Maryland Football Report Card: Texas
Maryland started its season about as well as it could have asked for by going down to Texas and coming away with a 51-41 victory. The win against the Longhorns marked the most points the Terps have ever scored against a ranked team and Maryland’s first win on the road against a team in the top 25 since 2008.
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Now it’s time to take a closer look at how Maryland fared at each area on the field in its season opener. As TSR will do after every game this season, we’ve given out Week 1 grades to the Terps.
Quarterback: A-
Maryland’s starting quarterback Tyrrell Pigrome changed a lot of opinions quickly in this game. His opening drive with the Terps was a disaster. After two failed runs, Pigrome’s first pass was thrown slightly behind junior wide receiver DJ Moore, who tipped the ball up in the air, allowing the defensive back to make an easy interception. That was basically Pigrome’s last blunder of the game. He would throw only two more incompletions after that while adding two touchdowns threw the air and one on the ground. He also showed his quickness and ability to run the read-option with 64 rushing yards. But most importantly, the early pick was Pigrome’s only turnover. Pigrome showed great poise and resilience for the Terps and proved he can lead the Maryland offense.
MORE: Terps O-line makes statement, sets tone in win over Texas | Terps top No. 23 Texas on the road in wild opener | DJ Durkin postgame press conference quotes
But unfortunately a lower body injury on the last play of the third quarter forced him to leave the game. Pigrome would not return, forcing true freshman Kasim Hill into the game. A former four-star, Hill was as good as advertised and looked well beyond his years in his limited action. The stage was not too big for Hill, who completed all three of his pass attempts for 44 yards while chipping in 14 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown to help seal the deal against the Longhorns.
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Running Back: A
We’ll probably be writing this a lot this season, but Maryland’s backfield was excellent on Saturday. Junior Ty Johnson and sophomore Lorenzo Harrison pack a one-two punch that should garner respect from any defense in the nation. Johnson picked up right where he left off last season, when he was one of the biggest big-play threats in all of college football, averaging nearly 10 yards per carry. Johnson averaged 11 yards per carry against Texas, racking up 132 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. It wasn’t a monster day for Harrison, but he still averaged over 4 yards per carry and fell victim to a few facemask penalties that helped moved the chains for the Terps. Sophomore running back Jake Funk, who was one of the three Maryland captains against Texas, also got in on the action by scoring a late rushing touchdown that put the game out of reach for the Longhorns.
Wide Receiver/Tight End: A-
The Maryland offense had 43 run plays to just 15 pass attempts, so it wasn’t as if the Terps wide receivers were the focus of the game plan. But they couldn’t have done much more with the opportunity they were given. Moore led all receivers in the game with 7 receptions for 133 yards and a touchdown. He caught anything that came his way after letting a pass on the first series tip off his hands. Moore is a yards-after-catch machine, but does it in a way that’s atypical of most pass catchers. Rather than dance around defenders, Moore has no problem lowering his shoulder and bulldozing right through them to get extra yards. He also showed great awareness on an underthrown deep ball by Pigrome and was able cut off his route and come back to make the catch.
Senior wideout Taivon Jacobs had himself a nice coming out party after battling injuries throughout much of his college career. Jacobs hauled in 3 receptions for 80 yards and a touchdown while showing the blazing speed that made him a highly touted recruit coming out of high school. While it was Moore and Jacobs making the big catches against Texas, the rest of Maryland’s receiving corps and tight ends still made their presence felt with solid blocking down field for ball carriers throughout the game.
Offensive Line: A
The Terps offensive line had a lot to prove in pass protection after last season and they did so against the Longhorns by allowing just one sack and helping the offense put up 482 total yards. The run blocking was great, as usual, and Maryland didn’t look outmatched one bit in the trenches against Texas. Last year, the Terps’ offensive stats were lopsided at times, but against the Longhorns, Maryland had nearly as many passing yards as it did rushing yards. The offensive line and offensive coordinator Walt Bell’s playcalling deserve the credit for the improved balance. If the Terps offensive line can keep their quarterback clean all season and continue to open up running lanes, Maryland’s offense could become one that opposing teams dread facing.
Defensive Line: A-
Maryland entered the 2017 season with nothing but seniors starting along the defensive line, but whether or not they could stop the run remained a big question. Well, the Terps answered the bell in Texas by holding the Longhorns to just 98 rushing yards. Granted, Texas was behind for most of the game and was forced into some extra throwing, but the Maryland defensive linemen still stayed in their gaps throughout the game and didn’t allow the type of gashing runs that they did many times last season. Walk-on sophomore Oluwaseun Oluwatimi continued to make a name for himself as the backup nose tackle by recording a sack and a tackle for loss.
Linebacker: A
The linebacker play in College Park last season wasn’t anything to write home about. But a slimmed-down Jermaine Carter Jr, an unsuspended Shane Cockerille, and a fast-off-the-edge Jalen Brooks looked like a very formidable unit against Texas. Carter, Brooks and freshman BUCK linebacker Bryce Brand combined for 4 of Maryland’s 5 sacks against the Longhorns, while also each compiling a tackle for loss. The Terps linebackers not only came up big in the pass rush, but they also were great in run support, playing a big role in holding the Longhorns under 100 yards rushing. Carter nearly even added an interception to the unit’s stats when he had an errant Texas throw hit his hands late in the game.
Defensive Back: B-
Maryland’s secondary was far from a liability against Texas, but it was still the biggest culprit for the 41 points the Terps defense allowed in Austin. Two of the three offensive touchdowns Texas scored were through the air. Longhorns quarterback Shane Buechele threw for a career-high 375 passing yards against the Terps, frequently hitting up 6-foot-6, 220-pound sophomore wide receiver Collin Johnson in critical situations. As many defenses will find this season, the Maryland secondary had no answer for Johnson, who finished with 7 receptions, 125 yards and a touchdown. Texas threw the ball early and often against the Terps, finishing with six receivers with at least three or more catches.
However, the Maryland defensive backs did a good job of keeping their men in front of them for the most part. Texas only averaged 5.6 yards per play. Terps junior cornerback JC Jackson also had one of the biggest momentum-swinging plays of the game with a first-quarter interception that set up Maryland’s first touchdown. Plenty of room for improvement here, but wide receiver is arguably the Longhorns most loaded position, so no need to worry too much.
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Special Teams: C
Special teams got a lot of publicity for both teams in this game. Maryland scored the first special teams touchdown of the day on a field goal that was blocked by junior offensive lineman Derwin Gray then scooped and scored by sophomore defensive back Antoine Brooks. But the Terps then let up two special teams touchdowns later in the game, one off of a blocked field goal that was taken 65 yards to the house and another by way of a 91-yard punt return.
Terps senior kicker Adam Greene also did nothing to inspire Maryland fans against the Longhorns. Greene’s first field goal attempt was blocked and the one he made was a chip-shot 26 yarder. He also missed badly on a 50-yard attempt in the fourth quarter. Maryland’s special teams redeemed itself a little bit through its kickoff returns. The Terps averaged 31 yards per return against the Longhorns after only averaging 20.8 per attempt last season. Jacobs led the Terps with 103 kickoff return yards, but Johnson had himself a 60-yard return in the third quarter that helped set up his 40-yard touchdown run.
Overall Offense: A
Yes, the Texas defense finished last season ranked 106th in the nation, but when you put up 51 points on the road against a storied program and score the most you ever have against a ranked team, you get an A. Balance was the key to Maryland’s attack, and it was a site for sore eyes after a run-heavy scheme in 2016.
Overall Defense: B+
The 41 points Texas scored doesn’t look good on its face, but the Maryland defense only allowed half of those points and played a pretty solid game throughout. The Terps pass rush was strong and the defense as a whole showed that it can create turnovers. A much-improved group of linebackers and a playmaker at the NICKEL position in Brooks looks to have made a world of difference on the defensive side of the ball for Maryland.
Overall Team: A
Terps first win ever against Texas. Maryland’s first win against a ranked opponent in seven seasons. The first time Maryland has defeated a ranked opponent in its season opener and the most points scored against a ranked opponent in the 125-year history of the program. That pretty much says it all. This was an A performance by the Terps.
