Defensive end Jesse Aniebonam tackles a receiver during the Terps’ 28-0 loss to Michigan on Oct. 3 at Byrd Stadium.
Keith Dudzinski leaned back in his chair Wednesday and chuckled as he contemplated the question — how to stop Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott.
After a few seconds, the Terrapins defensive coordinator stooped forward and offered lavish praise for Elliott but said little about how to stop him.
It’s an issue no one else in the country appears to have solved either. In Elliott’s past eight games — spanning three postseason games last year and the first five contests this season — he has run for an average of 178.1 yards per game.
Elliott could be in for another big day Saturday against a rushing defense that ranks last in the Big Ten (199.8 yards per game). And with a sputtering offense, the Terps likely can’t afford to let the reigning Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week run rampant at if the Terps hope to pull off the upset over No. 1 Ohio State.
“He’s a game-changer,” Dudzinski said. “For us to have success, we have to try to eliminate the big plays.”
Terps coach Randy Edsall might have bigger problems than trying to contain Elliott, though. A report surfaced Thursday that indicated the school is planning to fire Edsall after the Ohio State game. Later that day, Edsall told reporters he wasn’t concerned about job security, echoing his statements from earlier in the week.
Elliott, meanwhile, ran for 274 yards last week against Indiana, a performance that included three touchdowns runs of 55 yards or longer. The junior is averaging 145.8 rushing yards per game, the sixth-best mark in the country, and will face a Terps defense that has surrendered at least 240 rushing yards twice this season.
Even so, the Terps (2-3, 0-1 Big Ten) had success stopping the run last Saturday against No. 18 Michigan, as they held the Wolverines to 43 yards on 16 carries in the first half.
“Anyone that was genuinely watching the game last week for the first half can tell when we’re all focused in on the run game, it can be nonexistent,” outside linebacker Jalen Brooks said.
READ MORE: Edsall to coach Terps against Ohio State
But the Wolverines, who were without starting running back De’Veon Smith, still finished with 198 yards on the ground. Edsall remains confident, though, that there are positives the Terps can take from that game and apply to this week’s matchup against Elliott.
“You’ve got to tackle him,” Edsall said. “Our guys saw in the game Saturday that when we go out and play hard and we execute and we get 11 guys running to the football, we can be good.”
With starting quarterback Cardale Jones struggling at times — the Buckeyes benched him in the first half against Northern Illinois on Sept. 19 — Ohio State (5-0, 1-0) has leaned on Elliott.
In an effort to quell his production, Indiana stacked the box, placing seven or more defenders near the line of scrimmage on many plays. That formation limited Elliot to 31 yards in the opening 30 minutes.
While Elliott ended up rushing for 243 yards after the break, Dudzinski hopes the Terps can replicate the Hoosiers’ early success against him while backing up their first-half performance against the Wolverines.
But that’s easier said than done, especially against a player who Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer said seems to rise to the occasion.
“He’s got that look in his eye when it’s time to start feeding the beast,” Meyer said. “He does have that next gear when the game is on the line.”
Senior staff writer Ryan Baillargeon contributed to this report.
