Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/703041
some growing pains on this side of the ball. DEFENSE Maryland has a shut-down cornerback in senior Will Likely, a two- time first-team All-Big Ten performer. Likely didn't get quite so many balls thrown his way last season after posting six interceptions in 2014, but he still broke up a team-high 11 passes. The only knock on Likely is his height; he's listed at 5-7, 175 pounds. But even so, he's con- sidered a solid NFL prospect, and you can bet that a few Big Ten quarterbacks will be wishing he had turned pro after his junior season. Elsewhere, the situa- tion isn't quite so rosy. Two other de- fensive standouts – end Yannick Ngak- oue and tackle Quinton Jefferson – did turn pro, and that's going to hurt. Mary- land had major defensive problems last year, allowing 421.2 yards and 34.4 points per game. Only five starters are back from that unit, and even though blue-chip linebacker Jermaine Carter is one of them, this season could be a struggle. SPECIAL TEAMS The best player in Maryland's kicking game is Likely. A year ago, he finished with 1,197 total re- turn yards to lead the nation, and his whopping average of 17.7 yards per punt return was third-best in the FBS. Punter Nicholas Pritchard is also back, but the Terps must replace a reliable kicker in Brad Craddock. OUTLOOK The nonconference games (home vs. Howard, road trips to Florida International and UCF) all look winnable, as does the Big Ten opener against Purdue. But after that, the schedule grows some teeth. In addition to the conference road opener at Penn State, Maryland will face Michigan State, Michigan, Ohio State and Ne- braska during a four-week span begin- ning Oct. 22 when the defending Big Ten champion Spartans visit College Park. Does Maryland have enough de- fensive manpower to spring an upset or two? Hard to say, but it's got a head coach with impressive defensive cre- dentials. Durkin served as defensive co- ordinator at Florida and Michigan, helping the Wolverines hold opponents to 17.2 points per game last year. The Terps won't be posting numbers like that anytime soon, but Durkin is also considered a skilled recruiter – he was Rivals.com's Recruiter of the Year in 2012 while with the Gators – so they are likely to make some strides in the years to come. 2015 RECORD 12-1, 7-1 Big Ten SERIES RECORD Ohio State leads, 17- 13. MOST RECENT MEETING Penn State faded after a strong start, giving up three second-quarter touchdowns en route to a 38-10 loss to the top-ranked Buckeyes on Oct. 17, 2015, at Ohio Stadi- um. OFFENSE Ohio State has a lot of talent to replace this year, with all but three starters having departed, including key playmakers Braxton Miller and Ezekiel Elliott. But one of those returning starters just happens to be quarterback J.T. Barrett. If you have to rebuild, you could do a lot worse than to have Barrett serve as the cornerstone. The 6-2, 225- pound junior is 15-2 as a starting QB, with career averages of 220 passing yards and 82 rushing yards per game. Offensive linemen Pat Elflein and Billy Price are also back, with Elflein, a two- time first-team All-Big Ten choice, moving from guard to center. They'll be blocking for some new talent in the backfield, as Mike Weber and Bri'onte Dunn will be vying for carries now that Elliott is gone. The top returning re- ceivers are Curtis Samuel and Dontre Wilson. DEFENSE As is the case on offense, graduation and the lure of an NFL pay- check have really wreaked havoc on the Buckeyes' defensive two-deep. End Tyquan Lewis, linebacker Raekwon McMillan and cornerback Gareon Con- ley are the only starters back. The good news for Ohio State is that those three players are all difference-makers. McMillan was the Buckeyes' leading tackler last year with 119 stops and fin- ished third in the Butkus Award voting, while Lewis led the team with eight sacks and Conley finished second with two interceptions. So it's not as if Ohio State is having to rebuild from scratch. And, in new co-defensive coordinator Greg Schiano, they have a veteran hand with college and pro head coaching ex- perience who knows how to develop sol- id units. SPECIAL TEAMS Ohio State's kicking game has been a consistent strength un- der Urban Meyer and should be again in 2016. Punter Cameron Johnston is back after leading the Big Ten last season with a 43.9-yard average, while kicker Sean Nuernberger also returns. A junior, Nuernberger has hit 16 of 24 field goal attempts in his career. OUTLOOK The Buckeyes have lost 16 starters, with a record-setting five of those players having been chosen in the first round of the NFL Draft this past April and seven more players joining them in the later rounds. At most other schools, the abrupt loss of so much pro- caliber talent would push expectations down substantially. At Ohio State? Not so much. Meyer has won 12 or more games in eight of his past 11 seasons as a head coach, including all four of his sea- sons with the Buckeyes. He's lost only one conference regular-season game in four years. This year, his team will have to contend with an emboldened archri- val in Michigan. It will also have to play Wisconsin, Penn State and Michigan State on the road and will face Oklaho- ma in the nonconference season, also on the road. But would anybody be com- pletely surprised if the Buckeyes were the ones hoisting the College Football Playoff trophy at the end of the season, just as they did in 2014 with a squad that was full of question marks at the start of the year? Didn't think so. W E E K 7 OHIO STATE 8 p. m . , O c t . 2 2 @ B e av e r St a d i u m P R E V I E W