Maryland Football: Run defense continues to hinder

The Maryland football team has struggled to defend the run at times this season.

However, the Terrapins turned in their most brutal performance in Saturday’s 42-36 loss to Indiana.

The Hoosiers racked up 414 yards and six touchdowns on 57 carries against a stagnant Maryland defense. Indiana averaged 7.3 yards-per-carry and had three players top the century mark on the afternoon.

It was the fourth consecutive game that Maryland surrendered at least 200 rushing yards to the opposition. Michigan State (270), Minnesota (229), and Penn State (372) all saw tremendous success against the Terps.

As it currently stands, Maryland is 12th in the Big Ten defending the run. The Terps are allowing 220.1 yards-per-game and only Rutgers has had the ball run more times against them.

The Terps front seven looked over-matched at times against the Hoosier offensive line.

Indiana’s tailbacks had open space to run through during a large majority of the game. The Hoosiers threw a variety of different packages at the Terps with their use of backup quarterback Zander Diamont.

Diamont ended up rushing for 104 yards on 11 carries and broke off a pair of touchdown runs. He ended up rushing for a 52-yard touchdown with under a minute remaining in the game.

In the first quarter, Diamont scored a very crafty 11-yard touchdown.

Diamont lined up out of the shotgun and faked the handoff before bouncing it to the outside. The junior signal caller used a stutter step to get by linebacker Shane Cockerille and was able to dive his way into the end zone.

The California native wasn’t the only Hoosier to have success against the Terps.

Devine Redding had arguably the best game of the season. The junior carried the ball 17 times for 130 yards and a touchdown on the afternoon.

Redding displayed excellent vision as he weaved his way through the Maryland defense on multiple occasions.

He’s one of the bigger backs that Indiana has had in recent years. The Hoosiers have had electric, quick tailbacks like Tevin Coleman and Jordan Howard make it to the NFL over the past two seasons.

Redding has some speed and can maneuver his way through the Maryland defense. He also used his power to finish off his runs strong.

For example, Redding displayed both of those traits on a run in the first quarter. He received the delayed handoff out of the shotgun and burst his way through the Maryland front seven. He got the first down and even got a few extra yards when he plowed through cornerback J.C. Jackson and gained an additional six to seven yards when he ran through Jackson.

Maryland’s front seven just looked completely overmatched and were constantly chasing Indiana ball carriers. Indiana is currently seventh in the Big Ten in terms of rushing with 173.6 yards-per-game. Obviously those numbers are inflated after putting up such lofty statistics against the Terps.

Since stifling Markell Jones of Purdue, Maryland has looked downright awful against the run. The Terps have remained very strong against the pass even with the loss of star cornerback Will Likely.

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However, teams know that Maryland struggles to defend the run and they’re going to continue to test the Terps in that department. The fact is that Maryland needs to figure out how to improve or it’s going to be a long four games to end the regular season.