Matt Canada shook his head during his Tuesday press conference, as the shortfalls of past years and past playcalls seemed to flood back to him.
Prior to becoming Maryland football’s interim head coach, Canada spent 12 seasons as an offensive coordinator at six different Division I programs. He can recall certain missed opportunities — plays that sidetracked drives, that derailed momentum, that turned wins into losses — from each of them.
This season, many of those missed chances have taken the form of penalties. The Terps are averaging 90.5 penalty yards per game, the second-most in the Big Ten.
Maryland has weathered those setbacks en route to a 3-1 start, but the team’s margin for error will be significantly smaller this weekend, when it travels to Ann Arbor to face No. 15 Michigan.
“We can’t have penalties,” Canada said. “You can’t beat yourselves, and certainly we’ve had that happen in a couple games where we’ve cost ourselves some opportunities.”
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Against Minnesota, the Terps’ fourth play from scrimmage was a false start, something that irked Canada even after the 42-13 blowout win was complete. That was the second game this season in which Maryland compiled more than 100 yards in penalties.
Late in the second quarter, the Golden Gophers began at their own 29-yard line and were stuffed for no gain on a first-down rushing attempt. But the Terps were called for a facemask, handing Minnesota 15 free yards. Then, cornerback RaVon Davis was flagged for pass interference, and the Golden Gophers entered Maryland territory without earning a single yard of offense.
That free yardage led to Minnesota’s only touchdown Saturday, narrowing the halftime score line to 21-10. The Terps were called for 10 penalties, accounting for 118 yards.
“Cleaning up penalties this week is a big thing for us, because that’s just shooting ourselves in the foot,” defensive lineman Mbi Tanyi said. “If we clean up a lot of penalties, especially from the last time we played Minnesota, we’ll be in a better position.”
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Against Bowling Green two weeks earlier, penalties caused Maryland to trail by four at halftime, despite having nearly twice as many yards of offense.
Midway through the first quarter, running back Lorenzo Harrison broke free and was dragged down at the Falcons’ 11-yard line, only to have a block in the back called on offensive lineman Brendan Moore wipe out the bulk of the carry. On the next play, Harrison trotted into the end zone for a would-be touchdown, but a personal foul — again called on Moore — nullified his scoring play.
Maryland gained 27 yards on that six-play drive and was forced to punt, as 35 penalty yards called off a touchdown and moved the Terps out of field goal range altogether. Overall, Maryland amassed 139 penalty yards in the 45-14 win.
“We want guys to play hard. We’re not going to play with fear, we’re not going to play scared,” Canada said. “But obviously, you can’t have penalties.”
There’s a line, Canada said, between “no-talent” penalties and “heat of the game” penalties. The two unsportsmanlike conduct calls against Bowling Green — one of which came after offensive lineman Derwin Gray high-fived fans following a fourth-quarter touchdown — is something Canada has the team working on.
Maryland has experienced issues outside penalties this year. The team had only five penalties for 35 yards against Temple, but suffered an ugly 35-14 defeat thanks to offensive inefficiency and defensive shortfalls. That loss has likely kept the Terps out of the top 25.
When facing Michigan’s top-ranked defense this weekend, Maryland could again encounter issues on offense. That’s why the team can’t afford to rack up penalty yardage. The Terps may not find additional chances to get back into games like they did against Minnesota and Bowling Green.
That would save Canada from more head-shaking at future press conferences, as he recalls his team’s shortfalls from behind a lecturn.
“Momentum is a real funny thing in our sport, right? Sometimes you get going, you feel good, and then it swings, and it goes back,” he said. “Those penalties have a lot to do with that.”
