The Minnesota Golden Gophers will look to win No. 5 in the 2024 season and their third straight this Saturday when they host the Maryland Terrapins. But if the Gophers are going to do so, they'll have to find an answer to the Terrapins dangerous passing attack.
Through seven games, the Terrapins are averaging 313.3 passing yards per contest as starting quarterback Billy Edwards Jr has completed 195-of-278 passing attempts for 2,113 yards and 13 touchdowns while throwing just four interceptions this season.
On Monday during his weekly press conference, Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck was asked about the Maryland passing attack and wide receiver Tai Felton.
"I mean, it's hard to sit there and say who is the best, but he's one of the best that we faced," Fleck said about Felton. "With all due respect to all the wideouts we played prior leading up to him."
Through the first eight weeks of the season, Fleton ranks fifth in the nation with 64 receptions for 803 yards and six touchdowns. The only receivers with more yards are Ole Miss's Tre Harris, San Jose State's Nick Cash, Bowling Green's Harold Fannin Jr, and Utah State's Jalen Royals.
Notably, while Fleton started the season with four straight games of 100+ yards, he has been kept more in check over the past three weeks with just 23 total receptions for 199 yards.
That being said, Fleck made sure to point out that Maryland has more than just one dangerous wide receiver.
"But they not only have him; they've got two others that are really, really good," Fleck said. "When you look at the whole, this is very similar to USC, where there are four guys on the outside that any one of them can beat you. One gets targeted a little bit more than the others; you know, #10 (Felton) gets targeted more than probably all of them, but they all can beat you, and they all have very similar skill sets where they can contort their bodies, make back shoulder catches, win the one-on-one matchups, find spots in zones, and play big or small. They can do it all, and their catch radius is ridiculous," he added.
"The quarterback extends plays, which is one of the most dangerous parts. When everything breaks down, he can extend the play. He’s a really good athlete who finds a way to get the ball to the open receivers, and if they're not open, he allows them to go make a play on the ball and give him a 50/50 ball, which they’re making more catches than they’re not on those 50/50 balls."
The good news for the Gophers is that through the first half of the season, their secondary has been one of the best in the country allowing just 139.6 yards per contest. The only program to throw for over 200-yards on the Gophers this season was UCLA in week seven.
The Gophers will need their secondary to carry over that strong play out of the bye week while also coming up with one of their better performances this season as the Maryland offense has thrown for at least 250 yards in each game this season and has thrown for over 300 yards three times.
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