Our Minnesota 2024 schedule previews continue on with the Maryland Terrapins. After coming back east from Los Angeles for their matchup against UCLA, the Gophers will play host to the Maryland Terrapins on October 26.
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The Terrapins are entering their sixth season under head coach Mike Locksley and are coming off their third straight winning season with an 8-5 record. Last season, the Terps got off to a 5-0 start with wins over Towson, Charlotte, Virginia, Michigan State, and Indiana but struggled as the calendar turned to October.
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The Terrapins would lose their next four matches to Ohio STate, Illinois, Northwestern, and Penn State before picking up a mid-November win over Nebraska to earn bowl eligibility. They would split their final two games of the season with a close loss to Michigan and a win over Rutgers. They would earn a bid in the Music City Bowl, defeating Auburn 31-13 to finish the season 8-5.
HEAD COACH PROFILE: Mike Locksley
As mentioned above, Locksley is entering his sixth full season with Maryland and enters the season with a 29-33 career record which includes a 1-5 stint in 2015. Since arriving in 2016, his record is an even 28-28. After starting his tenure in College Park with a 3-9 season in 2019, the Terps would go 2-3 in a COVID shortened 2020 season. Since then, they have etched three straight winning seasons into the books including back-to-back 8-5 seasons. In 2024, the Terrapins would look to earn their fourth straight season of .500 or better which would be the first time the program has done so since the 1983-1986 seasons.
OFFENSIVE PREVIEW
Maryland last season was a solid one but by no means great. It heavily relied upon its passing attack averaging 279 yards per game, ranking top 25 in the country. Its rushing offense, however, was terrible, averaging just over 100 yards per game.
This offseason, the Terrapins had to say goodbye to the Big Ten's all time passing leader Taulia Tagovailoa who is now chasing his NFL dreams. Who will replace Tagovaiola is still yet to be decided as Billy Edwards, Cam Edge, and NC State transfer MJ Morris are all vying for the starting job in College Park.
Despite the poor rushing numbers a year ago, redshirt junior Roman Hemby returns in 2024 and will have the opportunity to bounce back from a "down" 2023 season in which he totaled just 680 yards and 4.8 yards per carry after totaling 989 yards and averaging 5.3 yards per carry in 2022.
The wide receiver room is a talented one featuring Kaden Prather, Tai Felton, and Octavion Smith Jr,. combined the three totaled 112 receptions for 1,598 yards and 12 touchdowns a season ago. Tight end Preston Howard will look to grow upon a 13 reception, 160 yard and one touchdown campaign.
The Terrapins offensive line said goodbye to all five starters from a year ago and in return, Mike Locksley and the Terrapins were active in the transfer portal. The Terps will have four transfers likely starting for them this fall on the offensive line in Isaiah Wright, Josh Kaltenberger, Aliou Bah, and Alan Herron.
On paper this should be a solid Maryland offense in 2024 though its ultimate ceiling will be determined by their quarterback play.
DEFENSIVE PREVIEW
Defensively, Maryland was well-rounded in 2023 and put together a very good rushing defense and pass defense while only allowing 22.5 points and 334 yards pre game. The good news for the Terrapins is that a majority of their defense returns from a season ago and they return six of 11 starters.
That being said, they did suffer some notable losses as well such as Jaishawn Barham (transfer portal - Michigan) as well as defensive backs Tarheeb Still and Beau Brade.
Key returnees include LB Ruban Hyppolite, free safety Dante Trader, linebacker Caleb Wheatland, and nickelback Glendon Miller. They also addressed their needs at corner in the transfer portal by adding Jalen Huskey from Bowling Green.
The Terrapins defense in 2024 should once again be solid though it may be hard to replicate their success from a year ago.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This seems like on paper a potential "down" season for the Terrapins though it should be a considerably solid team. Will they notch a third straight eight win season? It seems unlikely at this standpoint. Their offense should find a groove at some point this season which should help but in order to get a third straight eight win season, they'll likely need to pull off an upset some point along the way while managing not to drop any of the games they "should win" such as Michigan State, Virginia, Indiana, and Northwestern. The October 26 matchup between the Gophers and Scarlet Knights should be an interesting one.
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