Points could be flying all over the place Saturday afternoon when the undefeated UCLA Bruins head to College Park to take on the Maryland Terrapins. Both offenses are averaging more than 6 yards per play this season, setting the stage for a potential shootout. With Big Ten play officially getting underway, the big question is: which defense can step up when their team needs them most?
Each team’s quarterback has been solid, but it has been the running game that has run the show early this season for both teams. UCLA is led by senior running back Wayne Knight. Knight has run for 345 yards and 8 touchdowns in only three games this season. He averages 8.8 yards per carry, ranking him 7th in college football. Maryland’s rushing attack is led by a committee of running backs that have accounted for 10 touchdowns through three games. Iverson Howard is the main featured back with a touchdown in each game this season he has played in. Maryland’s sophomore quarterback, Malik Washington, has gotten out to a quick start this season. He is 12th in college football with 892 yards passing this season. He has thrown for 6 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. Early signs show Washington has improved his decision-making from last season.
For UCLA, quarterback Nico Iamaleava has hopefully turned the page from his tough season last year. In his two opening contests, Iamaleava did not throw one touchdown and had two interceptions but, Iamaleava played much better in Week 3 against Purdue, throwing for 276 yards and 3 touchdowns. Overall, I do like UCLA to go in and win on the road this weekend against Maryland. We learned a lot about Maryland’s defense against Virginia Tech last week. Maryland’s defense struggled against Virginia Tech, particularly in the secondary, where its cornerbacks repeatedly gave up big plays through the air. Virginia Tech receivers accumulated 314 yards receiving and their running backs ran for another 131 yards due to poor tackling. If this difficulty to contain skill players and bring them to the ground continues, Maryland’s defense could make this team vulnerable to another home loss.
UCLA vs Maryland prediction: UCLA -1.5 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable at -2.5.
