Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/541265
season. After barely seeing action during the regular season, he completed 46 of 75 passes for 742 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions in victories over Wisconsin, Alabama and Oregon. Not that there's a wrong choice to be made here. All three of the Buckeyes' QB hopefuls – J.T. Barrett and Braxton Miller are the others – have had mo- ments of absolute brilliance. But Barrett and Miller are both coming off season- ending injuries, and Miller's injury – a torn labrum suffered last summer – has been slow to heal, as is often the case with shoulder tears. Whoever wins the position will be breaking in a largely re- made receiver corps, but Ohio State re- turns an elite running back in junior Ezekiel Elliott and four starting offen- sive linemen. DEFENSE The Buckeyes have differ- ence-makers at every level of their de- fense. Up front, junior end Joey Bosa may be the best defensive player in col- lege football. He had 13.5 sacks, 21 tack- les for loss and four forced fumbles last fall. At linebacker, Darron Lee had 16.5 TFL, 7.5 sacks and two interceptions as a freshman. And in the secondary, junior safeties Vonn Bell and Tyvis Powell combined for 10 interceptions in 2014. If the Buckeyes have a weakness – a de- batable proposition – it's that their run defense may be less than rock solid. It wasn't impenetrable last year, and now Ohio State must replace standout DT Michael Bennett. SPECIAL TEAMS Sean Nuernberger hit 13 of 20 field goal attempts as a freshman. He was fine from 39 yards and in (8 of 10) but iffy from 40 and be- yond (5 of 10). Junior Cameron Johnston is one of the nation's best punters. He averaged 45.1 yards on 48 attempts last year with 17 fair catches. OUTLOOK With the possible excep- tion of Nick Saban, there isn't a coach in the country who doesn't envy Urban Meyer right now. Everyone's looking for an elite quarterback, and he's got three of 'em stockpiled. Everybody wants the next Joey Bosa or Ezekiel Elliott, and he's still got both of those guys for two more seasons (potentially, anyway). The Buckeyes can expect to get everyone's best shot throughout the regular season, which wraps up with back-to-back games against Michigan State and Michigan. But they're still strong fa- vorites to return to the College Football Playoff. 2014 RECORD 7-6 (4-4 Big Ten) SERIES RECORD Penn State leads, 35- 2-1. MOST RECENT MEETING The visit- ing Terrapins edged Penn State, 20-19, on Nov. 1, 2014. It was their first victory over the Nittany Lions since 1961. OFFENSE The Terps have a lot of questions at quarterback, with redshirt junior Caleb Rowe looking to fend off a potential challenge from Oklahoma State transfer Daxx Garman. Rowe is coming off an ACL tear and missed spring practice, but he's still said to be the favorite. The other big question on offense is whether anyone will be left to catch all those passes. The Terps have lost their top four receivers from last year, and we're not just talking about anticipated graduation losses here. In May, Marcus Leak announced that he was leaving the team for personal rea- sons, and two weeks later, Juwann Win- free was suspended indefinitely for a vi- olation of the student conduct code. DEFENSE Lots of changes here, from the top on down. Maryland lost defen- sive coordinator Brian Stewart to Ne- braska, so linebackers coach Keith Dudzinski takes over. Dudzinski is insti- tuting a 4-3 defense, which may or may not help cover up the loss of last year's sack leader, Andre Monroe. The line- backer corps was gutted too, leaving sophomore ILB Jermaine Carter Jr. as the highest-profile returnee. The good news is that Maryland's secondary looks very solid. It's anchored by junior cor- nerback William Likely, who had six in- terceptions last season. The other three projected starters are all seniors: Sean Davis at cornerback, and Anthony Nixon and A.J. Hendy at safety. SPECIAL TEAMS Brad Craddock was money for the Terps as a junior, hitting 18 of 19 field goal attempts. Maryland also brings back an excellent all-pur- pose return man in Likely, but it needs to replace punter Nathan Renfro. OUTLOOK The Terps face the same dilemma that Rutgers and Indiana face. They've got some playmakers and have shown signs of life both on the field and on the recruiting trail, but they are com- peting in a division full of traditional powers with deep pockets and national reputations. In its first year of Big Ten membership, Maryland went .500 in conference play. Not bad, but two of the programs over which it eked out wins – Penn State and Michigan – are both trending upward. And when they played host to the East Division's two reigning power programs – Ohio State and Michigan State – the Terps lost by a combined margin of 89-39. Maybe Maryland's recent recruiting successes, notably the impending arrival of four- star QB Dwayne Haskins in 2016, will upend the divisional hierarchy in the years to come. But 2015 looks like an- other seven- or eight-win season. 2014 RECORD 6-7 (3-5 Big Ten) SERIES RECORD Penn State leads, 17- 5. MOST RECENT MEETING Illinois got a 36-yard field goal with eight seconds left to overcome visiting Penn State, 16- 14, on Nov. 22, 2014. OFFENSE The Illini have most of their W E E K 8 MARYLAND T i m e T BA , O c t . 24 @ M & T B a n k St a d i u m W E E K 9 ILLINOIS T i m e T BA , O c t . 3 1 @ B e av e r St a d i u m P R E V I E W