After a 24-point loss to Penn State on Oct. 8, Maryland football coach DJ Durkin lamented his defense’s performance. He wanted the unit to improve its fundamentals and tackling. He felt the Terps didn’t trust their teammates and played beyond their roles in their formations.
In the ensuing two weeks, the first-year leader saw a difference in the Terps’ containment against Minnesota and Michigan State. But Saturday afternoon in Indiana, he said the Terps’ lack of discipline resurfaced.
The Hoosiers racked up 650 yards of total offense, 414 of which came on the ground, in their 42-36 victory.
“We’ve got to do a better job of executing what’s called and playing within the scheme,” Durkin said on a conference call Monday. “If we did, it could have been a whole lot better for us.”
In overpowering the Terps (5-3, 2-3 Big Ten), Indiana also strayed from its typical offensive strategy. Coach Kevin Wilson’s squad employed the wildcat offense, and for stretches, running back Tyler Natee and reserve quarterback Zander Diamont, a rushing threat, took direct snaps with quarterback Mitch Lagow on the sideline.
The 6-foot, 270-pound Natee took 18 carries for 111 yards and one touchdown. Diamont had 104 yards and two scores on 11 carries, while running back Devine Redding paced the backfield with 134 yards, marking the first time Maryland has allowed three players to surpass 100 rushing yards in a game this season.
Their production left the Terps’ depleted defense winded. Safety Qwuantrezz Knight made his first start in place of Darnell Savage Jr., who suffered an injury early in the win against the Spartans. The secondary also played within cornerback Will Likely and safety Denzel Conyers, who are out for the season with injuries.
The Hoosiers rushers plowed through the line to average 7.8 yards a play and often tested the young defensive backfield.
“We’ve just got to get our guys, defensively speaking, get their eyes in the right place and just execute their assignment,” Durkin said. “We didn’t do that nearly at the level we need to in order to win.”
Similar to what happened against Penn State, Indiana established its dominance on the first drive, marching 85 yards in three minutes and 21 seconds. Seven of the 11 plays went for at least 10 yards.
In total, the Hoosiers had 17 rushes yield double-digit yardage, including Diamont’s 52-yard burst on 3rd-and-2 late in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.
“If we execute what is called and play within the scheme and just do what we’re capable of doing,” Durkin said, “we’ll play much better defense.”
