Maryland played its most complete game in several years against Indiana on Saturday. The Terps have had some dominant wins in the last two seasons over terrible opponents (Hello Florida International, Old Dominion and James Madison), but it's been a while since they've so thoroughly waxed a power-conference opponent, and they did it on the road, no less. One result of that? This week's stock report isn't the most diverse. The Terps left very little to complain about and did too many things well for them all to make this report. Anyway, away we go:
Stock up
Blue-chippers
Stefon Diggs and Deon Long. Maryland's consensus top-two receivers played like it on Saturday after notching some inconsistent lines in recent weeks. Long had a drop, but he caught 10 balls for 108 yards. Diggs had six catches for the second-straight week, but he doubled his yardage from 56 yards against Syracuse to 112 yards against Indiana. He was shifty in the open field and made a fine catch to create his second-quarter touchdown.
Brad Craddock. Another week, another perfect line for Maryland's kicker. Craddock was 3-for-3 on field goal tries from 48, 30 and another 48 yards, bringing him to a perfect 10-for-10 in 2014. He's arguably the best kicker in the Big Ten and is definitely one of the best in all of college football. (I say "arguably," because Indiana's Griffin Oakes hit a touchback on every kickoff and made a 58-yard field goal, which is a ridiculous day for a college kicker.)
(The usual hat tip to Will Likely in this category, too. The sophomore cornerback had another interception and did a fine job all afternoon against several Indiana wideouts. Likely held Indiana's best receiver, Shane Wynn to three catches for 28 yards. And a hat tip to Maryland's offensive line, which only let Indiana sack C.J. Brown two times.
Solid bets
Cole Farrand. How good was Maryland's starting inside linebacker? Farrand had 19 tackles, which is very much indicative of how dominant he was. He chased down Indiana's running backs all day, showing terrific lateral movement and altering the preferred path of the ball-carrier every chance he got. He had 1.5 tackles for loss and a pass broken up and was clearly Maryland's best defensive player.
Risers
C.J. Brown and Caleb Rowe. Madness, right, that both of Maryland's quarterbacks could see their stocks rise in the same game? Brown's injury is a concern, but he was excellent for the first half of the game, hitting on 10 of 15 passes for 163 yards and a touchdown, plus a rushing touchdown. He also made several really smart reads on options, setting up Brandon Ross for big gains on pitches to the outside. And when Brown went down with what appeared to be a left wrist injury, Rowe was just as good, going 12-for-18 for 198 yards and two more touchdowns. Brown's job is safe if he's healthy, but if he isn't, there's no reason not to give Rowe more of a look going forward. Maryland seems to have two capable quarterbacks on its hands.
Stock holding
Comeback candidates
Jeremiah Johnson: With Alvin Hill now out for the year, Johnson is back to being Maryland's ostensible No. 2 cornerback. He did just fine for most of the game against Indiana, but he was beaten clearly on a couple of throws that didn't turn into anything for the Hoosiers. He was all right on Saturday, but the Terps might need more than that against Ohio State and some of the Big Ten's more talented passing attacks.
Stock down
Looking for long-term potential
Derrick Hayward. Getting a look as Maryland's primary tight end in the absence of Andrew Isaacs, Hayward had an early drop and false start and never got in on the great fun that seemed to surround Maryland's passing offense. Hayward is young and raw, and he should get better with time, but P.J. Gallo might see more snaps in the near future given Hayward's struggles against Indiana. On the other hand, it's not entirely fair to criticize Hayward, given that it was his first start and we're grasping for straws to find anything negative about this Maryland performance. Hayward did have a tough time, though.
There wasn't much to be upset with this week, so our "stock down" section is somewhat abbreviated. Special teams coordinator Andre Powell's kickoff coverage unit wasn't its usual self, but unless the Terps give up more long returns going forward, there isn't reason to view that as anything more than an aberration. Marcus Leak didn't do much, but that, too, doesn't seem like cause for long-term concern.
The Terps played a tremendous game, and nearly the entire roster looks better this week than it did last.