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Maryland played pretty well in its first year in the Big Ten, but will most likely show a little regression in Year 2. The Terrapins are losing their starting quarterback, their top receiver and will only return four starters on defense. Their lack of experience will hold them back in a rising conference.
The Terrapins beat the teams they were expected to beat last season, but couldn’t hang with the elite teams. Their most impressive conference wins were against Penn State and Michigan, who had down years in 2014. They were handled pretty easily by Ohio State, Wisconsin and Michigan State, and finished with a 4-4 record in their new conference.
C.J. Brown was the team’s leading passer and rusher last season. Replacing that much offense will be difficult to do. Perry Hills seems to be holding a slight lead in the competition for the starting quarterback job, but is still competing with Caleb Rowe and Oklahoma State transfer Daxx Garman.
Hills played in one game for the Terps last year when Brown went down against Iowa. He also started seven games in 2012 after Brown tore his ACL in the preseason. His experience at College Park would lead us to believe that head coach Randy Edsall will be more comfortable going with Hills to begin the season.
Whoever the starting quarterback is, he won’t have last year’s leading receiver to look to. Stefon Diggs has moved on, which means Wes Brown and Marcus Leak will need to step up.
The Terps will have an experienced secondary, but will only be returning one starter on the front seven. Sean Davis is moving from safety to corner this season and will be the most important piece on the Maryland defense.
Prediction: It’s tough to evaluate such an inexperienced team before the season begins, but logic says that the Terps will take a step back. 4-4 in the Big Ten should be the ceiling for Edsall’s team this year, but I expect just three wins. They’ll also have a couple of tough out-of-conference games with South Florida and West Virginia on the schedule, which means fans shouldn’t expect more than six regular season wins this year.
Jason Shawley is a Featured Writer for www.RantSports.com covering Big Ten Football. Follow him on Twitter @jshawls.
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