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Maryland game analysis

NCHawkeye24

HR MVP
Apr 19, 2021
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Pre-game notes:

- The fact that this is a night game is over-hyped. Everyone is going to forget about that after the first quarter
- Maryland typically doesn't have a raucous crowd, even though they are 4-0, and they will be effective for maybe 2 possessions
- It does give each team one less day to prep, which is more of an advantage to Iowa than to Maryland. This is because preparing for the Iowa defense is much more out of the norm for most offenses because it takes a lot of discipline to attack this scheme, whereas, Iowa has already seen pretty much everything that Maryland is going to throw at us on both sides of the ball.

Game plans:

- Iowa: I wouldn't get too excited here and think that Iowa's offense is going to just come out and look like a juggernaut. I would expect that Iowa is going to stick with the plan: try to establish the run, limit possessions, win the field position battle, keep everything in front of them, and wear them down in the second half.
- Maryland: This is probably going to be the biggest challenge for a Maryland team, that has shown to be very undisciplined under Locksley, because even if they have a plan will they be able to execute it. But, I would imagine the plan on offense will be to continually get the ball to their playmakers as they have some very talented wide receivers and running back. Maryland will try to dictate tempo on offense, while on defense they will try to penetrate the gaps to stop the run and then put a lot of pressure on Petras on passing downs. Simple right?

So what is going to happen?:

When Maryland has the ball:
I would imagine Phil is going to play a ton of cover 2 in this game, and probably play a lot more Merriweather than Benson, especially early and on passing downs. Phil will not let Maryland's receiver get over the top on them, so you will see pretty much exclusively 2-high safeties pre-snap. Tag (I am not going to spell it out) does have the ability and the propensity to make the second level throws, and may hit a couple of them, but he will not win the game here. Phil will want him to throw that ball, especially over the middle in the deep zone where Phil has a senior free safety in Koerner, and then the luxury of Belton, Campbell and Jacobs to man that middle. I think Phil will give Tag a lot of different looks in that middle zone and he will have to make the decision to throw the deep out over the corner and away from each safety, or the check down to the running back or the slot. I could see at the beginning of the game that Tag isn't even going to attempt to the deep shot, instead throw those flat routes and wheel routes out of the backfield. Iowa's defensive line will not allow Maryland to run effectively. Their offensive line is not very good in run blocking and they will want to run more out of the spread than more conventional alignments. Iowa's linebackers are going to have a big day in stopping the run game as well as keep Tag in the pocket.

Even though Tag can run, it will rarely be by design and I am sure that the coaches want to use that card sparingly. He is also short, so look for a lot of batted balls at the line of scrimmage as Iowa's defensive line is excellent at getting in the passing lanes and getting their hands up. I would not be surprised to see 5 or 6 tipped passes and these can be game changers, the type of unpredictable play that turns a 24-7 win into a 45-7 win. Also note, Maryland does not utilize the tight ends in a primary package. Their philosophy is to have superior skill position talent and to get them the ball. Phil knows this and will allow them to get the ball but where he wants it to go.

To beat Phil's defense, a team has to make a committed effort to run the ball, get positive yardage and accept that a 3-4 yard gain is a win. This puts teams in 2nd and 6 where both run and pass are on the table, and then 3rd and 2 where the playbook is wide open. And you have to do it going down the long field in a 12-15 play drive. It takes a ton of discipline to do that, and I just don't see Maryland having that discipline or even desire to do that for an entire game. Also, against Phil's defense, Maryland better make their mark and score early because Phil will win the second half, especially if we have a lead and you are 1 dimensional. The depth of our defensive line will really show up in the second half, as Phil makes adjustments to the coverages, confusing Tag, and a worn out o-line won't be as effective.

When Iowa has the ball:
I would imagine that Brian is going to come out early and establish his personnel and his formations by running the ball. It may look frustrating because Maryland will be loading the box on 12 personnel and we will run Goodson to the short side of the field. We will run some sort of stretch play to the wide side, some sort of mis-direction with a counter or a bootleg, and probably some empty on 3rd down with 5 wides. This will all be part of the plan to see how Maryland lines up against it. If somebody lines up wrong and Goodson breaks one, great, that is a bonus, but the whole basis of this offense is to run multiple plays out of the same formations and set up the easy ones. Maryland runs a blitz heavy 3-4 scheme, so this is going to look a lot like Iowa State where you will see 7, 8 and even 9 in the box flowing to the strong side of the formation, penetrate our gaps and have linebackers make plays. However, they are much more undisciplined that Iowa State and over-pursuing this will have grave consequences for them. Establishing all of this early is so important because it will set everything up for us to have a plethora of options later. They will get pressure on Petras, and the non-informed Iowa fans will get restless as Petras takes sacks and throws the ball away, but he is exactly what we need as he doesn't turn it over.

I think that Maryland will really struggle to cover Goodson out of the backfield in the passing game as Maryland's linebackers will have a tendency to get sucked into the action and lose contain out of the backfield. I also think that they will struggle with 12 and 22 personnel packages, and they will struggle to cover LaPorta because I doubt they double him and they don't have anyone that can match up with him. If they try to do that, they will take a defender out of the box which will allow us to run. Whether we go deep and attack the man coverages on the outside will remain to be seen, but what is great is that we did it last week which is pretty much the same as establishing it in this game. They will know that Johnson can run that and Petras can throw it. That alone will be enough to pull a safety over to cover that vertical route, which should open up the seam for LaPorta. Or Lachey as well as he shows to run good routes and has great hands. Also, look for some mis-direction and jet sweeps in the run game with both Tracy and Bruce.

Special Teams:
We all know what we have, but Maryland also has a pretty good punter. Anyone can shank one at any point in time, but he is no slouch. He isn't a game changer like the last guy was, but he can get it down there. However, look for some yardage here on the returns, both because Jones is special and I think this punter is returnable. Their FG kicker is not a strength either.

So what do I see happening?

I see Iowa feeling Maryland out for a quarter and a half or so, then hitting a few chunk plays on designed makeables, then taking the air out of the ball in the second half. The Iowa defense will close in on Tag as the game goes on and force him into some mistakes as he will not be comfortable all night. I don't see Iowa's defense giving up anything in the second half, and Maryland may get 10 on Iowa early as they spread us out. I think this is a get-in, get-out, pedestrian 24-10 game barring a bunch of turnovers, kick returns or blocked kicks.
 
I just hope we aren’t slow to make adjustments. It shouldn’t have to be that way but my biggest fear this year is getting down 14-3 in a game where our offense can’t make up the difference.
 
Even though Tag can run, it will rarely be by design and I am sure that the coaches want to use that card sparingly.
I'm not worried about designed QB runs per se, its the scrambles for huge chumks after he is flushed that Iowa has had a problem with in the past. I beleive Iowa can mostly contain him but a few scrambles for 1st downs on 2nd/3rd and long can be a dagger and give them momentum. D-line will need to collapse a tight pocket and make him panic throw or take a sack.
 
I'm not worried about designed QB runs per se, its the scrambles for huge chumks after he is flushed that Iowa has had a problem with in the past. I beleive Iowa can mostly contain him but a few scrambles for 1st downs on 2nd/3rd and long can be a dagger and give them momentum. D-line will need to collapse a tight pocket and make him panic throw or take a sack.
I think that our defense learned a lot last week against Colorado State. In fact, I know they did because they fixed that in the second half. So I don't see that happening a lot.
 
I just hope we aren’t slow to make adjustments. It shouldn’t have to be that way but my biggest fear this year is getting down 14-3 in a game where our offense can’t make up the difference.
I think your concern is valid because I see that scenario as the only way that Maryland can win this game. Get to a lead and try to get Iowa's offense to press and make mistakes.
 
Pre-game notes:

- The fact that this is a night game is over-hyped. Everyone is going to forget about that after the first quarter
- Maryland typically doesn't have a raucous crowd, even though they are 4-0, and they will be effective for maybe 2 possessions
- It does give each team one less day to prep, which is more of an advantage to Iowa than to Maryland. This is because preparing for the Iowa defense is much more out of the norm for most offenses because it takes a lot of discipline to attack this scheme, whereas, Iowa has already seen pretty much everything that Maryland is going to throw at us on both sides of the ball.

Game plans:

- Iowa: I wouldn't get too excited here and think that Iowa's offense is going to just come out and look like a juggernaut. I would expect that Iowa is going to stick with the plan: try to establish the run, limit possessions, win the field position battle, keep everything in front of them, and wear them down in the second half.
- Maryland: This is probably going to be the biggest challenge for a Maryland team, that has shown to be very undisciplined under Locksley, because even if they have a plan will they be able to execute it. But, I would imagine the plan on offense will be to continually get the ball to their playmakers as they have some very talented wide receivers and running back. Maryland will try to dictate tempo on offense, while on defense they will try to penetrate the gaps to stop the run and then put a lot of pressure on Petras on passing downs. Simple right?

So what is going to happen?:

When Maryland has the ball:
I would imagine Phil is going to play a ton of cover 2 in this game, and probably play a lot more Merriweather than Benson, especially early and on passing downs. Phil will not let Maryland's receiver get over the top on them, so you will see pretty much exclusively 2-high safeties pre-snap. Tag (I am not going to spell it out) does have the ability and the propensity to make the second level throws, and may hit a couple of them, but he will not win the game here. Phil will want him to throw that ball, especially over the middle in the deep zone where Phil has a senior free safety in Koerner, and then the luxury of Belton, Campbell and Jacobs to man that middle. I think Phil will give Tag a lot of different looks in that middle zone and he will have to make the decision to throw the deep out over the corner and away from each safety, or the check down to the running back or the slot. I could see at the beginning of the game that Tag isn't even going to attempt to the deep shot, instead throw those flat routes and wheel routes out of the backfield. Iowa's defensive line will not allow Maryland to run effectively. Their offensive line is not very good in run blocking and they will want to run more out of the spread than more conventional alignments. Iowa's linebackers are going to have a big day in stopping the run game as well as keep Tag in the pocket.

Even though Tag can run, it will rarely be by design and I am sure that the coaches want to use that card sparingly. He is also short, so look for a lot of batted balls at the line of scrimmage as Iowa's defensive line is excellent at getting in the passing lanes and getting their hands up. I would not be surprised to see 5 or 6 tipped passes and these can be game changers, the type of unpredictable play that turns a 24-7 win into a 45-7 win. Also note, Maryland does not utilize the tight ends in a primary package. Their philosophy is to have superior skill position talent and to get them the ball. Phil knows this and will allow them to get the ball but where he wants it to go.

To beat Phil's defense, a team has to make a committed effort to run the ball, get positive yardage and accept that a 3-4 yard gain is a win. This puts teams in 2nd and 6 where both run and pass are on the table, and then 3rd and 2 where the playbook is wide open. And you have to do it going down the long field in a 12-15 play drive. It takes a ton of discipline to do that, and I just don't see Maryland having that discipline or even desire to do that for an entire game. Also, against Phil's defense, Maryland better make their mark and score early because Phil will win the second half, especially if we have a lead and you are 1 dimensional. The depth of our defensive line will really show up in the second half, as Phil makes adjustments to the coverages, confusing Tag, and a worn out o-line won't be as effective.

When Iowa has the ball:
I would imagine that Brian is going to come out early and establish his personnel and his formations by running the ball. It may look frustrating because Maryland will be loading the box on 12 personnel and we will run Goodson to the short side of the field. We will run some sort of stretch play to the wide side, some sort of mis-direction with a counter or a bootleg, and probably some empty on 3rd down with 5 wides. This will all be part of the plan to see how Maryland lines up against it. If somebody lines up wrong and Goodson breaks one, great, that is a bonus, but the whole basis of this offense is to run multiple plays out of the same formations and set up the easy ones. Maryland runs a blitz heavy 3-4 scheme, so this is going to look a lot like Iowa State where you will see 7, 8 and even 9 in the box flowing to the strong side of the formation, penetrate our gaps and have linebackers make plays. However, they are much more undisciplined that Iowa State and over-pursuing this will have grave consequences for them. Establishing all of this early is so important because it will set everything up for us to have a plethora of options later. They will get pressure on Petras, and the non-informed Iowa fans will get restless as Petras takes sacks and throws the ball away, but he is exactly what we need as he doesn't turn it over.

I think that Maryland will really struggle to cover Goodson out of the backfield in the passing game as Maryland's linebackers will have a tendency to get sucked into the action and lose contain out of the backfield. I also think that they will struggle with 12 and 22 personnel packages, and they will struggle to cover LaPorta because I doubt they double him and they don't have anyone that can match up with him. If they try to do that, they will take a defender out of the box which will allow us to run. Whether we go deep and attack the man coverages on the outside will remain to be seen, but what is great is that we did it last week which is pretty much the same as establishing it in this game. They will know that Johnson can run that and Petras can throw it. That alone will be enough to pull a safety over to cover that vertical route, which should open up the seam for LaPorta. Or Lachey as well as he shows to run good routes and has great hands. Also, look for some mis-direction and jet sweeps in the run game with both Tracy and Bruce.

Special Teams:
We all know what we have, but Maryland also has a pretty good punter. Anyone can shank one at any point in time, but he is no slouch. He isn't a game changer like the last guy was, but he can get it down there. However, look for some yardage here on the returns, both because Jones is special and I think this punter is returnable. Their FG kicker is not a strength either.

So what do I see happening?

I see Iowa feeling Maryland out for a quarter and a half or so, then hitting a few chunk plays on designed makeables, then taking the air out of the ball in the second half. The Iowa defense will close in on Tag as the game goes on and force him into some mistakes as he will not be comfortable all night. I don't see Iowa's defense giving up anything in the second half, and Maryland may get 10 on Iowa early as they spread us out. I think this is a get-in, get-out, pedestrian 24-10 game barring a bunch of turnovers, kick returns or blocked kicks.
Thank you for this great write up! I say we take the 24-10 win and move on to Penn State.
 
More than one thread has referred to umd as an undisciplined team. is this really true? because their record and game summaries seem to indicate otherwise. in fact, tau appears to be both athletic and patient as a qb, which runs counter.

My concern for the game pertains to team speed and night/location. we've seen solid Iowa teams sometimes (not always) execute poorly under such a scenario. 2004 at ASU, 2010 in Tuscon, 201? at Maryland (not sure if that was at night though) -- in each case, the other team played with great intensity and speed, and it took us apparently by surprise. otoh, we did play extremely well in 2009 at psu when we got rocked early but ground them down after.

MD will attempt to throw us off early with intensity, speed, and perhaps trickeration and then hope to keep their foot on the pedal. if our defense or ST gets shredded early, how well do we respond?
 
More than one thread has referred to umd as an undisciplined team. is this really true? because their record and game summaries seem to indicate otherwise. in fact, tau appears to be both athletic and patient as a qb, which runs counter.

My concern for the game pertains to team speed and night/location. we've seen solid Iowa teams sometimes (not always) execute poorly under such a scenario. 2004 at ASU, 2010 in Tuscon, 201? at Maryland (not sure if that was at night though) -- in each case, the other team played with great intensity and speed, and it took us apparently by surprise. otoh, we did play extremely well in 2009 at psu when we got rocked early but ground them down after.

MD will attempt to throw us off early with intensity, speed, and perhaps trickeration and then hope to keep their foot on the pedal. if our defense or ST gets shredded early, how well do we respond?
When I say that Maryland is undisciplined, I dont mean just that they commit a lot of penalties, which they tend to do. I mean it more that many times they have players out of position, especially on defense, and missed assignments. They play a lot of "yard ball" where Tag has a ton of time to throw because he moves around the pocket and his receivers continue to try to get open. He does do a great job of extending plays. But they have relied heavily on explosive plays and chunk yardage, 2 things that I think Phil will take away. And I don't see that entire team to be disciplined enough to follow a specific game plan, or, change to plan B when plan A doesn't work out.
 
Pre-game notes:

- The fact that this is a night game is over-hyped. Everyone is going to forget about that after the first quarter
- Maryland typically doesn't have a raucous crowd, even though they are 4-0, and they will be effective for maybe 2 possessions
- It does give each team one less day to prep, which is more of an advantage to Iowa than to Maryland. This is because preparing for the Iowa defense is much more out of the norm for most offenses because it takes a lot of discipline to attack this scheme, whereas, Iowa has already seen pretty much everything that Maryland is going to throw at us on both sides of the ball.

Game plans:

- Iowa: I wouldn't get too excited here and think that Iowa's offense is going to just come out and look like a juggernaut. I would expect that Iowa is going to stick with the plan: try to establish the run, limit possessions, win the field position battle, keep everything in front of them, and wear them down in the second half.
- Maryland: This is probably going to be the biggest challenge for a Maryland team, that has shown to be very undisciplined under Locksley, because even if they have a plan will they be able to execute it. But, I would imagine the plan on offense will be to continually get the ball to their playmakers as they have some very talented wide receivers and running back. Maryland will try to dictate tempo on offense, while on defense they will try to penetrate the gaps to stop the run and then put a lot of pressure on Petras on passing downs. Simple right?

So what is going to happen?:

When Maryland has the ball:
I would imagine Phil is going to play a ton of cover 2 in this game, and probably play a lot more Merriweather than Benson, especially early and on passing downs. Phil will not let Maryland's receiver get over the top on them, so you will see pretty much exclusively 2-high safeties pre-snap. Tag (I am not going to spell it out) does have the ability and the propensity to make the second level throws, and may hit a couple of them, but he will not win the game here. Phil will want him to throw that ball, especially over the middle in the deep zone where Phil has a senior free safety in Koerner, and then the luxury of Belton, Campbell and Jacobs to man that middle. I think Phil will give Tag a lot of different looks in that middle zone and he will have to make the decision to throw the deep out over the corner and away from each safety, or the check down to the running back or the slot. I could see at the beginning of the game that Tag isn't even going to attempt to the deep shot, instead throw those flat routes and wheel routes out of the backfield. Iowa's defensive line will not allow Maryland to run effectively. Their offensive line is not very good in run blocking and they will want to run more out of the spread than more conventional alignments. Iowa's linebackers are going to have a big day in stopping the run game as well as keep Tag in the pocket.

Even though Tag can run, it will rarely be by design and I am sure that the coaches want to use that card sparingly. He is also short, so look for a lot of batted balls at the line of scrimmage as Iowa's defensive line is excellent at getting in the passing lanes and getting their hands up. I would not be surprised to see 5 or 6 tipped passes and these can be game changers, the type of unpredictable play that turns a 24-7 win into a 45-7 win. Also note, Maryland does not utilize the tight ends in a primary package. Their philosophy is to have superior skill position talent and to get them the ball. Phil knows this and will allow them to get the ball but where he wants it to go.

To beat Phil's defense, a team has to make a committed effort to run the ball, get positive yardage and accept that a 3-4 yard gain is a win. This puts teams in 2nd and 6 where both run and pass are on the table, and then 3rd and 2 where the playbook is wide open. And you have to do it going down the long field in a 12-15 play drive. It takes a ton of discipline to do that, and I just don't see Maryland having that discipline or even desire to do that for an entire game. Also, against Phil's defense, Maryland better make their mark and score early because Phil will win the second half, especially if we have a lead and you are 1 dimensional. The depth of our defensive line will really show up in the second half, as Phil makes adjustments to the coverages, confusing Tag, and a worn out o-line won't be as effective.

When Iowa has the ball:
I would imagine that Brian is going to come out early and establish his personnel and his formations by running the ball. It may look frustrating because Maryland will be loading the box on 12 personnel and we will run Goodson to the short side of the field. We will run some sort of stretch play to the wide side, some sort of mis-direction with a counter or a bootleg, and probably some empty on 3rd down with 5 wides. This will all be part of the plan to see how Maryland lines up against it. If somebody lines up wrong and Goodson breaks one, great, that is a bonus, but the whole basis of this offense is to run multiple plays out of the same formations and set up the easy ones. Maryland runs a blitz heavy 3-4 scheme, so this is going to look a lot like Iowa State where you will see 7, 8 and even 9 in the box flowing to the strong side of the formation, penetrate our gaps and have linebackers make plays. However, they are much more undisciplined that Iowa State and over-pursuing this will have grave consequences for them. Establishing all of this early is so important because it will set everything up for us to have a plethora of options later. They will get pressure on Petras, and the non-informed Iowa fans will get restless as Petras takes sacks and throws the ball away, but he is exactly what we need as he doesn't turn it over.

I think that Maryland will really struggle to cover Goodson out of the backfield in the passing game as Maryland's linebackers will have a tendency to get sucked into the action and lose contain out of the backfield. I also think that they will struggle with 12 and 22 personnel packages, and they will struggle to cover LaPorta because I doubt they double him and they don't have anyone that can match up with him. If they try to do that, they will take a defender out of the box which will allow us to run. Whether we go deep and attack the man coverages on the outside will remain to be seen, but what is great is that we did it last week which is pretty much the same as establishing it in this game. They will know that Johnson can run that and Petras can throw it. That alone will be enough to pull a safety over to cover that vertical route, which should open up the seam for LaPorta. Or Lachey as well as he shows to run good routes and has great hands. Also, look for some mis-direction and jet sweeps in the run game with both Tracy and Bruce.

Special Teams:
We all know what we have, but Maryland also has a pretty good punter. Anyone can shank one at any point in time, but he is no slouch. He isn't a game changer like the last guy was, but he can get it down there. However, look for some yardage here on the returns, both because Jones is special and I think this punter is returnable. Their FG kicker is not a strength either.

So what do I see happening?

I see Iowa feeling Maryland out for a quarter and a half or so, then hitting a few chunk plays on designed makeables, then taking the air out of the ball in the second half. The Iowa defense will close in on Tag as the game goes on and force him into some mistakes as he will not be comfortable all night. I don't see Iowa's defense giving up anything in the second half, and Maryland may get 10 on Iowa early as they spread us out. I think this is a get-in, get-out, pedestrian 24-10 game barring a bunch of turnovers, kick returns or blocked kicks.
Iowa gets beat by smart disciplined teams like Northwestern or talent like Wisconsin with a Jonathan Taylor or a Penn State with Saquon Barkley. I don't know if Maryland is either.
 
I see Maryland playing cautious as they know that our D is opportunistic.
I can't tell you why but for some reason I see Hankins having a big game Friday.
 
Iowa gets beat by smart disciplined teams like Northwestern or talent like Wisconsin with a Jonathan Taylor or a Penn State with Saquon Barkley. I don't know if Maryland is either.
My thoughts exactly! Fitz, Chryst and (hold your nose) Franklin know how to grind out a win against us. I dont think Loks does.
 
Pre-game notes:

- The fact that this is a night game is over-hyped. Everyone is going to forget about that after the first quarter
- Maryland typically doesn't have a raucous crowd, even though they are 4-0, and they will be effective for maybe 2 possessions
- It does give each team one less day to prep, which is more of an advantage to Iowa than to Maryland. This is because preparing for the Iowa defense is much more out of the norm for most offenses because it takes a lot of discipline to attack this scheme, whereas, Iowa has already seen pretty much everything that Maryland is going to throw at us on both sides of the ball.

Game plans:

- Iowa: I wouldn't get too excited here and think that Iowa's offense is going to just come out and look like a juggernaut. I would expect that Iowa is going to stick with the plan: try to establish the run, limit possessions, win the field position battle, keep everything in front of them, and wear them down in the second half.
- Maryland: This is probably going to be the biggest challenge for a Maryland team, that has shown to be very undisciplined under Locksley, because even if they have a plan will they be able to execute it. But, I would imagine the plan on offense will be to continually get the ball to their playmakers as they have some very talented wide receivers and running back. Maryland will try to dictate tempo on offense, while on defense they will try to penetrate the gaps to stop the run and then put a lot of pressure on Petras on passing downs. Simple right?

So what is going to happen?:

When Maryland has the ball:
I would imagine Phil is going to play a ton of cover 2 in this game, and probably play a lot more Merriweather than Benson, especially early and on passing downs. Phil will not let Maryland's receiver get over the top on them, so you will see pretty much exclusively 2-high safeties pre-snap. Tag (I am not going to spell it out) does have the ability and the propensity to make the second level throws, and may hit a couple of them, but he will not win the game here. Phil will want him to throw that ball, especially over the middle in the deep zone where Phil has a senior free safety in Koerner, and then the luxury of Belton, Campbell and Jacobs to man that middle. I think Phil will give Tag a lot of different looks in that middle zone and he will have to make the decision to throw the deep out over the corner and away from each safety, or the check down to the running back or the slot. I could see at the beginning of the game that Tag isn't even going to attempt to the deep shot, instead throw those flat routes and wheel routes out of the backfield. Iowa's defensive line will not allow Maryland to run effectively. Their offensive line is not very good in run blocking and they will want to run more out of the spread than more conventional alignments. Iowa's linebackers are going to have a big day in stopping the run game as well as keep Tag in the pocket.

Even though Tag can run, it will rarely be by design and I am sure that the coaches want to use that card sparingly. He is also short, so look for a lot of batted balls at the line of scrimmage as Iowa's defensive line is excellent at getting in the passing lanes and getting their hands up. I would not be surprised to see 5 or 6 tipped passes and these can be game changers, the type of unpredictable play that turns a 24-7 win into a 45-7 win. Also note, Maryland does not utilize the tight ends in a primary package. Their philosophy is to have superior skill position talent and to get them the ball. Phil knows this and will allow them to get the ball but where he wants it to go.

To beat Phil's defense, a team has to make a committed effort to run the ball, get positive yardage and accept that a 3-4 yard gain is a win. This puts teams in 2nd and 6 where both run and pass are on the table, and then 3rd and 2 where the playbook is wide open. And you have to do it going down the long field in a 12-15 play drive. It takes a ton of discipline to do that, and I just don't see Maryland having that discipline or even desire to do that for an entire game. Also, against Phil's defense, Maryland better make their mark and score early because Phil will win the second half, especially if we have a lead and you are 1 dimensional. The depth of our defensive line will really show up in the second half, as Phil makes adjustments to the coverages, confusing Tag, and a worn out o-line won't be as effective.

When Iowa has the ball:
I would imagine that Brian is going to come out early and establish his personnel and his formations by running the ball. It may look frustrating because Maryland will be loading the box on 12 personnel and we will run Goodson to the short side of the field. We will run some sort of stretch play to the wide side, some sort of mis-direction with a counter or a bootleg, and probably some empty on 3rd down with 5 wides. This will all be part of the plan to see how Maryland lines up against it. If somebody lines up wrong and Goodson breaks one, great, that is a bonus, but the whole basis of this offense is to run multiple plays out of the same formations and set up the easy ones. Maryland runs a blitz heavy 3-4 scheme, so this is going to look a lot like Iowa State where you will see 7, 8 and even 9 in the box flowing to the strong side of the formation, penetrate our gaps and have linebackers make plays. However, they are much more undisciplined that Iowa State and over-pursuing this will have grave consequences for them. Establishing all of this early is so important because it will set everything up for us to have a plethora of options later. They will get pressure on Petras, and the non-informed Iowa fans will get restless as Petras takes sacks and throws the ball away, but he is exactly what we need as he doesn't turn it over.

I think that Maryland will really struggle to cover Goodson out of the backfield in the passing game as Maryland's linebackers will have a tendency to get sucked into the action and lose contain out of the backfield. I also think that they will struggle with 12 and 22 personnel packages, and they will struggle to cover LaPorta because I doubt they double him and they don't have anyone that can match up with him. If they try to do that, they will take a defender out of the box which will allow us to run. Whether we go deep and attack the man coverages on the outside will remain to be seen, but what is great is that we did it last week which is pretty much the same as establishing it in this game. They will know that Johnson can run that and Petras can throw it. That alone will be enough to pull a safety over to cover that vertical route, which should open up the seam for LaPorta. Or Lachey as well as he shows to run good routes and has great hands. Also, look for some mis-direction and jet sweeps in the run game with both Tracy and Bruce.

Special Teams:
We all know what we have, but Maryland also has a pretty good punter. Anyone can shank one at any point in time, but he is no slouch. He isn't a game changer like the last guy was, but he can get it down there. However, look for some yardage here on the returns, both because Jones is special and I think this punter is returnable. Their FG kicker is not a strength either.

So what do I see happening?

I see Iowa feeling Maryland out for a quarter and a half or so, then hitting a few chunk plays on designed makeables, then taking the air out of the ball in the second half. The Iowa defense will close in on Tag as the game goes on and force him into some mistakes as he will not be comfortable all night. I don't see Iowa's defense giving up anything in the second half, and Maryland may get 10 on Iowa early as they spread us out. I think this is a get-in, get-out, pedestrian 24-10 game barring a bunch of turnovers, kick returns or blocked kicks.
Well said NCHawk. A lot of folks (especially those who post on the game threads) forget its a 4 quarter game. Theres a lot of gamesmanship that goes on early to set up things in winning time. Another reason that Iowa usually plays well in the second half.
 
If I were Maryland, I would blitz every single play.
Maybe, but risky. It only takes one or two balls to Laporta or Goodson to an open spot and we're off to the races. This goes along with the OP's post about forcing opponents, especially undisciplined ones into mistakes. Teams like Maryland have the athletes to compete with the Iowa's and Wisconsins. IF they don't shoot themselves in the foot. See teams like ISU and Nebraska as perfect examples of same.....
 
I see Maryland coming out and throwing it all over. Need to pressure Tug and Db’s play super tight coverage and pick him off 2-3 times.
 
If I were Maryland, I would blitz every single play.
There are a lot of problems with this if you are Maryland. First of all, giving up just one score because they left a man open could be enough to lose they game. They have to know that. Second, they can pretty much lose this game at any point in time, but, they can't win it until the 4th quarter. Third, we have one of if not the best TE in the conference and a RB that can take it to the house, both blitz killers. I think they should time their blitzes according to down, distance, field position and game situation, but they need to play with this very carefully.
 
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There are a lot of problems with this if you are Maryland. First of all, giving up just one score because they left a man open could be enough to lose they game. They have to know that. Second, they can pretty much lose this game at any point in time, but, they can't win it until the 4th quarter. Third, we have one of if not the best TE in the conference and a RB that can take it to the house, both blitz killers. I think they should time their blitzes according to down, distance, field position and game situation, but they need to play with this very carefully.
While all that is true, remember our o-line is not as good as it usually is, and Petras is our qb. If I were Maryland I would force Spencer to beat me. Maybe he would. I hope he would.

But I’m not the Maryland DC, so it doesn’t really matter.
 
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Here is the only thing I'm worried about for this game. Maryland can rush the passer and they use fast athletic guys on the edges...they are all 6'3, 250lb types that are really quick. After watching our OTs the past four weeks...these are the guys that get home...speed rushers. I'm hoping we use Lachey and La Porta to chip these guys once in awhile.

I trust that Phil will keep them under 24 points...it's whether our offense can score 24 or more. We have to stay away from 2nd and 3rd and long...so success on first down is critical.
 
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Here is the only thing I'm worried about for this game. Maryland can rush the passer and they use fast athletic guys on the edges...they are all 6'3, 250lb types that are really quick. After watching our OTs the past four weeks...these are the guys that get home...speed rushers. I'm hoping we use Lachey and La Porta to chip these guys once in awhile.

I trust that Phil will keep them under 24 points...it's whether our offense can score 24 or more. We have to stay away from 2nd and 3rd and long...so success on first down is critical.


You are right. The OL needs to be more effective so we can run the ball and give Spencer time to throw.

Everyone seems to put all the offensive blame on Petras.

This is a good column on the concerns with the OL:


 
If the Iowa D plays the Terps like they played the Hoosiers on opening day, everything will be fine.
 
You are right. The OL needs to be more effective so we can run the ball and give Spencer time to throw.

Everyone seems to put all the offensive blame on Petras.

This is a good column on the concerns with the OL:


Really fantastic breakdown of the O-Line woes. It's really the inexperience that hurts most. Lot's of missed assignments. I'd like to see more of Gavin Williams running the ball and more traditional 1-1 power blocking with runs over center and guard. We don't need to always have explosive plays. Consistently getting 4 yards and staying on schedule is so much more important. One of the reason CSU had so much success on 3rd downs other than the obvious missed holds is the majority of the conversions were 3 and 6 or less which offers more flexibility in play calling and keeps the D honest.

Play calling, with the exception of a handful of plays, has been crap. We really should have passed more on 1st down and called some power runs up the gut instead of so many stretch plays. We only had 50 yards rushing but probably ran 150 or more laterally
 
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I see Maryland playing cautious as they know that our D is opportunistic.
I can't tell you why but for some reason I see Hankins having a big game Friday.
I think they get blown out if they try this because they will have a lot of 3 and outs. Basing from what I've read about them (most of it here) so I could be off base on this, they seem like a team that is built to beat you with the big plays. Teams like that don't do as well in a disciplined, grind it out game. Well, most don't unless they are like Alabama and have the talent to play the game any way they like.

On the other hand, Iowa might be able to get multiple interceptions.
 
I think your concern is valid because I see that scenario as the only way that Maryland can win this game. Get to a lead and try to get Iowa's offense to press and make mistakes.
fortunately it appears the Terps tend to be slow-starters this year. fingers crossed that continues.
 
fortunately it appears the Terps tend to be slow-starters this year. fingers crossed that continues.
I'm willing to bet they will have plenty of juice for a prime time Friday night game against #5 ranked B10 opponent. I half expect that they will show up a little too hyped and commit a few early penalties. Hawks need to pounce early.
 
Pre-game notes:

- The fact that this is a night game is over-hyped. Everyone is going to forget about that after the first quarter
- Maryland typically doesn't have a raucous crowd, even though they are 4-0, and they will be effective for maybe 2 possessions
- It does give each team one less day to prep, which is more of an advantage to Iowa than to Maryland. This is because preparing for the Iowa defense is much more out of the norm for most offenses because it takes a lot of discipline to attack this scheme, whereas, Iowa has already seen pretty much everything that Maryland is going to throw at us on both sides of the ball.

Game plans:

- Iowa: I wouldn't get too excited here and think that Iowa's offense is going to just come out and look like a juggernaut. I would expect that Iowa is going to stick with the plan: try to establish the run, limit possessions, win the field position battle, keep everything in front of them, and wear them down in the second half.
- Maryland: This is probably going to be the biggest challenge for a Maryland team, that has shown to be very undisciplined under Locksley, because even if they have a plan will they be able to execute it. But, I would imagine the plan on offense will be to continually get the ball to their playmakers as they have some very talented wide receivers and running back. Maryland will try to dictate tempo on offense, while on defense they will try to penetrate the gaps to stop the run and then put a lot of pressure on Petras on passing downs. Simple right?

So what is going to happen?:

When Maryland has the ball:
I would imagine Phil is going to play a ton of cover 2 in this game, and probably play a lot more Merriweather than Benson, especially early and on passing downs. Phil will not let Maryland's receiver get over the top on them, so you will see pretty much exclusively 2-high safeties pre-snap. Tag (I am not going to spell it out) does have the ability and the propensity to make the second level throws, and may hit a couple of them, but he will not win the game here. Phil will want him to throw that ball, especially over the middle in the deep zone where Phil has a senior free safety in Koerner, and then the luxury of Belton, Campbell and Jacobs to man that middle. I think Phil will give Tag a lot of different looks in that middle zone and he will have to make the decision to throw the deep out over the corner and away from each safety, or the check down to the running back or the slot. I could see at the beginning of the game that Tag isn't even going to attempt to the deep shot, instead throw those flat routes and wheel routes out of the backfield. Iowa's defensive line will not allow Maryland to run effectively. Their offensive line is not very good in run blocking and they will want to run more out of the spread than more conventional alignments. Iowa's linebackers are going to have a big day in stopping the run game as well as keep Tag in the pocket.

Even though Tag can run, it will rarely be by design and I am sure that the coaches want to use that card sparingly. He is also short, so look for a lot of batted balls at the line of scrimmage as Iowa's defensive line is excellent at getting in the passing lanes and getting their hands up. I would not be surprised to see 5 or 6 tipped passes and these can be game changers, the type of unpredictable play that turns a 24-7 win into a 45-7 win. Also note, Maryland does not utilize the tight ends in a primary package. Their philosophy is to have superior skill position talent and to get them the ball. Phil knows this and will allow them to get the ball but where he wants it to go.

To beat Phil's defense, a team has to make a committed effort to run the ball, get positive yardage and accept that a 3-4 yard gain is a win. This puts teams in 2nd and 6 where both run and pass are on the table, and then 3rd and 2 where the playbook is wide open. And you have to do it going down the long field in a 12-15 play drive. It takes a ton of discipline to do that, and I just don't see Maryland having that discipline or even desire to do that for an entire game. Also, against Phil's defense, Maryland better make their mark and score early because Phil will win the second half, especially if we have a lead and you are 1 dimensional. The depth of our defensive line will really show up in the second half, as Phil makes adjustments to the coverages, confusing Tag, and a worn out o-line won't be as effective.

When Iowa has the ball:
I would imagine that Brian is going to come out early and establish his personnel and his formations by running the ball. It may look frustrating because Maryland will be loading the box on 12 personnel and we will run Goodson to the short side of the field. We will run some sort of stretch play to the wide side, some sort of mis-direction with a counter or a bootleg, and probably some empty on 3rd down with 5 wides. This will all be part of the plan to see how Maryland lines up against it. If somebody lines up wrong and Goodson breaks one, great, that is a bonus, but the whole basis of this offense is to run multiple plays out of the same formations and set up the easy ones. Maryland runs a blitz heavy 3-4 scheme, so this is going to look a lot like Iowa State where you will see 7, 8 and even 9 in the box flowing to the strong side of the formation, penetrate our gaps and have linebackers make plays. However, they are much more undisciplined that Iowa State and over-pursuing this will have grave consequences for them. Establishing all of this early is so important because it will set everything up for us to have a plethora of options later. They will get pressure on Petras, and the non-informed Iowa fans will get restless as Petras takes sacks and throws the ball away, but he is exactly what we need as he doesn't turn it over.

I think that Maryland will really struggle to cover Goodson out of the backfield in the passing game as Maryland's linebackers will have a tendency to get sucked into the action and lose contain out of the backfield. I also think that they will struggle with 12 and 22 personnel packages, and they will struggle to cover LaPorta because I doubt they double him and they don't have anyone that can match up with him. If they try to do that, they will take a defender out of the box which will allow us to run. Whether we go deep and attack the man coverages on the outside will remain to be seen, but what is great is that we did it last week which is pretty much the same as establishing it in this game. They will know that Johnson can run that and Petras can throw it. That alone will be enough to pull a safety over to cover that vertical route, which should open up the seam for LaPorta. Or Lachey as well as he shows to run good routes and has great hands. Also, look for some mis-direction and jet sweeps in the run game with both Tracy and Bruce.

Special Teams:
We all know what we have, but Maryland also has a pretty good punter. Anyone can shank one at any point in time, but he is no slouch. He isn't a game changer like the last guy was, but he can get it down there. However, look for some yardage here on the returns, both because Jones is special and I think this punter is returnable. Their FG kicker is not a strength either.

So what do I see happening?

I see Iowa feeling Maryland out for a quarter and a half or so, then hitting a few chunk plays on designed makeables, then taking the air out of the ball in the second half. The Iowa defense will close in on Tag as the game goes on and force him into some mistakes as he will not be comfortable all night. I don't see Iowa's defense giving up anything in the second half, and Maryland may get 10 on Iowa early as they spread us out. I think this is a get-in, get-out, pedestrian 24-10 game barring a bunch of turnovers, kick returns or blocked kicks.
Very nice writeup.
 
Here is the only thing I'm worried about for this game. Maryland can rush the passer and they use fast athletic guys on the edges...they are all 6'3, 250lb types that are really quick. After watching our OTs the past four weeks...these are the guys that get home...speed rushers. I'm hoping we use Lachey and La Porta to chip these guys once in awhile.

I trust that Phil will keep them under 24 points...it's whether our offense can score 24 or more. We have to stay away from 2nd and 3rd and long...so success on first down is critical.
I have visions of those guys causing problems and making SP fumble or throw an interception. But I'm a hard-wired pessimist.
 
Unless the offense finds a way to run more effectively, it will once again be up to the D and special teams to create much of the O with great field position and turnovers. Short fields that set up at least field goals or just taking it to the house on picks or fumble recoveries is the path to a win.
Asking the offense for 300+ yd passing and 35+ points sounds good but seems highly unlikely.
We've seen the formula that works. As much as I personally want to see a more dynamic, point scoring offense I'm skeptical that's in the cards this year.
 
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I'd like to see more screen type plays allowing the aggressive D to over pursue, more quick slant passes, and more cut back against the grain run plays.
 
Unless the offense finds a way to run more effectively, it will once again be up to the D and special teams to create much of the O with great field position and turnovers. Short fields that set up at least field goals or just taking it to the house on picks or fumble recoveries is the path to a win.
Asking the offense for 300+ yd passing and 35+ points sounds good but seems highly unlikely.
We've seen the formula that works. As much as I personally want to see a more dynamic, point scoring offense I'm skeptical that's in the cards this year.
Fortunately I don't think we'll need 35 points. I'm would say 20-25 points wins this game. MD's offense plays into Iowa's defensive style. Watch their game against IL. Not a ton of downfield plays although they did get a handful of favorable 1:1 matchups. Most of the passing were short passes to the WR or RB and try to let them create in space. Their RBs are average. The mobile QB might be an issue but I think we'll likely have a spy most of the game. The really important thing will be better recovery from the CBs to shed their assignments when the QB starts to run and fly to the QB. Really on the CBs more than anything as they were late against CSU particularly on some of the 3rd and long plays.

I think if we can manage 100 yards rushing and 200 yards passing we can win. IL did a good job of establishing the running game against MD until their backs got hurt. After that Brandon Peters was pressured heavily and just wasn't on target but still IL was in the game til the end. We need to keep attacking the sidelines and force MD defense to respect the pass early we'll have a chance.
 
Pre-game notes:

- The fact that this is a night game is over-hyped. Everyone is going to forget about that after the first quarter
- Maryland typically doesn't have a raucous crowd, even though they are 4-0, and they will be effective for maybe 2 possessions
- It does give each team one less day to prep, which is more of an advantage to Iowa than to Maryland. This is because preparing for the Iowa defense is much more out of the norm for most offenses because it takes a lot of discipline to attack this scheme, whereas, Iowa has already seen pretty much everything that Maryland is going to throw at us on both sides of the ball.

Game plans:

- Iowa: I wouldn't get too excited here and think that Iowa's offense is going to just come out and look like a juggernaut. I would expect that Iowa is going to stick with the plan: try to establish the run, limit possessions, win the field position battle, keep everything in front of them, and wear them down in the second half.
- Maryland: This is probably going to be the biggest challenge for a Maryland team, that has shown to be very undisciplined under Locksley, because even if they have a plan will they be able to execute it. But, I would imagine the plan on offense will be to continually get the ball to their playmakers as they have some very talented wide receivers and running back. Maryland will try to dictate tempo on offense, while on defense they will try to penetrate the gaps to stop the run and then put a lot of pressure on Petras on passing downs. Simple right?

So what is going to happen?:

When Maryland has the ball:
I would imagine Phil is going to play a ton of cover 2 in this game, and probably play a lot more Merriweather than Benson, especially early and on passing downs. Phil will not let Maryland's receiver get over the top on them, so you will see pretty much exclusively 2-high safeties pre-snap. Tag (I am not going to spell it out) does have the ability and the propensity to make the second level throws, and may hit a couple of them, but he will not win the game here. Phil will want him to throw that ball, especially over the middle in the deep zone where Phil has a senior free safety in Koerner, and then the luxury of Belton, Campbell and Jacobs to man that middle. I think Phil will give Tag a lot of different looks in that middle zone and he will have to make the decision to throw the deep out over the corner and away from each safety, or the check down to the running back or the slot. I could see at the beginning of the game that Tag isn't even going to attempt to the deep shot, instead throw those flat routes and wheel routes out of the backfield. Iowa's defensive line will not allow Maryland to run effectively. Their offensive line is not very good in run blocking and they will want to run more out of the spread than more conventional alignments. Iowa's linebackers are going to have a big day in stopping the run game as well as keep Tag in the pocket.

Even though Tag can run, it will rarely be by design and I am sure that the coaches want to use that card sparingly. He is also short, so look for a lot of batted balls at the line of scrimmage as Iowa's defensive line is excellent at getting in the passing lanes and getting their hands up. I would not be surprised to see 5 or 6 tipped passes and these can be game changers, the type of unpredictable play that turns a 24-7 win into a 45-7 win. Also note, Maryland does not utilize the tight ends in a primary package. Their philosophy is to have superior skill position talent and to get them the ball. Phil knows this and will allow them to get the ball but where he wants it to go.

To beat Phil's defense, a team has to make a committed effort to run the ball, get positive yardage and accept that a 3-4 yard gain is a win. This puts teams in 2nd and 6 where both run and pass are on the table, and then 3rd and 2 where the playbook is wide open. And you have to do it going down the long field in a 12-15 play drive. It takes a ton of discipline to do that, and I just don't see Maryland having that discipline or even desire to do that for an entire game. Also, against Phil's defense, Maryland better make their mark and score early because Phil will win the second half, especially if we have a lead and you are 1 dimensional. The depth of our defensive line will really show up in the second half, as Phil makes adjustments to the coverages, confusing Tag, and a worn out o-line won't be as effective.

When Iowa has the ball:
I would imagine that Brian is going to come out early and establish his personnel and his formations by running the ball. It may look frustrating because Maryland will be loading the box on 12 personnel and we will run Goodson to the short side of the field. We will run some sort of stretch play to the wide side, some sort of mis-direction with a counter or a bootleg, and probably some empty on 3rd down with 5 wides. This will all be part of the plan to see how Maryland lines up against it. If somebody lines up wrong and Goodson breaks one, great, that is a bonus, but the whole basis of this offense is to run multiple plays out of the same formations and set up the easy ones. Maryland runs a blitz heavy 3-4 scheme, so this is going to look a lot like Iowa State where you will see 7, 8 and even 9 in the box flowing to the strong side of the formation, penetrate our gaps and have linebackers make plays. However, they are much more undisciplined that Iowa State and over-pursuing this will have grave consequences for them. Establishing all of this early is so important because it will set everything up for us to have a plethora of options later. They will get pressure on Petras, and the non-informed Iowa fans will get restless as Petras takes sacks and throws the ball away, but he is exactly what we need as he doesn't turn it over.

I think that Maryland will really struggle to cover Goodson out of the backfield in the passing game as Maryland's linebackers will have a tendency to get sucked into the action and lose contain out of the backfield. I also think that they will struggle with 12 and 22 personnel packages, and they will struggle to cover LaPorta because I doubt they double him and they don't have anyone that can match up with him. If they try to do that, they will take a defender out of the box which will allow us to run. Whether we go deep and attack the man coverages on the outside will remain to be seen, but what is great is that we did it last week which is pretty much the same as establishing it in this game. They will know that Johnson can run that and Petras can throw it. That alone will be enough to pull a safety over to cover that vertical route, which should open up the seam for LaPorta. Or Lachey as well as he shows to run good routes and has great hands. Also, look for some mis-direction and jet sweeps in the run game with both Tracy and Bruce.

Special Teams:
We all know what we have, but Maryland also has a pretty good punter. Anyone can shank one at any point in time, but he is no slouch. He isn't a game changer like the last guy was, but he can get it down there. However, look for some yardage here on the returns, both because Jones is special and I think this punter is returnable. Their FG kicker is not a strength either.

So what do I see happening?

I see Iowa feeling Maryland out for a quarter and a half or so, then hitting a few chunk plays on designed makeables, then taking the air out of the ball in the second half. The Iowa defense will close in on Tag as the game goes on and force him into some mistakes as he will not be comfortable all night. I don't see Iowa's defense giving up anything in the second half, and Maryland may get 10 on Iowa early as they spread us out. I think this is a get-in, get-out, pedestrian 24-10 game barring a bunch of turnovers, kick returns or blocked kicks.
Can I have the Cliff's Notes version? ;)
 
I know it doesn't mean much with pads etc on....but what is Goodson's 40 time?
 
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