UCLA Football Preview: Maryland's Offense Will Look to Throw the Ball A Lot
The Terrapins don't have much of a running attack as a result.
It’s time to look at the Maryland offense. On the surface, it looks like the Terrapins would be more of a run-oriented offense. That’s because Maryland has started what would be considered running formations in three games. One game saw them start one running back with three tight ends and a wide receiver and two more games saw them start a back with two tight ends and two receivers. Meanwhile, two games saw them start a back with one tight end and three wide receivers and, against Washington, they actually started four receivers with the one back.
Despite starting those different formations, Maryland has been more of a passing team than a running team. In fact, the Terps have thrown the ball 57% of the time and they have only run it 43% of the time.
This means the Terrapins will be the first team UCLA has faced this season who predominantly pass more than they run.
But it isn’t just Maryland’s proclivity to throw the ball which will influence the Terrapin offense. The fact of the matter is that, even when they do run the ball, Maryland just hasn’t run it effectively. As a team, the Terrapins are averaging just 3.4 yards per carry on the ground. By comparison, UCLA is averaging 4.9 yards per carry and we all know how poorly the Bruins had been running the ball prior to the Penn State game two weeks ago.
Let’s discuss Maryland’s offensive personnel.
Quarterback
One of the headlines surrounding UCLA football during the offseason was that former Bruin quarterback Justyn Martin had entered the transfer portal. Well, it turns out that Martin landed with the Terrapins. Despite the fact that Martin joined Maryland having actually started last year’s game against Penn State for the Bruins, he did not win the starting QB job for the Terps. In fact, at this point, he appears to be no higher than third on the Maryland depth chart based on the fact that he’s played in only one game for Maryland, and that was the season opener against Florida Atlantic while redshirt freshman Khristian Martin, who saw action in all three non-conference games this season, appears to be the team’s backup.
The starter is true freshman Malik Washington. So far, Washington has completed 62.27% of his passes for 1,506 yards with 10 touchdowns and two interceptions. By comparison, Khristian Martin has thrown just 12 passes and completed six of them for 25 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. Justyn Martin didn’t throw a pass against FAU.
Washington hasn’t run the ball very much either. He’s carried 17 times for 45 net yards with three touchdowns. For comparative purposes, Nico Iamaleava has carried 66 times for 335 net yards with four touchdowns. Khristian Martin has carried seven times for the Terps but gained zero net yards while Justyn Martin has carried just once for two yards.
So, don’t expect to see any Maryland quarterback running the ball much.
Rushing Game
While the Maryland quarterbacks aren’t especially impressive running the ball, neither are the running backs themselves. There are three running backs who have carried the ball more than a couple of times. While Nolan Ray was the team’s starting running back against FAU and Towson, DeJuan Williams seems to have cemented his spot as their RB1. Williams has carried 69 times for 245 net yards with two touchdowns. That’s an average of 3.6 yards per carry. So, he’s basically good for Maryland’s average each time he carries.
On the other hand, Ray has carried 47 times for 188 net yards and two touchdowns. He is the Maryland running back whose 28-yard run was the team’s longest run of the season so far. That run, which came last week against Nebraska, managed to lift his average per carry up to 4.0 ypc. Without it, his average would be 3.4 ypc, which, like Williams, makes him…well, average.
The team’s third back is true freshman Iverson Howard who has carried 28 times for 98 net yards. That gives him an average of 3.5 yards per carry and lands his average right between Williams and Ray.
Passing Game
While I mentioned the four different starting combinations that the Terrapins have used offensively above, we actually get a little more insight into their offense by looking at which receivers are making the most receptions. Given that Maryland is throwing the ball 57% of the time, the guys who are catching the ball seems to provide some insight into the Terps’ offense.
There are four players on the team with at least 22 receptions. Three of them are wide receivers and the fourth is the team’s primary tight end.
Interestingly, the guy with the most receptions is Jalil Farooq, who has only started three games this year. Farooq has made 27 receptions for 248 yards, which is an average of 9.19 yards per reception. So, while he leads the team in receptions, he’s only third in receiving yards. His yards per reception is hurt by the fact that his longest of the season was just 24 yards. So, while Washington will go to Farooq often, he isn’t really a deep threat.
Washington’s second favorite target is tight end Dorian Fleming. Fleming has made 26 catches for 204 yards, giving him an average of just 7.85 yards per reception. Again, that means Fleming isn’t really a deep threat for Maryland, even though he has scored twice.
Senior receiver Shaleak Knotts has caught 23 balls for 367 yards, making him the team’s leader in receiving yards. He’s also the biggest threat to find the end zone. His five touchdowns account for half of Washington’s touchdown passes and his 62-yard long is also the longest reception on the team this season. So, Knotts is probably the biggest scoring and deep threat for Maryland.
Senior Octavian Smith, Jr. is the only Terrapin receiver to start all six games this season. He’s made 22 catches for 359 yards, which averages to 16.32 yards per reception. That’s just a little better than Knotts’ 15.96 yards per reception average. While Smith’s longest reception was a 53-yarder, he hasn’t scored a single touchdown this season. So, while Smith could certainly pose a danger for the Bruins, he’s probably not as big of a threat as Knotts.
The running back duo of Williams and Ray have combined for another 22 catches with Williams pulling in 13 and Ray grabbing nine. They’ve only gained 154 yards between them and neither one has scored, but it does illustrate how Maryland combines their short, intermediate and long options into the passing game.
Analysis
Given the fact that the Terrapins don’t run the ball very well, Maryland needs to utilize all three phases of the passing game in order to keep opposing defenses off guard. At the same time, when you consider that Maryland has given up 20 sacks (3.3 per game), the utilization of short and intermediate passing game is indicative of a quarterback under pressure and, to another extent, of a QB taking what opposing defenses are giving him as it becomes more difficult to guard everybody all the time.
Overall, the key here would seem to be stopping the Maryland passing game and keeping the Terrapin receivers, especially Knotts, out of the end zone.
Go Bruins!!!
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Ok the real question we are all thinking... Are the ofour Bruins or the twofer Bruins going to show up? we will know after the 1st Qtr. Hard to say how Bruin defense will match up with Terp offense. See you at the game! Old Cheerleaders rule! '75-76