The Terps are coming off a loss where they let the game slip away in the second half. After contending with Ohio State on the road, they are now back home for homecoming week where they will have a very good chance to get back into the win column hosting the Fighting Illini of Illinois.
Illinois is coming into College Park with a 2-4 record including an 0-3 record in conference play. The Fighting Illini are a team that are heavily reliant on their defense which is led by two star defensive lineman in Keith Randolph Jr. and Jer’Zhan Newton. Randolph Jr. and Newton are top two in sacks and are both second on the team in tackles for loss. Both Randolph Jr. and Newton are projected to be draft picks this upcoming draft and will be a very good challenge for the Terps offensive line who has been dealing with some shuffling due to injuries as of late. Outside of the two star defensive lineman, look out for Xavier Scott in the Illinois secondary. Scott leads Illinois in interceptions and pass deflections as well and is the leader of a secondary that lost most of its starters to the NFL draft last season. One thing to look out for is the fact that Illinois has a new defensive coordinator this season. They have not changed much but they have loved to cause havoc along the line of scrimmage and try to get Randolph Jr. and Newton into one on one situations to help get them into the backfield and create negative plays.
On offense however, Illinois has not done fairly well this season. Illinois only totals 250 passing yards and 127 rushing yards a game so far this season. One of their biggest areas of struggle is along their offensive line. So far this season, the Fighting Illini have given up 23 sacks and are only averaging 4.1 yards per carry. The Terps are coming off a game where they got three sacks and five tackles for loss so it will be an interesting matchup to watch in the trenches and see if the Terps can take advantage of the poor offensive line play. Another big area of struggle for Illinois is turnovers. This season, Illinois has coughed the ball up 2.2 times per game. And coming into this week, the Terps are forcing on average two turnovers a game. With the weather expected to be a factor in the game this weekend, look for there to be plenty of turnovers.
As mentioned before, the weather could play a very large factor in the game this weekend. The Terps offense has not done well in the past in games that had rain. The Terps will need to get the run game going this week to keep the Illinois defense honest. Coming off a game where they turned it over twice, the Terps will need to take care of the ball and not turn it over as well.
It is homecoming week for the Terps and they have a very good chance to get back into the win column and become bowl eligible. Let’s pack “The Shell” for the boys and give Illinois hell in the shell. The game is set to kickoff at 3:30 PM EST and will be airing on NBC.
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