By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – When it comes to football, most Iowa fans probably don’t circle the Maryland game on the calendar.

Saturday’s game in College Park, Maryland will only be the fifth meeting between the two teams, so there is little tradition to fall back on.

Iowa has a 3-1 advantage in the series and has won the last three games.

This year’s game does have an added twist, however, with former Iowa offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz in his first season as an Offensive Special Assistant for Maryland.

Whether that makes the game more appealing to fans is hard to say.

Other than Iowa fans, nobody probably cares much about Kirk Ferentz coaching against his son for the first time.

Maryland fans probably don’t care because they barely seem to care about their team overall at this stage with the Terrapins 1-6 in the Big Ten and 4-6 overall.

“It’s a weird dynamic, but the bottom line is this: the reality is when you get to game day, that’s what’s silly about coaches exchanges greetings and all that,” Kirk Ferentz said. “I fully know what the other coach wants to do, just like he knows what I want to do, and how we hope the day goes.

“It’s probably not a great time for a family reunion or just even seeing old friends. Everybody is cordial, but the bottom line is we’ve all got business to take care of on Saturday. We’ll see where it all goes.”

Maryland is an erratic football team under head coach Mike Locksley, and has been for a while.

The parts almost always seem better than the whole with Maryland, and the current team is certainly no exception.

The biggest question with Iowa surrounds the quarterback position where Brendan Sullivan is out due to an injury, while sixth-year graduate Cade McNamara’s availability for Saturday’s game was uncertain until he released a statement on social media Friday afternoon in which he said he had been cleared to practice, but hadn’t been cleared to play yet after having suffered an “adverse reaction,” which he said in his statement is common for someone come out of concussion protocol.

McNamara also said in his statement that rumors about him quitting the team were ridiculous accusations.

McNamara said he hopes to return for the regular-season finale against Nebraska next Friday, which will also be Iowa’s senior day.

He hasn’t played since suffering a concussion in Iowa’s win over Northwestern on Oct. 26 at Kinnick Stadium.

Here is a look at which team has the advantage at each position:

 

Quarterback: Maryland is proof that a team needs more than just a productive quarterback to be good.

Because Maryland certainly has  a productive quarterback in redshirt junior Billy Edwards, who currently leads the Big Ten in passing yard per game (285.5) and completions (268).

There were concerns after four-year starter Taulia Tagovailoa chose to move on from Maryland after last season, and after having set the Big Ten all-time passing record with over 11,000 passing yards.

But quarterback is perhaps the least of Maryland’s concerns, along with wide receiver

Edwards has passed for at least 200 yards in each of the past 10 games and he has 2,855 passing yards this season, along with 15 touchdown passes and nine interceptions.

To put his numbers in perspective, Iowa has passed for just 1,389 yards as a team this season.

Edwards will take chances, and even force the issue at times, as evidenced by his nine interceptions.

But he is always on the attack, and he has some good skill player around him.

Iowa, meanwhile, will have walk-on Jackson Stratton as its stating quarterback in Saturday’s game.

Kirk Ferentz said Tuesday in his weekly press conference that if Iowa played that day Stratton would be the starter. And then on his weekly radio show on Wednesday, Kirk Ferentz said again that Stratton would likely be the starter, but Ferentz did leave a little wiggle room.

“We’re not playing yet, but Jackson looks like the guy that will be going, and he’ll get the start,” Kirk Ferentz said Wednesday on the radio. “Confident that he’ll do a great job.

“If he’s our quarterback, we’ll go with him and see what he can do.”

McNamara has missed the last two games due to a concussion, and he hasn’t played very well when healthy this season, while Stratton was buried on the depth chart just a few weeks.

Redshirt freshman Marco Lainez has returned from a broken thumb, but it’s uncertain if he even figures in the game plan.

Advantage: Maryland

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Running back: The Terrapins only average 115.5 rushing yards per game, but don’t let that fool you because Roman Hemby is a quality running back.

He is one of the more versatile backs in the Big Ten with 524 rushing yards and 222 receiving yards. He also has scored seven touchdowns, including six on the ground.

In this case, though, Hemby is being compared to Kaleb Johnson, and that’s a high bar to meet.

Johnson has rushed for 1,328 yards in 9 1/2 games and has scored 21 touchdowns, including 20 rushing touchdowns.

The Hamilton, Ohio native has made 20 career start and has 2,570 career rushing yards, which ranks eighth in program history.

Johnson also has two effective backups in redshirt freshman Kamari Moulton and sophomore Jaziun Patterson, who have rushed for 267 and 227 yards, respectively.

Advantage: Iowa

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Wide receiver: Billy Edwards couldn’t have thrown for all those yards without having good receivers, and Maryland certainly has good receivers, mot notably Tai Felton.

The senior from Ashburn, Virginia has a whopping 86 catches for 1,040 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.

He also has a talented sidekick at receiver in 6-4, 212-pound senior Kaden Prather, who has 52 receptions, 579 receiving yards and three touchdowns.

Felton and Prater could start for any team in the country, and they both project as high NFL draft picks.

Iowa’s leading receiver is Northwestern transfer Jacob Gill with 27 catches for 336 yards and two touchdowns.

Gill has provided a huge spark with his receiving skills, but also with his blocking. He has arguably been the second best offensive player behind Kaleb Johnson.

The problem is that no other Hawkeye receiver has more than 176 receiving yards.

Advantage: Maryland

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Tight end: The return of Addison Ostrenga could be significant for Iowa. The junior from Wisconsin has made some impactful catches, and he excels as a blocker.

Ostrenga and senior Nick Lachey give Iowa a formidable one-two punch at tight end. They just haven’t had many opportunities to show it this season, and last season for that matter, due to injuries to both players.

But when healthy, Ostrenga and Lachey are both highly effective.

Lachey has 62 career receptions for 817 receiving yards and four touchdowns.

Sophomore Zach Ortwerth and junior Johnny Pascuzzi also get snaps in Iowa’s tight end rotation, enough to where each is used to the moment and capable of handling their assignments.

Maryland’s top tight end is 6-4, 236-pound sophomore Preston Howard, who has 20 catches for 165 yards in nine games. He had five catches for 59 yards in the win over Northwestern.

So, if too much attention is given to Felton and Prather, then Howard can be a problem for defenses.

Advantage: Iowa

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Offensive line: Probably the best thing that can be said about Maryland’s offensive line is that the five starters block for the No. 1 passing offense in the Big Ten.

In fact, that’s the first thing mentioned in three of the profiles on Maryland’s starting offensive linemen in this week’s notes.

Four of Maryland’s five starters on the offensive line have started all 10 games this season, so there is continuity with this group.

Starting center Josh Kaltenberger has started all 10 games after having transferred from Purdue where he played in 36 games from from 2021-23.

Starting right guard Aliou Bah played in three games for Georgia last season before transferring to Maryland, while starting right tackle Alan Herron began his career at Division II Shorter University.

Maryland has struggled throughout the season with run blocking, while pass blocking has been adequate.

Iowa’s offensive line, on the other hand, consists of five starters who all signed with Iowa coming out of high school. The five have combined to make 174 starts for Iowa, led by senior Mason Richman’s 49 starts at left tackle.

Iowa has led the Big Ten in rushing throughout the season and is currently ranked 15th nationally, averaging 208.1 rushing yards per game.

The Iowa offensive line is also a semifinalist for the Joe Moore Award, which goes to the top collegiate offensive line in the country.

Advantage: Iowa

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Defensive line: The Terrapins mostly use a 3-3-5 defensive alignment, and the three starting linemen up front are redshirt senior defensive end Quashon Fuller, redshirt sophomore nose tackle Jordan Phillips and senior tackle Tommy Akingbesote.

This group has more than held its own with opponents only averaging 115.4 rushing yards per game.

The 6-3, 320-pound Phillips excels as a run stopper, as does Akingbesote, who is listed at 6-4 and 316 pounds.

Fuller is by no means small at 6-3 and 264 pounds, he just look small compared to the two giants starting alongside him.

Akingbesote has 30 tackles and 4.5. sacks this season. He has had at least 0.5 tackles for loss in four of the last seven games.

Iowa is expected to start the same four defensive linemen on Saturday that have started every game this season: senior defensive ends Deontae Craig and Ethan Hurkett, senior tackle Yahya Black and junior tackle Aaron Graves.

This group has been rock solid at times this season, but it also has struggled in losses to Michigan State and UCLA.

Iowa failed to maintain outside leverage in the loss to UCLA and a of that responsibility falls on these guys.

But overall, the good still outweighs the bad with this veteran group

Advantage: Iowa

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Linebacker: Assuming Jay Higgins is healthy, Iowa will once again be led by one of the best linebacker tandems in the country in Higgins and sixth-year graduate Nick Jackson.

Higgins leads Iowa with 98 tackles and has started 26 games overall, while Jackson, who played his first four seasons for Virginia, has 540 career tackles and has made 57 career starts.

Higgins also has three interceptions, four pass break-ups, four quarterback hurries and two forced fumbles.

The Indianapolis native is a semifinalist for the Butkus, Lombardi and Bednarik awards, and for Lott IMPACT Award.

Higgins made first-team All-Big Ten last season and tied Iowa’s single season record for tackles with 171.

Higgins left the UCLA game with what appeared to be a leg injury, but he is listed as a starter on this week’s depth chart.

Jackson ranks second all-time in NCAA history in career tackles, and he has had four 100-plus tackle seasons. Jackson has 32.5 tackles for loss in his career and 17 sacks.

He ranks second on the with 76 tackles this season.

Iowa also has third experienced linebacker in graduate Kyler Fisher, who has played in 56 games with five starts.

Maryland is led in tackles by 6-0, 240-pound senior will linebacker Ruben Hyppolite II, who has 47 tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss this season. Hyppolite is a four-year starter and he made third-team All-Big in 2023.

Maryland’s other two starting linebackers are junior Caleb Wheatland and freshman Trey Reddick, who made his first career start against Rutgers last Saturday.

Wheatland has 37 tackles, six tackles for loss and one sack.

Advantage: Iowa  

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Secondary: Both teams often play with five defensive backs to help against spread offense, but Maryland’s secondary has struggled to defend the pass as opponents are averaging 262.7 passing yards per game against Maryland, and have thrown 20 touchdown passes.

Nickel back Glendon Miller is tied for lead on his team with three interceptions this season and he has seven in his career.

Maryland has playmakers in its secondary, but the parts have been better than the whole, which is often the case with Maryland on defense.

Junior safety Jalen Huskey also has three interceptions and 36 tackles this season. He had 10 tackles in the loss to Oregon.

Senior safety Dante Trader Jr., leads the Maryland defensive backs with 44 tackles. He also has one interception and four pass break-ups.

Maryland’s two listed starters at cornerback are sophomore Perry Fisher and freshman La’Khi Roland, who has only appeared in four games with two starts.

Iowa’s five starters in the secondary have combined to make 128 career starts, led by graduate Quinn Schulte’s 37 consecutive starts at free safety. That is the fifth longest streak among defensive backs in the nation.

Graduate cornerback Jermari Harris has made 28 career starts and he has eight career interceptions, including three this season. The Chicago native had a pick-six in the win over Troy this season.

However, a report surfaced Friday afternoon that Harris has decided to not play in the final two regular-season games, most likely to avoid injuries in preparation for the 2025 NFL draft.

His loss would be significant, especially since Maryland is loaded at wide receiver.

Safety/cash Sebastian Castro is the third graduate student that starts in Iowa’s secondary. He has made 29 career starts and played in 55 games overall. He has 42 tackles, three tackles for loss, one interception, one quarterback hurry, one force fumble and one pass break-up this season.

Castro’s numbers are down from last season when he earned All-America recognition, but that could be due to opponents not testing him as much this season.

Iowa’s two other starters in the secondary are junior strong safety Xavier Nwankpa, a former five-star recruit from Southeast Polk High School, and sophomore cornerback Deshaun Lee. They have made 22 and 12 starts, respectively.

Advantage: Iowa

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Special teams: The Terrapins have one of the best collegiate punters in the country in sophomore Bryce McFerson, who leads the Big Ten, and ranks sixth nationally, with a 46.2 punting average. McFerson has 14 punts that have traveled at least 50 yards and 19 that have been downed inside 20.

In other words, he’s a force, much like Tory Taylor was as Iowa’s punter from 2020 to 2023.

Iowa also has a pretty good punter in freshman Rhys Dakin, who like Tory Taylor, is from Melbourne, Australia.

Dakin still struggles with consistency, but he still is averaging a very respectable 45.0 yards on 48 punts.

Maryland kicker Jack Howes has made 11-of-16 field goal-attempts, while Iowa kicker Drew Stevens has made 12-of-15 field-goal attempts.

So the kicking specialists are pretty even, but Iowa might have an edge in the return game with speedy senior Kaden Wetjen, who leads the nation with 751 combined kick return yards. The walk-on from Williamsburg averages 25.3 yards in kick returns and 12.9 yards in punt returns.

Advantage: Iowa

Prediction: Iowa 20, Maryland 19