Maryland Football: Five things to watch for Maryland/Northwestern

AUSTIN, TX - SEPTEMBER 02: Taivon Jacobs #12 of the Maryland Terrapins celebrates with Jacquille Veii #84 after scoring a touchdown in the second quarter against the Texas Longhorns at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on September 2, 2017 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /

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(Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images) /

Getting back on track on the ground

To say Ohio State’s front seven dominated Maryland would be an understatement.

The Terps were committed to the running game as they registered 42 carries. However, they only totaled 50 rushing yards, which is good for just a 1.2 yards-per-carry clip.

Johnson had a solid performance as he had 12 carries for 57 yards, but didn’t have any big-time runs. Lorenzo Harrison III wasn’t able to get anything going all afternoon as he rushed for just eight yards on 11 attempts.

Maryland is going to need to attack Northwestern on the ground this week. The Wildcats are surrendering 135.0 yards-per-game, so they can definitely be run on.

The Terps are still averaging 196.8 yards-per-game on the ground and have one of the most dangerous backfields in the conference. Johnson’s 8.1 yards-per-carry are still the most in the Big Ten, which ranks ahead of players like Saquon Barkley (Penn State) and Jonathan Taylor (Wisconsin).

Look for Maryland to come out similar to the way they did against Minnesota. It should be a run-heavy afternoon to help try to get the offensive back into a groove.

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