Reviewing the 2019 Maryland Terrapins

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Which Maryland team will Nebraska face? The one that was ranked #21 early in the season, or the one that’s been blown out by nearly everyone with a pulse?

Maryland has been a hot and cold football team in 2019, starting hot with blowout wins over Ron Prince’s Howard team and a then-nationally ranked Syracuse squad. A 41 point victory over Rutgers was sandwiched between blowout losses to Penn State (59-0) and Purdue (40-14!). A competitive game against Indiana (losing 34-28) has been followed by blowout losses to Minnesota (52-10), Michigan (38-7) and Ohio State (73-14).

The upset of Syracuse vaulted the Terps into the Top 25 at #21; now Jeff Sagarin’s computer rankings have Maryland at #84. (Just ahead of #89 Northwestern and #134 Rutgers, for what it’s worth…) The inconsistency of Maryland’s offense starts at quarterback where both Virginia Tech graduate transfer Josh Jackson and Tyrrell Pigrome have played this season. Jackson missed two games with a sprained ankle suffered against Rutgers, though Pigrome has seen action even when Jackson is able to go. Jackson has only completed 49% of his passes this season for 1,100 yards and 11 touchdowns with three interceptions; Pigrome has completed 59% of his passes for 684 yards but just three touchdowns to go with six interceptions. Pigrome is a dual-threat who averages 3.5 yards per carry, while Jackson has lost 70 yards rushing after subtracting sacks.