Through the first two weeks of the season, Maryland football’s offense has been one of the tops in the Big Ten. However, a suspect so-far defense is a reason for concern as a challenging schedule looms over the head of the Terps.

Against Charlotte, quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa threw for 391 yards and five total touchdowns. Despite the prolific Maryland offense putting up 51 points, head coach Mike Locksley wasn’t overly impressed by the Terps’ defense.

“When you think of the Charlotte game, it was kind of a role reversal for us,” Locksley said in a presser earlier this week. 

Against Buffalo on September 3rd, Maryland’s defense only allowed 10 points to the Bison’s offense. In that first game, Maryland’s offense was efficient, but not to the extent they were against Charlotte.

After that successful defensive week for Maryland, the Terps’ defense took a step back in week two.

Charlotte’s third-string quarterback, Xavier Williams, threw for 191 yards and two touchdowns, propelling the 49ers to 21 points. While the result was still favorable for Maryland, Locksley expected more from his defense.

“Defensively, they’re in the locker room a little disappointed in how they played,” Locksley said. “We’d like to put it all together this week.”

On Saturday, Maryland’s defense faces its greatest challenge as Southern Methodist University comes to College Park. 

In their first two games, the Mustangs averaged 46.5 points per game: a slight gap over Maryland’s 43.5.

“We know that they like the deep ball,” Maryland defensive lineman Greg China-Rose said in a presser. “We know they’re going to come in here and play smash-mouth football.

Although Maryland’s defense has portrayed its share of miscues in the early weeks, Rose is confident the unit will clean things up.

“We’re really trying to find our identity…we’ve had two games to get a feel for it, now it’s time to get it together,” Rose said.

Locksley mentioned that the Mustangs’ offense has more of an up-tempo than Maryland’s early opponents.

“I think up-tempo is going to help us get ready for the rest of the teams that try to (play fast) on us throughout the season in Big Ten play,” Rose said.

On Saturday, Maryland, once again will be without junior defensive back Tarheeb Still. Still started all 13 games as a sophomore last season and finished fourth on the team in tackles. His absence due to an injury in his finger has been a crushing blow to Maryland’s defense, as he provided stability to the Terps’ secondary.

“Good thing for us, we played a game without him in our lineup already,” Locksley said. “This week will be a challenge because SMU offensively will be the fasted-tempo team that we’ve faced.”

With a weakened secondary, the Terps’ defense will experience a test against a high-powered Mustangs’ passing game.

“We better be prepared to be challenged vertically,” Locksley said. “They take at least ten shots a game.”

Maryland opens Big Ten play soon: something they’ve struggled with since joining the conference. These early challenges are vital for preparation as Maryland moves forward on a challenging road.