Wisconsin Football: Get to Know the Maryland Terrapins

The Wisconsin football team travels to Maryland to take on the Maryland Terrapins Saturday in Big Ten play. The Badgers are looking to add a fifth Big Ten conference win to their 4-1 B1G record.

READ ALSO: Corey Clement Impresses in Return

Wisconsin is fresh off a 48-10 rout of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights that saw the return of running back Corey Clement. His 100-plus yards and three touchdowns helped the Badgers coast to an easy victory.

The Badgers will now hit the road for the third time in Big Ten conference play, looking to knock off the Terrapins on their home turf.

Here’s what you need to know about Maryland.

Record: 2-6 overall, 0-4 Big Ten

Season so far: Maryland opened the season with a 50-21 win over Richmond, but dropped a week two contest to Bowling Green 48-27. The Terrapins earned their second and only other win of the season in week three, a 35-17 victory over USF.

Since then, Maryland has lost five straight games, starting with a 45-6 defeat at the hands of West Virginia.

Maryland dropped its Big Ten opener 28-0 against Michigan, but has since looked better in Big Ten play. The Terrapins stuck with Ohio State for awhile before losing 49-28, then came up short in the fourth quarter against Penn State in a 31-30 loss. Last week Maryland fell to Big Ten West-leading Iowa 31-15.

Wisconsin Badgers /

Wisconsin Badgers

Top players: Maryland has been a rotating door at the quarterback position. Junior Perry Hills opened the season as the starter and played the first two games of the season, completing less than 50 percent of his passes and throwing four touchdowns and a pair of interceptions.

The Terps decided to give junior Caleb Rowe a shot heading into a week three matchup against USF, despite a pretty terrible showing late against Bowling Green the week before. Rowe had a attempted three passes after Maryland benched Hills: one was a 17-yard completion, the other two attempts were intercepted.

Rowe threw for four touchdowns as the Terps took down South Florida, but he also threw three interceptions. It went downhill from there as Rowe was picked four times by West Virginia and three more by Michigan. He hasn’t played since, and he sits with a 44 percent completion percentage (40-for-91) with four touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

Hills has started the past three games for Maryland, and has been moderately better than Rowe. He’s completed 52.3 percent of his passes (67-for-128) with seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Hills is also coming off of three straight 100 yard rushing performances, and had a 170-yard, two-touchdown performance on the ground against Ohio State. He has 81 carries for 517 yards and three scores on the season.

Senior running back Brandon Ross has paired nicely with Hills on the ground, with 95 carries for 520 yards and three scores. Junior running back Wes Brown has added 49 carries for 231 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Six Terps have double-digit receptions on the season, led by junior wideout Lavern Jacobs, who leads the team in receptions (26) and yards (272). Jacobs has a pair of touchdown grabs on the season, as does freshman wide receiver D.J. Moore, sophomore wideout Taivon Jacobs, and freshman tight end Avery Edwards.

On defense, Maryland defensive lineman Yannik Ngakoue is second in the country with 10.5 sacks, trailing Penn State’s Carl Nassib (13.5) and sitting just ahead of Wisconsin’s Joe Schobert (9.5). Ngakoue has 20 solo tackles on the season.

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Sophomore linebacker Jermaine Carter Jr. leads the Terrapins with 48 solo and 72 total tackles, and has seven tackles for a loss on the season. Senior defensive back Sean Davis adds 47 solo and 59 total tackles, as well as a team-leading five forced fumbles and two interceptions. Junior defensive lineman Quinton Jefferson has five sacks for Maryland,

Outlook: The Maryland offense has struggled mightily this season, and the numerous turnovers aren’t helping. Maryland averages 160.1 yards through the air and 184.3 yards on the ground per game, and things won’t get any easier against one of the best defenses in the country. Maryland has thrown a combined 23 interceptions and lost five fumbles on the season, turning the ball over an average of 3.5 times per game.

Maryland’s defense, meanwhile, is giving up 425 yards and 33.8 points per game, and is set to face a Wisconsin football team that just rushed and passed for over 200 yards each on the way to a 48-point performance against Rutgers.

Next: Big Ten Standings Largely Unchanged

With Corey Clement back in the lineup and and a passing game that is working through its own turnover issues, the Wisconsin Badgers present a tough challenge for a struggling Maryland squad. By the numbers, it doesn’t look likely Maryland will scrape together its first Big Ten victory Saturday afternoon.