Maryland

[jpfalcon09]

The home opener is finally here! The Maryland Terrapins visit the Doyt, the first B1G opponent to pay a visit since BG defeated Indiana 45-42 in 2014. In the last matchup between the two teams, BG won 48-27.

Maryland comes looking formidable after knocking off Texas 34-29 at home. They're deep at running back and Taivon Jacobs is an all-around threat to touch the ball in both rushing and receiving capacities. Ex-BG DE DJ Durkin is their head coach but will not be on the sidelines as he's serving a suspension related to the death of Jordan McNair.

BG is a 16-point dog as of this morning after opening +14, which gives you an idea where the money is going early on.

Hope to see a lot of familiar faces on Saturday!

[mbenecke]

I think this game could be a shootout. We have the offensive firepower to make some noise, so if the crowd gets behind our guys, they may be really revved up and make some plays.

Wear your white, and see you Saturday!

[BillyLP]

My hope is that Maryland is set up for a let down, emotionally (they were pumped UP for the Texas game), and BG gains some confidence in their offense and is excited for the home opener. I think if both of those come true, it could be a close, high scoring game to the end. I really hope we can turn out a solid 20-22k for the game. Saturday evening, fall temps (chance of rain, though), and the Ohio State game should be an untouchable blowout by 6pm. I'm coming in from Chicago and meeting some friends at the game. First game for me at the Doyt since 2014!

[chandler101]

Hello my friends. Been a few years since the last time you kicked my a$$. Terp fan here, provide a little background on this years version of the Terps.

First, we all still believe in DJ and I fully expect him to be cleared. Whether he coaches for MD again or not is to be seen but I still believe he got the shaft from some very crappy journalism. Time will tell but hearing good things.

Offense -
QB - both Kasim and Piggy are back, healthy and both present problems. Piggy will come in for a few series and try and stretch the field with his legs but the kid has a cannon so don't be surprised there as well. Kasim is the starter and was a highly rated 4* out of HS. Texas was only his second true start.
RB - we call it the 6 headed monster. Very deep and talented. Our only issue from Saturday was the monsters did not get enough touches. We gave too many jet sweeps to a particular WR and we would prefer the monster be fed.
WR - we lost DJ to the NFL but we recruited very well there. Jones was the standout freshmen Saturday but the other 3 all played significant roles. Our skill players are deep this year.
OL - will be interesting. We returned all 5 but two did not play Saturday. Both are NFL talents but off season surgery. We slid in some newbies. If they are back, our OL becomes big and talented. If not, we are big but not quite the same talent level.

Defense - overall significant upgrade from last year.
DE - Jesse A and Cowart will both get shots in the NFL. Cowart transferred this year from Auburn. Was a previous 5* recruit. Jesse broke his ankle against Texas last year but very happy he is back.
DT/NT - we go 6 deep here with good size and speed.
LB - this is considered our thin area and it showed a bit with Texas. Good TE's can expose us a bit here.
DB - another transfer from FSU in Lewis who played great and Ellis who graded out on the PFF as the top DB
Safety - Solid with Savage (top 5 safety in NFL draft) and Brooks who earned BIG honors this week.

Bottom line, this team is very talented and the win did not surprise me one bit. We match up the first 22 with anyone not named Alabama and OSU and maybe a few others. I believe a legit top 15-25 team.

Looking forward to the game Saturday

#FreeDJ

[mbenecke]

I appreciate you filling us in, Chandler101.

I think this game should be a lot of fun! As long as the rain stays away, it should make for a wonderful atmosphere.

[gmartin]

Side note - weather will be miserable, remnants of tropical storm is to be in NW Ohio. Traffic on Wooster will be a mess, down to 1 lane.

[Class of 61]

Guys, just a FYI... the bus deal from CLE to BG is still available. For $53 you get round trip from west side of CLE, , a tour of a few of the “old campus”buildings that have been remodeled, tailgating at the alumni tent, and of course, ticket for the white out game vs Maryland.
I’m sad to say that there’s still plenty of room on the bus, which was originally my idea. With 20,000 alums in the area I felt we’d come at least close to filling the bus, but there’s plenty of room .
If you’re interested, they said all you need to do is show up at bus stop on Brookpark rd before 1pm on Sat. They’ll take care of rest. I’m looking for a good time , but would love to have more support for the Falcons.
I can get you more info if you need it.

[MarkL]

I was at the previous game. That was amazing. Half an hour drive from home. Now that there is an infant in the house, I will not be able to make it for the return trip. Pack the house for me.

[kdog27]

Is beating texas by 5 really that great of an accomplishment these days? They beat them last year too and went 4-8 or something. I'm not trying to bash Maryland, they will likely bash us. I just dont think texas is anything more than average. Probably headed towards another 6-6ish season.

[hiway44]

So what does that say about us? Wins is all i want and care about. Losing does nothing for the program. Going 1-4 or 0-2 is time for a change. Stop holding on to dead weight. Players are not responding to Jinks.

[Beaker]

Maybe the site administrator should create a new separate category under the board index, titled "Fire Jinx", since it seems that many of the threads started in this forum turn into that. That might save time and aggravation for folks who would like to discuss football issues that don't involve firing the coach.

Appreciate Chandler's preview, although I wish it didn't paint a picture of a team that should throttle us, instead of giving us some hope. Interesting to hear him say that Maryland fans are behind Durkin and want him back. To read the national media coverage, you'd think he was on the verge of being drawn and quartered by angry mobs.

I would be surprised if we don't keep it a little closer than the Oregon game, but I doubt we have any realistic shot of an upset in this one.

[Schadenfreude]

That Maryland win over Texas tells me we will have our hands full Saturday. I had a blast watching the Falcons beat Maryland in College Park three years ago. This time, being a 16 point underdog feels about right to me.

I feel good about the Falcon offense. If our line can just protect Doege a bit better, I feel like the Falcons could score on just about anybody. Looking forward to seeing this game and seeing what we can do.

[chandler101]

Is beating texas by 5 really that great of an accomplishment these days? They beat them last year too and went 4-8 or something. I'm not trying to bash Maryland, they will likely bash us. I just dont think texas is anything more than average. Probably headed towards another 6-6ish season.

My rationale. They've had top 10 recruiting classes the past few years so talent is there. Post the Maryland game last year, they improved their defense to be a top 10 D. They've got very talented skill players who project well on the NFL scene. While something is off, beating them is still beating them.

While last year we did finish 4-8, but what can't be lost on this story. We lost Piggy (QB #1 to ACL) against Texas. We lost Hill (QB#2 to ACL) in game #3. We played 5 QB's last year in a crappy spread offense (See FSU - Walt Bell is their new OC). The 3 other QB's were not recruited to run the spread thus we simply could not move the ball.

On D, last year we were sucked. Dead last in the BIG but a lot of that had to do with quick 3 and outs and the D simply wearing down. We added 3 transfers to this years D which will make a difference. Watson, ILB from Illinois. Cowart, 5* DE transfer from Auburn and Lewis 4* CB transfer from FSU. Add back Jesse A. coming back from surgery and this D now has the talent needed to compete.

Offense, we changed our scheme from getting QB's killed to allowing the RB's and WR's do all the damage. This alone will account for 2-3 wins from last year.

Looking forward to the game, hoping we don't have an emotional let down.

#FreeDJ
https://thefandc.radio.com/eric-bickel- ... -dj-durkin" target="_blank

[threestooges]

So I just got around to watching the press conference videos this morning. Did one of the media members really ask Jinks about Durkin coming back to his alma mater on Saturday?

[slashba33]

Looks like Maryland came ready to play against Texas in a pro stadium! Hopefully, they are annoyed and bored with coming to the Doyt and we come out hot, get a few quick scores on them to even the playing field!

Can't wait for first tailgate in 2018!

Weather forecast now is cloudy, high of only 71...15 to 20 mph winds...