Most teams who take over underachieving programs end up with a relatively bare cupboard to take over in terms of talent. D.J. Durkin though, is a bit of an exception to that. The Maryland Terrapins have a lot of potential at this point, and they could end up taking some big strides forward in 2016.
Maryland Terrapins Regular Season Win Total Odds at BookMaker.eu
Maryland Over 6 Wins ( +260 )
Maryland Under 6 Wins ( -380 )
Maryland only has 12 returning starters, but those starters are really in all of the right places. Caleb Rowe has never really panned out as a fantastic starting quarterback, and he's badly going to need to improve upon his 46.1 completion percentage and his 6/15 TD/INT ratio. That said, virtually all of the skill players from last year's team are back, and having a full offseason to work together should help out dramatically.
Rushing the passer is going to be the key for the Terrapins in 2016. They've got two elite pass rushers in Roman Braglio and Jesse Aniebonam, while freshman Adam McLean comes to Maryland with high expectations of contributing right away. Throw in the fact that Mike London is one of the top defensive line coaches in America and this back seven is bringing all of its best pieces from a year ago, and we'll certainly see improvement from the Terrapins in 2016 on this side of the ball.
2016 Maryland Terrapins Football Schedule
September 3 – vs. Howard
September 10 – at Florida International
September 17 – at UCF
October 1 – vs. Purdue
October 8 – at Penn State
October 15 – vs. Minnesota
October 22 – vs. Michigan State
October 29 – at Indiana
November 5 – at Michigan
November 12 – vs. Ohio State
November 19 – at Nebraska
November 26 – vs. Rutgers
Sometimes you wonder what in the heck teams are thinking when they make up non-conference schedules. Games at UCF and Florida International in consecutive weeks feel like they're setting up for a disaster. Both of these games should be wins, but both of the Sunshine State clubs are going to be vastly improved from last season. If both of those games are survived, this team will have a real shot to start at 5-1 before things really get tough in the second half of the year. There's a real chance that the Terps don't win a game until the last one of the year at home against Rutgers at that point, and that might end up being a make-or-break game for bowl eligibility.
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Durkin has his work cut out for him for sure. This Maryland team ranked No. 96 in the land in scoring offense and No. 103 in scoring defense last year. There should be marked improvements, and we do think that Durkin is the right choice to try to lead this club in the long run.
Rowe is going to be the key man. If he can become even a respectable option at quarterback to give the team the ability to exploit some of the other options which the Terps are bringing to the table, they could reach bowl eligibility.
The problem is that we just don't trust that he can, and we're not sure Durkin has the ability to ultimately lead an offense which has such problems at the quarterback spot to address. In the end, we think this team is going to end up showing some improvement but will ultimately win just four or five games. Better things are on the horizon for the Terrapins in the future with Durkin turning up the intensity.
College Football Odds: Maryland Terrapins Under 6 Wins
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