By Will Vandervort.
By Will Vandervort
Here is a position-by-position breakdown of Saturday’s 3:32 p.m. kickoff (ESPNU) between Maryland at No. 8 Clemson.
Quarterback: Is there anyone who is more on fire than Tajh Boyd. In the last two weeks, Boyd has thrown for 772 yards and 10 touchdowns. He leads the ACC in total offensive yards (336.7), passing yards (297.8) and touchdowns thrown (25). Maryland has lost starter C.J. Brown, backup Perry Hills and freshman backup Caleb Rowe all to ACL injuries. Freshman Shawn Petty, a converted linebacker, will be making his second start of the year. Petty completed 9 of 18 passes for 115 yards and two touchdowns in a loss to Georgia Tech. Advantage: Clemson
Running back: Clemson’s Andre Ellington is expected to play after tweaking his hamstring on the first play of the game last week at Duke. But if he doesn’t play, Roderick McDowell, D.J. Howard and Zac Brooks are more than capable of getting the job done. Maryland has its own problems with leading rusher Wes Brown ruled out with an ankle injury. The Terps will go with freshman Brandon Ross and sophomore Justus Pickett. Advantage: Clemson
Wide receiver / Tight ends: Who will break a record this week, DeAndre Hopkins or Sammy Watkins or both? It seems like every week one of the two is establishing new marks at Clemson. Boyd is also getting everyone else involved as guys like Jaron Brown, Martavis Bryant and Charone Peake are becoming more and more a part of the passing game. Maryland continues to have more and more playmakers fall to injuries. Stefon Diggs, the star freshman that has over 700 receiving yards and ranks fourth in the nation in all-purpose yards, will not play due to an ankle injury. Tight end Matt Furstenburg is the last real threat the Terps have offensively. Advantage: Clemson
Offensive line: Clemson’s offensive line was challenged last week by offensive coordinator Chad Morris and they stepped up to the challenge by rushing for 339 yards. Though they gave up two sacks, they were not charged, as Boyd was credited with holding onto the football too long. Maryland has given up 25 sacks this year as they start two freshmen (Mike Madaras and Evan Mulrooney) at center and tackle. Advantage: Clemson
Defensive line: Maryland leads the ACC in sacks with 31, and defensive end Joe Vellano is a big reason why. He leads the lead the league in tackles for a loss with 14 and has six sacks as well. Clemson has improved a bunch in the last three weeks, getting more pressure and doing a better job stopping the run. The Tigers have recorded 11 sacks in the last three games. Advantage: Maryland
Linebackers: Maryland’s starting linebacker, Demetrius Hartsfield, tore his ACL while chasing down a Georgia Tech ball carrier late in the second quarter last Saturday. Hartsfield was the team’s leading tackler. This is the second straight year Hartsfield has missed the Clemson game. The Tigers have got better on defense because of middle linebacker Spencer Shuey. Since his insertion into the starting lineup, Clemson has improved in total offense by 100 yards, rushing defense by 100 yards, passing defense by eight yards and scoring defense by 11 points. Advantage: Clemson
Secondary: The Terps may have only three interceptions on the season, but they do a good job preventing the big plays. Teams are only averaging 192 yards a game through the air. Clemson’s secondary, believe it or not, had its best game of the season at Duke despite giving up a 77-yard touchdown. Starting corner Bashaud Breeland is schedule to play after suffering from an abdominal injury. Advantage: Maryland
Special teams: With Diggs out, the Terps have a significant drop off in the return game. The freshman ranks second in the ACC in all-purpose yards at 174.9 per game and was averaging 27 yards a return on kickoffs. Ross will take over as the kick returner and Dexter McDougle will handle punt returns. Clemson has solidified its punt and kick coverage teams, while placekicker Chandler Catanzaro is one of the ACC’s more accurate kickers. The Tigers have returned at least one kickoff return for a score in each of the last three meetings vs. Maryland, including Watkins’ 89-yard return last year in College Park, Md. Advantage: Clemson
Prediction: The Terrapins will do a good job handling Clemson’s offense for the most part. Maryland ranks 11th in the country in total defense and are 18th and 20th against the run and the pass. But it can only hold off Boyd, Ellington, Watkins and Hopkins for so long. The Terps offense is hurting with injuries at quarterback, running back and wide receiver. Add those elements in with a Clemson defense that is getting more confident and better each week, and there is no way Maryland can keep up. No. 8 Clemson 31, Maryland 10