ATLANTA - For two seasons, the hallmark of Maryland's offense has been balance, which needs to continue if the team is to defeat Tennessee in Tuesday night's Peach Bowl.
"In football, one thing complements the other," wide receiver Scooter Monroe said, and the Terps have averaged 202 rushing yards and 196 passing yards in this 10-3 season.
The running game normally provides the foundation for that balance, which raises the question of what Maryland does if success doesn't come on the ground.
Maryland would like to be better equipped for this possibility against the Volunteers (8-4) than it had been in its losses this season, when the passing game was of no help in the few times opponents stopped the run.
Notre Dame held the Terps to 16 rushing yards; Florida State allowed only 57; and Virginia gave up 138, the latter number 60 yards below the team's season average. There was no rescue from the air, as Maryland completed 50 percent of its passes and threw nine interceptions in those games.
"When they stop the run, that's tough on us," quarterback Scott McBrien said. "We have to work hard" to overcome that.
In Tennessee, Maryland gets another foe able to make life miserable for an opposing offense. It is ranked seventh nationally in total defense at 285.8 yards a game.
Still, the Volunteers' work against the run is somewhat of a mystery. The team gave up eight rushing touchdowns and allowed an average of 166.5 yards in five games (against Miami, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Arkansas) that sunk its season. In the other seven games, it limited opponents to 97.9 yards a game.
If Tennessee resembles the defense of the first four and final three performances of the season, the Terps may have a tall order in operating against a pass defense that has held eight of its 12 opponents under 200 yards. Nonetheless, Maryland has to do it.
"It would be great for us to be able to establish the passing game," McBrien said. "If we're able to get off to a fast start, it will keep them on their toes a bit."
Crawford questionable
Maryland's starting right tackle, Matt Crawford, is questionable for the game with a shoulder sprain aggravated in Thursday's practice.
Crawford, a senior who made the All-Atlantic Coast Conference's first team this season and started 11 games, participated in part of yesterday's practice at Georgia Tech. He originally suffered the injury during the Wake Forest game on Nov. 30, but practiced in most of the team's sessions in College Park.
If the injury sidelines Crawford, Eric Dumas is the most likely replacement.