Control the Trenches, Contain the Tempo: Nebraska vs. Maryland Analytical Preview

For the first time in a decade, Nebraska football is 4-0.

While such starts have long been a given for the Huskers, it’s worth celebrating that Nebraska is making progress in year 4 of the Matt Rhule era. Now they have a chance to do something they’ve only done twice in the Big Ten – start a season 5-0.

Nebraska has a big-time matchup with Indiana around the corner, but the Huskers shouldn't overlook the Terrapins this week. Malik Washington is a talented young QB who should bounce back after the worst game of his career.

Against Michigan State, Anthony Colandrea didn’t play his best game, but he did what needed to be done. He hit on 4 explosive passes, including a great touchdown throw to Kwazi Gilmer that gave Nebraska its first lead of the game.

His drive at the end of the first was on the line between brilliant and crazy. If Vince Genatone doesn’t get into the end zone, the Huskers risk the half ending before they score any points on that drive. It’s the type of drive that requires an experienced quarterback to execute. While I didn’t like the strategy on that drive, the results are what matter at the end of the day.

Terrapin quarterback Malik Washington is highly talented but also high-variance. He currently ranks 8th all-time in Big Ten history in passing yards per game played (though that statistic heavily favors freshman starters). Yet in his two seasons as a starter, no Big Ten player has thrown more interceptions than Washington. He’s also tied for 13th in interceptions thrown across all of college football over the last two seasons.

Maryland loves to throw the ball. They averaged 40.9 pass attempts per game in 2025 (the next closest was Purdue with 33.8), and they are again the only Big Ten team throwing more than 40 times per game in 2026 (40.8, with Oregon second at 36.3). Andrew Marshall made some great plays on the ball against Michigan State, pulling down an interception. I think he could have another one this week.

Washington leads an up-tempo offense the Huskers will have to be ready for. Michigan State found some success with that last week, and Rob Aurich emphasized it in practice this week. Washington will be looking for Chris Durr early and often. Durr leads the nation in receptions.

The potent Husker rushing attack took a big hit last week when Jamal Rule left the game early with an injury. It was the first time the Huskers failed to reach 200 rushing yards in 2026.

Mekhi Nelson stepped up and led the Huskers in carries in Rule’s absence. However, Anthony Colandrea contributed the most rushing yards for the Huskers with 66 yards. With Rule likely out this week as well, the committee will need to step up.

The Huskers will be better off for the rest of this season if Colandrea can avoid that type of workload on the ground. That many carries risk an injury that could cost him time or limit his effectiveness. However, teams will have to take his rushing threat more seriously. It was the most rushing yards by a Nebraska quarterback since Chubba Purdy had 105 against Wisconsin in 2023.

Maryland will challenge the Huskers on the ground. They’re a very big team in their defensive interior. They rank 18th in defensive line yards* allowed. Edge rusher Sidney Stewart will also help contain Colandrea. He’s a talented pass rusher who ranked 10th in the Big Ten in sacks in 2025 with 7.

*Line yards attribute rushing yardage to the offensive/defensive lines. 120% of yards for less than 0, 100% of yards for 0-4 yards downfield, 50% of yards for 5-10 yards downfield, and 0% of yards for 11+ yards. 

Despite leading the Big Ten in passing, Maryland still ranks 14th in rushing attempts per game in the Big Ten (they lead the conference in total plays). However, it hasn’t been very effective for the Terrapins. Game on Paper grades them 113th in EPA per rush.

Malik Washington hasn’t contributed much on the ground so far this season, but he’s a capable runner if the Blackshirts lose track of him. Nebraska defensive coordinator Rob Aurich noted during his weekly press conference that Washington is good at avoiding sacks. Nebraska should hold the Terps to few yards on the ground.

The Huskers are much better than the Terrapins in nearly every facet of the game. However, Maryland holds the advantage in one area: the defensive line. This will be the best team Nebraska has faced this season at slowing the run near the line of scrimmage. This is largely thanks to their massive interior defensive line, which averages over 325 pounds.

While the Huskers shouldn’t look ahead, I will. Washington ranks 17th in this stat, while Indiana ranks 12th (as mentioned above, Maryland is 18th). Nebraska rushers have avoided negative runs so far this season. Nebraska ranks 28th in offensive line yards. This matchup is how Big Ten football games are decided in November.

With Maryland’s potent offense, they could mount a comeback if Nebraska gets an early lead. A successful rushing game (especially on early downs) will build long Husker drives that could close out the game this week. Winning the line of scrimmage against Maryland this week could also tell us a lot about how many wins Nebraska gets in the rest of October.

Maryland is better than they looked in their blowout loss last week. However, the Huskers should still control this game as UCLA did last week, even if the scoreboard doesn’t look like the Bruins’. If the Huskers can get a ground game going against this Maryland team, which has a shorthanded backfield, they can be competitive in every game for the rest of this season. I predict a drama-free 38-14 victory for the Huskers this week.