They have none.
The last time the Hoosiers and Terrapins met was in 1935. Maryland hasn’t even played in the state of Indiana since 1934, when the Hoosiers defeated the Terrapins 17-14.
When IU and Maryland last met in 1935, Franklin D. Roosevelt was president. That matchup came just months after the inaugural Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl, and Amelia Earhart was busy flying across the Pacific Ocean.
But nearly two years after Maryland announced it would join the Big Ten, IU (2-1) will officially welcome Maryland (3-1) to the conference at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at ?Memorial Stadium.
Because of the unfamiliarity between the teams, IU has been relying almost exclusively on game film in preparation this week.
One advantage IU has had this week comes from the experience of first-year IU defensive coordinator Brian Knorr, who spent the last three seasons at Wake Forrest.
“Having faced them in the past in the Atlantic Coast Conference, Maryland is very talented,” Knorr said.
The first player Knorr brought up when asked about his experience game-planning for Maryland was sixth-year senior quarterback C.J. Brown.
The Maryland offense runs through the dual-threat quarterback who is averaging 208 passing yards and a team-high 61 rushing yards per game.
He’s the only player in Maryland history to both pass and rush for 20 or more touchdowns.
Between 2011-2013 at Wake Forrest, Knorr was 2-1 against Maryland and has prepared for Brown twice in the past three seasons. He joked that Brown’s sixth-year season felt more like his eighth after seeing him so many times.
“(Brown) is very athletic,” Knorr said. “Six-foot-three, very fast, saw him one night run for about 250 against a good Clemson defense. He’s a dangerous quarterback, as far as a guy with flat out, straight-line speed, he can really run away from people and has a lot of targets.”
Brown is coming off of an efficient 16-of-26, 280 yard passing performance where he threw two touchdowns and no interceptions in a 34-20 win against Syracuse.
Junior receiver Stefon Diggs headlines a group of four Maryland receivers who have more than 100 yards. He leads Maryland with 23 catches and 286 yards through four games.
“(They’re) as good as there is collectively on any college team,” Wilson said. “Very impressive receivers, very impressive offense. They’ll stress you out and score a bunch of points.”
Maryland Coach Randy Edsall has had to remodel his defense after injuries have plagued his team early on in the season.
Maryland will be without junior defensive end Quinton Jefferson, who underwent season-ending knee surgery this week.
Senior linebacker Matt Robinson missed Maryland’s game against Syracuse and was still questionable as to whether or not he would play.
Backup sophomore outside linebacker Cavon Walker is also out for the season and last week, junior cornerback Alvin Hill was seen on crutches after the game.
IU’s offense will look to take advantage of an ailing defense that allowed 589 total yards, 370 of them on the ground, to Syracuse last week.
IU senior running back D’Angelo Roberts said despite not having a history against Maryland, game film and focusing on improving at the individual level will take up most of IU’s time preparing.
He said the Maryland defense actually looks similar to IU’s, which could be beneficial since Roberts and the rest of his teammates are used to practicing against one another.
“I believe their defense is similar to ours,” Roberts said. “We have different skill type players. Just watching and understanding what their keys are and who their playmakers are will be big.”
Wilson said that despite members of the Big Ten not knowing Maryland as well, it isn’t as if Maryland is an unproven team.
He said Maryland’s success against schools like Clemson and Florida state will make it a tough opponent for IU to kick off its Big Ten campaign with.
“It’s not like to me they’re stepping up. They just moved over,” Wilson said. “But at the end of the day, they’re not out of their league. This is where they belong. We’re excited to have them here and excited to have them in our division, and we look forward to a great game Saturday and we need to play very, very well.”
