The story of the final drive of Maryland’s 17-15 defeat of North Carolina was the third-down work of Danny Oquendo and Ronnie Tyler.
Ergo, it seemed worthwhile to look back on the third-down performance of all of the Terrapins’ receivers this year.
Catches and yards are meaningful, but so are times targeted and first-down conversions. And Oquendo and Tyler are as reliable as anyone at actually extending a possession.
After all, what good is a 7-yard reception on third-and-9?
When I’m watching a game, I feel as though one of the best indicators of if Maryland’s offense is working correctly is whether Oquendo is targeted on third down. Because, unsurprisingly, he’s earned a first down on every third-down catch he’s made this year.
Here’s the full-team rundown, with players listed in order of times targeted on third down this season:
| Player | Targets | Catches | Yards | Conversions |
| Darrius Heyward-Bey | 15 | 8 | 145 | 4 |
| Danny Oquendo | 13 | 8 | 128 | 8 |
| Ronnie Tyler | 12 | 10 | 104 | 6 |
| Da’Rel Scott | 11 | 8 | 94 | 5 |
| Torrey Smith | 9 | 2 | 36 | 2 |
| Dan Gronkowski | 8 | 5 | 48 | 3 |
| Cory Jackson | 7 | 5 | 36 | 3 |
| Isaiah Williams | 7 | 2 | 40 | 2 |
| Davin Meggett | 5 | 3 | 44 | 2 |
| Lansford Watson | 3 | 2 | 34 | 2 |
| Haroon Brown | 1 | 1 | 20 | 1 |
| Adrian Cannon | 1 | 1 | 12 | 1 |
| Tommy Galt | 1 | 1 | 18 | 1 |
| Morgan Green | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| Emani Lee-Odai | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
