Before shifting our full attention to the bowl games, the Big Ten reporters are looking back on the seasons for every team in the league. The next squad up: Maryland

Overview: There’s no question the new Big Ten member can hack it in the league, though it did little more than fit squarely into the middle of the pack during its debut campaign. In fact, Maryland wound up being the perfect model for up-and-down consistency, trading wins and losses every week after diving into conference play, failing to ever put together a winning streak and always avoiding a losing skid. The Terrapins handled themselves well outside of the Big Ten, only losing a shootout to a dangerous West Virginia squad, then largely going about its business with few surprises down the stretch. Randy Edsall’s team didn’t have the firepower to hang with Ohio State, Wisconsin and Michigan State, and it was blown out by all three of the top programs currently at the top of the Big Ten. But it knocked off Michigan on the road, pulled out a victory over Iowa and planted some rivalry seeds by edging Penn State in a physical affair that went down to the wire. Aside from a wasted opportunity to end the year on a high note in the regular-season finale against Rutgers, there really wasn’t much reason to get too high or too low on the Terrapins in Year 1 in the Big Ten.

Offensive MVP: When healthy, nobody was more valuable or explosive for the Terrapins than Stefon Diggs. The injury the junior wide receiver suffered late in the season robbed him of a chance to make a run at 1,000 yards, instead leaving him with a line that included 52 receptions for 654 yards and five touchdowns with a chance to potentially bump those totals up if he returns for the Foster Farms Bowl. But the real scoring machine and perhaps the one weapon Maryland truly couldn’t have survived without was on special teams, where place-kicker Brad Craddock emerged as the best player in the country at the position. The Lou Groza Award winner only missed one of his 19 field-goal attempts this season, and that came from 54 yards. He hit twice from at least 50 yards and didn’t miss an extra point all year.

Defensive MVP: Few cornerbacks in the league were more opportunistic than William Likely, and when opposing passers challenged him, they were always taking a risk that the football might be going the other way in a hurry. Likely finished the season with six interceptions, returning two of them for touchdowns as he developed into one of the best defensive playmakers in the Big Ten. Likely also contributed 76 tackles from his spot in the secondary, including four for a loss while adding a forced fumble along the way.