Diving Deep into Michigan State’s Matchup against Maryland

The Spartans’ offense has had trouble putting up points for a while now. Michigan State has averaged just 18.9 points per game against conference opponents and have scored no greater than 20 in each of its last six games. 

MSU has tried to give the offense a jolt by turning over starting duties to Alessio Milivojevic, but it hasn’t resulted in more points going up on the scoreboard. Milivojevic has done well individually, protecting the ball well and playing with some toughness, but the Spartans still have not seemed to figure out how to finish off drives all season. It’s felt like a switch flips on them once they get the ball into opposing territory sometimes. 

Limiting the turnovers will be one key for MSU in this one. If there is one thing Maryland is good at, it’s forcing turnovers. The Terrapins have done it 20 times this year (18 interceptions, two fumble recoveries), which is tied for 13th in the country. 

Lots of interceptions are on tips and overthrows. Milivojevic needs to be sure he’s accurate and controlled, and the Spartans’ offensive line needs to keep pass rushers away from him to limit the possibility of somebody batting a pass into the air at the line of scrimmage. 

Injuries have been a problem for Michigan State on both sides of the ball — injuries on the offensive line, particularly, have made things difficult. Starting left tackle Stanton Ramil has essentially been out since the conference opener against USC, and projected starting guard Luka Vincic has been out since Week 3. The status of top running back Makhi Frazier is also in question for Saturday’s game. 

Maryland’s defense has seemed to get worse as the year has gone on. The Terrapins have given up nearly 40 points per game over their last four games, though that features games against Indiana, Rutgers, Illinois and Michigan, all teams with better offenses than MSU’s. For the season, Maryland ranks 94th in the FBS for total defense and 75th for scoring defense. 

When Maryland has the Ball

Michigan State’s defense, on the other hand, has seemed to get better as the year has gone on… at least for the first three quarters. The Spartans have been competitive during the final quarter in their last three games, largely because the defense has kept them in it, but that unit hasn’t seemed to keep it up for 60 minutes.

Against Minnesota, MSU was one stop away from beating the Golden Gophers, but couldn’t get it. Penn State had a nine-minute touchdown drive to go up by two scores in the fourth. All 13 points Michigan State’s defense gave up against Iowa were in the final 15 minutes (the Hawkeyes had previously scored on a punt return touchdown). 

Joe Rossi’s unit that has risen will clash with a Maryland offense that has struggled, too. The Spartans haven’t reached 21 points in six games, but the Terrapins haven’t done it in their last five contests, either. 

UMD’s offense is piloted by a true freshman quarterback, Malik Washington. Head coach Michael Locksley and offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton have been fine with letting him work on the job, since Washington leads the Big Ten in pass attempts (412) by a wide margin. Rutgers’ Athan Kaliakmanis is second entering the week, at just 346. 

The efficiency hasn’t necessarily come with it, though. Washington is seventh in the conference in passing yards (2,504) and has the second-fewest yards per attempt (6.08) among quarterbacks in the Big Ten who have been full-time starters, only ahead of UCLA’s Nico Iamaleava (6.06). Maryland’s young QB1 is also 10th in passing touchdowns (14) and is in a tie for third for the most interceptions in the conference (8). 

Maryland also has some good depth to complement its philosophy to throw a lot. Five different Terps have between 36 and 48 receptions this season, each of them having at least 300 receiving yards. Shaleak Knotts leads the group as the big-play threat; he’s got 36 catches for a team-high 578 yards and five touchdowns. Just behind him is Octavion Smith Jr., who has 40 catches for 500 yards, but no touchdowns. Jahlil Farooq’s 48 receptions are the most receptions on the team; he’s got 435 yards and two touchdown catches.