018, injured LY) , and highly-recruited specimen Rakim Jarrett. The RB room took a yuuuuuge hit with the departure of BOTH of their productive RBs (Javon Leake, Anthony McFarland Jr.) who combined for over 1,300 yards and 16 (!) TDs on the ground LY. The Terps have a pair of promising recruits at RB (Peny Boone, Isaiah Jacobs) that will be given a chance to shine. Maryland was horrid up front LY and allowed 38 (!) sacks which was the worst in the Big Ten, next to Illinois. Two starters return on the offensive line and they’ll be the key to getting the offense moving.
We worry about the offensive line, and QB Jackson needs to show more, but we forecast an improvement this year in both scoring and yardage output.
DEFENSE
The Terps were BLUDGEONED last season by opposing offenses as they couldn’t stop the run (#10 Big Ten rushing defense), or the pass (last), or rush the passer effectively (21, 2nd-last). It’s unclear how things will work this year with the return of just five starters and the departure of several players via the transfer portal. The DL was a HOT MESS a season ago and it’s still potentially the biggest question mark on the team. They should be fine with Ayinde Eley (#2 tackles LY) and Shaq Smith back in the LB group, and the secondary could be ok despite the loss of a lot of depth. The pass rush is a major worry once again and it isn’t great to lose LB Keandre Jones who was the only player on the team to book more than two sacks LY (5).
It’s almost certainly going to be another long year on defense.
SPECIAL TEAMS
RUH ROH.
What had to get our SMOKING HOT INTERNS to double-check this, but it does indeed appear that Maryland was just 2/5 on FG attempts…..for the entire 2019 season. If you believe the depth chart, Joseph Petrino is back to handle these duties. They’ll need to find a replacement for PR DJ Turner (TD LY) and the explosive Jevon Leake who took a PAIR of KRs to the HOUSE in 2019.
Schedule Analysis
Overall – The plandemic schedule has the Terps opening with their two West division opponents (Northwestern, Minnesota). They play Ohio St and Penn St in back-to-back weeks (ouch). The season finale with Rutgers should be epic.
Potential ATS Trouble Spot – Nothing heinous noted.
Season Win Total
TBD
MEGALOCKS says:
TBD
MEGAmazing Tidbits
Mike Locksley has a win-loss record of 6-40. “That’s gold, Jerry.”
MEGALOCKS Outlook:
The Terps still have a long way to go before they’re able to consistently in the Big Ten, but we do like some of the exciting pieces they are adding on the recruiting trail. There’s definitely upside on offense but the defense still keeps us up at night. They might have enough firepower to pull an upset along the way but it still looks like another losing season in College Park.
Want more Maryland football ?
WEBSITE
https://umterps.com/sports/football
FORUM
http://maryland.247sports.com/Board/University-of-Maryland-Sports-53
https://maryland.forums.rivals.com/forums/terps-football-forum.18/
NEWS
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/maryland/
http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/terps/
https://www.espn.com/college-football/team/_/id/120/maryland-terrapins
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