Michigan State football vs. Maryland: Scouting report
Fast facts
Matchup: No. 24 Michigan State (7-3, 5-2 Big Ten) vs. Maryland (4-6, 2-5)
When: 4 p.m., Saturday
Where: Spartan Stadium, East Lansing
TV/radio: Fox, WJR-AM (760).
Line: MSU by 16.
Injury report
MSU: WR/PR Brandon Sowards (ACL), out for season; CB Josh Butler (personal), questionable; OL A.J. Arcuri (undisclosed), questionable; DE Dillon Alexander (undisclosed), questionable; DE Jacub Panasiuk (undisclosed), questionable; DT Mufi Hill-Hunt (undisclosed), questionable.
Maryland: QB Tyrell Pigrome (ACL), out for season; QB Kasim Hll (ACL), out for season; DL Jesse Aniebonam (ankle), out indefinitely; B Max Bortenschlager (shoulder and/or concussion), questionable.
Scouting report
When MSU has the ball: All of the struggles the Spartans have shown in running the ball proved costly to the rest of the offense in last week’s 48-3 blowout at Ohio State, the fourth straight game MSU failed to gain 100 yards on the ground as a team. With minimal threat on the ground, QB Brian Lewerke could not effectively use the play-action fake to freeze the Buckeyes or the rollout to stretch the defense laterally while looking down the field. The sophomore was sacked three times, he passed for just 131 yards (50 of them on MSU’s final drive) and had a spy watching him when he tried to run. Receivers weren’t getting open, his line struggled to pass block, and the Spartans produced a season-low 195 yards after Lewerke passed for 845 yards in the previous two games. Under former Michigan defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin, Maryland is last in the Big Ten in total defense, allowing 420.8 yards per game. The Terrapins rank 12th against the run (173.3 yards) and 13th against the pass (247.5). Senior LB Jermaine Carter leads them with 67 tackles, while junior DB Darnell Savage Jr. has three interceptions and six pass break-ups.
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When Maryland has the ball: What had been MSU’s best attribute, its run defense, failed miserably against the Buckeyes. The Spartans allowed 335 yards on the ground to the Buckeyes, the most allowed by Dantonio in his 11 seasons in East Lansing, despite entering with the third-ranked rush defense in the nation at 87 yards per game. The Spartans dropped to 10th in the country against the run. Sophomore safety David Dowell now has a team-high five interceptions, which is third in the Football Bowl Subdivision, as MSU ranks 10th in the Big Ten in allowing 213.9 passing yards per game. Maryland, meantime, has struggled to keep its quarterbacks healthy and has started four this season. The Terps are throwing for just 164 yards per game, 12th in the Big Ten and 114th nationally. Junior wide receiver DJ Moore, however, leads the Big Ten in three categories –6.4 catches per game, 64 total receptions and 85.7 yards per game. On the ground, running back Ty Johnson ranks fourth in the league and 18th in the country with a 6.47 yards-per-carry average.
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More:Michigan State overpowered by OSU in Mark Dantonio's worst loss, 48-3
Know your foe
Questionable quarterbacks: The story about Maryland’s season begins and ends under center. The Terrapins started their fourth different quarterback in Saturday’s 35-10 loss to Michigan as walk-on sophomore Ryan Brand went 16 of 35 for 136 yards, a TD and two interceptions. Durkin said earlier this week that Max Bortenschlager, who got hurt at Rutgers a week earlier and did not play, would start against MSU if he’s healthy enough. Maryland also lost Tyrell Pigrome and Kasim Hill to season-ending torn ACL injuries, and the Terps are one of just four programs in the country to get victories from three different starters at QB this season.
Double backs: Junior running back Johnson has 770 yards on 119 carries with five touchdowns. But he has plenty of help from sophomore Lorenzo Harrison, who has 272 yards over his past four games and 522 yards rushing and two touchdowns for the season.
Giving and taking: While the Terps rank fourth in the Big Ten in scoring at 27.9 points per game overall, they are the conference’s worst on defense in allowing opponents to 36.2 points. In Big Ten play, both totals are much worse – Maryland is scoring just 22.1 points (ninth) and allowing a league-high 38 per game. In conference games, MSU is scoring just 19.9 points (11th) and giving up 23.9 (eighth).
Two cents
Farewell to seniors: MSU will honor its 12 seniors before their last home game. Only seven have been regulars – linebackers Chris Frey and defensive end Demetrius Cooper on defense; center Brian Allen and running back Gerald Holmes on offense; and kickoff specialist Brett Scanlon, Shane Jones and Sean Harrington on special teams. The others are offensive lineman Dennis Finley, tight end Hussien Kadry, wide receiver Brock Makaric, fullback Joe Palange and quarterback Damion Terry.
Completing a circle: The Spartans’ revenge tour – five straight games against teams that defeated them a year ago – comes to an end Saturday against the Terrapins. MSU has split those two, defeating Indiana and Penn State at home while losing on the road to Northwestern and Ohio State. Last year at Maryland, the only game QB Brian Lewerke started and finished, the Spartans lost, 28-17.
Prediction: MSU 33, Maryland 9
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari.