Maryland Football: What we know about the Terps after two games

Secondary is underrated

Maryland hasn’t exactly had a pass defense that struck fear into opponents in recent years.

Early returns suggest that it could be a different story in College Park this fall.

The Terps have allowed 58 points in their first two games. Now that does sound like a lot, but three of touchdowns against Texas came via a blocked field goal return, interception return, and a punt return that were ran back for scores.

One of the biggest things that is noticeable about Maryland is the fact that they are forcing turnovers. The Terps only had five interceptions during the entire 2016 season, but already have recorded three in two games.

This is a very opportunistic group that is taking advantage of bad decisions by the opposing quarterback. For example, safety Darnell Savage Jr. returned an interception for 75 yards against Towson just because quarterback Ryan Stover had a throw sail on him and Savage saw it from the beginning of the play.

Maryland also had a pick early in the Texas game in which cornerback J.C. Jackson intercepted an overthrown ball by Shane Buechele.

Fans may have expected the unit to struggle a tad without cornerback Will Likely. However, Likely missed the final six games last season, so several of these players got experience as starters and big-time role players.