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 Tim Warner/Getty Images) /

Getting third down stops

Maryland doesn’t exactly have a ton of success when it comes to stopping opposing teams on third down.

In fact, the Terps are second-to-last in the Big Ten as they allow their opponents to convert 47.3 percent of their third down conversions. Opposing teams have picked up 35 first downs on third down, which is the third highest mark in the conference.

The one positive is that Northwestern is second-to-last in the conference in picking up third down conversions. The Wildcats are converting just 33.8 percent of their third downs.

The Terps are definitely going to need to improve their standing on third down. Getting after the quarterback will certainly provide an advantage.

Maryland only has recorded nine sacks on the year and hasn’t had one over the past three games. That comes after racking up five sacks against Texas and four against Towson.

Next: Alex Len ejected after scuffle

A few sacks could go a long way towards getting the win against their latest Big Ten foe.

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