The most interesting chart in here is the last one, which addresses the explosive plays Maryland both secured and yielded during Saturday’s loss to Middle Tennessee.
But it’s also interesting in a macro sense, since the risk/reward nature of the defense continues to be on display.
SEE RELATED:
Let’s take a look at a table that segregates the explosive plays (16 or more yards) Maryland has yielded from everything else on a game-by-game basis:
| Game |
EP |
EP yards
|
EP avg.
|
Others |
Other yards
|
Other avg.
|
| @Cal |
10 |
334 |
33.4 |
54 |
208 |
3.9 |
| JMU |
9 |
246 |
27.3 |
52 |
171 |
3.3 |
| MTSU |
9 |
230 |
25.6 |
73 |
208 |
2.8 |
| Season |
28 |
810 |
28.9 |
179 |
587 |
3.3 |
Obviously, the conclusion is not “Maryland is getting hurt on big plays more than non-big plays.” That gets greets with a resounding “Duh.”
And it’s not that the Maryland defense is getting better in limiting the damage in all situations, though that’s true as well.
No, the point is that Maryland has yielded 58 percent of the damage on 13.5 percent of the snaps it has faced. So there’s substantial problems for the Maryland defense.
And it’s frequent. There’s a better than 1-in-8 chance the Terps will yield 16 yards or more on a given play based on the first three games.
Now, let’s flip this around for the Terps’ offense.
| Game |
EP |
EP yards
|
EP avg.
|
Others |
Other yards
|
Other avg.
|
| @Cal |
5 |
118 |
23.6 |
68 |
185 |
2.7 |
| JMU |
5 |
99 |
19.8 |
65 |
260 |
4.0 |
| MTSU |
6 |
243 |
40.5 |
63 |
203 |
3.3 |
| Season |
16 |
460 |
28.8 |
196 |
648 |
3.3 |
Clearly, the Terps did a better job of rolling up more yards on their explosive plays on Saturday. Quantitatively, there was a slight bump, but it was improvement.
Still, Maryland inflicted 41.5 percent of its damage on just 7.5 percent of its plays.
At the risk of throwing too many numbers out there even for this entry, let’s put it this way:
* After three games, Maryland is 44 percent less likely to produce a gain of 16+ yards on an offensive snap than to give up 16+ yards on a defensive snap.
Some of that’s on the offense. Some of it’s on the defense. But there’s no question it strikes at a good piece of what’s occurring now that ails the current Maryland team.
Onto the Middle Tennessee stats breakdown:
TOUCHES (RUNS + CATCHES)
MTSU Season
Davin Meggett 24 40
Da’Rel Scott 14 48
Torrey Smith 6 19
Ronnie Tyler 2 7
Tommy Galt 2 5
Kerry Boykins 2 2
Devonte Campbell 2 2
Cory Jackson 1 1
Adrian Cannon — 10
Morgan Green — 5
Quintin McCree — 4
Lansford Watson — 2
Taylor Watson — 2
LaQuan Williams — 2
LOOKS (TIMES TARGETED, CATCHES)
MTSU Season
Davin Meggett 7 (6) 12 (9)
Torrey Smith 6 (5) 17 (14)
Adrian Cannon 4 (0) 21 (10)
Ronnie Tyler 2 (2) 10 (7)
Tommy Galt 2 (2) 6 (5)
Kerry Boykins 2 (2) 2 (2)
LaQuan Williams 2 (0) 4 (1)
Da’Rel Scott 1 (1) 6 (5)
Devonte Campbell 1 (1) 2 (0)
Cory Jackson 1 (0) 3 (0)
Quintin McCree —- 4 (4)
Matt Furstenburg —- 4 (0)
Taylor Watson —- 1 (1)
Lansford Watson —- 3 (2)
RED ZONE TOUCHES/LOOKS, MTSU
R P T
Davin Meggett 3 0 3 TD
Adrian Cannon 0 2 2
Devonte Campbell 0 1 1
Tommy Galt 0 1 1
RED ZONE TOUCHES/LOOKS, SEASON
R P T
Davin Meggett 5 0 5 TD
Da’Rel Scott 5 0 5 TD
Chris Turner 4 0 4 TD
Adrian Cannon 0 3 3
Devonte Campbell 0 1 1
Matt Furstenburg 0 1 1
Tommy Galt 0 1 1
Torrey Smith 1 0 1 TD
Taylor Watson 1 0 1
THIRD DOWN CALLS (7/16)
TG/Yd
Q1
3/(47) Turner incomplete to Smith
2/(48) Scott 48 run right with blocks from Fulper and Jackson
7/11 Turner to Meggett for 13 yards
12/22 Turner pass to Meggett tipped and intercepted
Q2
11/27 Turner-Tyler 14 yards
1/18 Meggett stuffed for no gain
10/(19) Turner-Campbell short over the middle for 5 yards
G/(1) Meggett behind Jackson for 1-yard TD dive
Q3
10/(37) Turner-Smith wide open left side for 37-yard TD
6/21 Turner sacked for a loss of 6 yards
12/24 Turner-Tyler sideline for 3 yards
9/17 Turner-Meggett for 4 yards
Q4
10/26 Turner-Boykins over the middle for 10 yards
14/(25) Turner pass batted down by McCoy
1/(34) Meggett up the middle for 2
13/(35) Meggett 10 yard run
FOURTH DOWN CALLS (0/0)
PENALTIES (4-25)
Yards Offender Penalty
5 Phil Costa False start
5 A.J. Francis Offsides
10 Kerry Boykins Holding
5 Justin Lewis False start
PUNTING (5)
From To Yards Ret Pen Net Q
(47) EZ 47 - - 27 1
18 (45) 37 - - 37 2
15 (41) 44 15 - 29 3
27 (29) 44 - - 44 3
22 (47) 31 0 - 31 4
Avg.: 40.6
Net: 33.6
FIELD GOALS
Kicker Make/Miss Yards Time Notes
Nick Ferrara Block 31 Q2, 2:58
Nick Ferrara Make 42 Q4, 6:14
Nick Ferrara Miss 42 Q4, 1:30 Wide right
TAKEAWAYS (3)
Player TO, Q Next drive
Travis Ivey FR, 2 5-19-1:35, TD
Cameron Chism INT, 2 1-(-9)-0:24, HALF
Cameron Chism INT, 4 7-18-3:22, MISSED FG
GIVEAWAYS (4)
Player TO, Q Next drive
Chris Turner INT, 1 5-29-1:21, TD
Da’Rel Scott F, 2 3-29-1:20, TD
Jamarr Robinson F, 2 6-24-2:38, PUNT
Da’Rel Scott F, 3 8-28-2:07, FG
QUARTERBACKS, DOWN BY DOWN
TURNER
vs. MTSU Season
1st down 8-13, 118 26-36, 250, TD (Rating: 139.72)
2nd down 4-7, 83, TD 16-29, 199, TD, INT (Rating: 117.30)
3rd down 7-10, 87, TD, INT 17-30, 213, TD, INT (Rating: 120.64)
4th down 0-0, 0 2-3, 29 (Rating: 147.87)
EXPLOSIVE PLAYS (16+ yards, 6)
Q1 Scott 48 yards right side for TD
Q2 Turner-Smith 42 jump ball over two defenders right side
Q3 Scott 35 run
Q3 Turner-Smith 37 in busted coverage left side for TD
Q4 Turner-Smith 64 down left sideline for TD
Q4 Turner-Boykins 17 left slant in
EXPLOSIVE PLAYS YIELDED (16+ yards, 9)
Q1 Dasher-McClover 18 roll left, throw right
Q2 Gee-Beyah 27 roll right halfback pass
Q2 Dasher-Jefferson 19 over the middle
Q2 Dasher-McClover 20
Q3 Dasher-Honeycutt 17
Q3 Dasher 26 after evading a blitz
Q4 Dasher-Andrews 36
Q4 Dasher-Andrews 32 over the middle with two missed tackles
Q4 Dasher-McClover 35 in busted coverage
—- Patrick Stevens
