The 2024 regular season will near its end as the Hawkeyes make one final road trip to College Park, Maryland to take on the Terrapins.
The Iowa Hawkeyes have met Maryland in four games, all since Maryland joined the Big Ten. While the Terps shocked Iowa in 2014, each of the past three games has gone to the Hawkeyes in comfortable fashion.
Still, Maryland has hit a groove in recent years under head coach Mike Locksley. The Terps have posted back-to-back 8-5 seasons and finished the past three campaigns with bowl victories.
Despite the consistency the program has enjoyed, changes are hitting the program in 2024.
The program's all-time passing leader, Taulia Tagovailoa, is out of the picture and the offensive line is going to look drastically different as well with three transfers expected to step in.
It would appear Locksley will be looking to Billy Edwards Jr., the Music City Bowl MVP, to quarterback his offense. While he scored two touchdowns in the win over Auburn, he only completed 30% of his passes. He's fighting off NC State transfer M.J. Morris for the rights to the job, and he could be on a short leash if the offense isn't productive early on.
Whoever commands the quarterback room will have plenty of targets to choose from. The six receivers and tight ends returning combined for 136 receptions for 1,834 yards and 15 touchdowns. Not bad.
Locksley is a wise offensive mind though, so expect him to lean on the run game as he sorts out the quarterback room. Roman Hemby had a strong sophomore campaign in 2022 but did see a drop in production last year as the offense revolved around Tagovailoa.
Defensively, the Terps' front seven is stacked with experienced players. However, the defensive backfield is going to be practically revamped outside of safety Dante Trader Jr. Still, the 40th-best defense in college football in 2023 should still hold up through the season.
Maryland projects to be a tough game for Iowa. Maryland gave Michigan its toughest regular season test outside of Ohio State last year. Outside of their own losses to Ohio State and Penn State, Maryland lost its other three games by a combined 16 points. While they struggle to keep up with the blue bloods of the Big Ten more often than not, they're built to compete against the next tier of the conference where Iowa resides.
Expect a tough, but winnable contest when the two meet late in the season.
The game is set for Saturday, November 23 with kickoff time and channel to be announced at a later date.
You can check out last week's early preview against UCLA here.
Up Next: