Maryland football looks to repeat Week 1 success at UConn: ‘Great test’

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Maryland football’s 62-0 shellacking of Hampton in Saturday’s season opener featured an offense that ran the ball at will and a defense that stifled a hapless opponent. It’s a formula long associated with success in the Big Ten.

That performance was somewhat unexpected and wholly welcomed. Is it sustainable?

“We’ll see,” said CBS Sports college football analyst Ben DiNucci, a former quarterback for five NFL franchises, most notably the Dallas Cowboys. “I don’t have a crystal ball, but normally the teams that are able to have success week in and week out on any level are teams that are able to run the ball and stop the run. It sounds cliché, but the fact that Maryland was able to do that in Week 1 and they’ve still got a young quarterback who’s developing and learning is very much a positive for them.”

Whether the Terps (1-0) can replicate that effort at UConn (1-0) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. might be pivotal toward gaining some much-needed momentum before a home game against Virginia Tech on Sept. 19.

The rush offense set a high bar in several categories. The 365 yards on the ground were the most since 432 yards in a 63-33 romp over Illinois on Oct. 27, 2018, the six touchdown runs were the most since six in a 63-20 demolition of Syracuse on Sept. 7, 2019, and redshirt sophomore running back DeJuan Williams’ 94-yard score trailed only Steve Atkins’ 98-yard run in a 28-24 loss to Clemson on Nov. 18, 1978 as the longest in school history.

“That’s great to hear,” said Williams, a Baltimore resident and St. Frances graduate. “I’m blessed. Got to continue to do it.”

The offense’s success on the ground seemed to come at the expense of a passing attack that looked uneven under sophomore quarterback Malik Washington. The Glen Burnie native and Spalding graduate completed 19 of 31 passes for 186 yards and one touchdown before being replaced by redshirt senior Cardell Williams with 9:24 to go in the third quarter, but he missed some open receivers and looked rusty at times.

But junior wide receiver Na’eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding said he knows the run and pass complement each other.

“When you run the ball efficiently, it forces the defense to creep up, and it spreads out the back end,” he said. “Now you can take shots, and it just opens up the entire game.”

Maryland was just as overwhelming on defense. The unit surrendered the fewest rushing yards for a game (10) since allowing only one yard to Howard in a 79-0 thrashing on Aug. 31, 2019, and defense recorded its first shutout since a 37-0 blanking of Rutgers on Nov. 27, 2022.

“We just want to do what we do best,” redshirt junior defensive end Eyan Thomas said. “Stop the run, and after we stop the run, get after the quarterback. I feel like all our guys around can make plays. So we just have to do what we know how to do.”

The defense also made three interceptions, including two by sophomore safety Messiah Delhomme in the first half, and collected five sacks, including two each by Thomas and redshirt sophomore linebacker DD Holmes.

DiNucci said the defensive showing reminded him of his time at Pittsburgh and James Madison.

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“The biggest thing was, ‘Hey, we want our offense to be efficient, to be clean, to have no turnovers.’ And on the defensive side of the ball, those guys all week would say, ‘Hey, we don’t want a team like this to score on us,’” he said. “And so for Maryland to have a shutout just speaks to the depth that they have over there and the fact that all the guys were able to stay locked in for four quarters. I was impressed with just the speed in which I saw guys flying around at all three levels.”

DiNucci did offer a caveat with his comments, noting that it was difficult to truly assess the Terps and Huskies considering they pounded Hampton and Lafayette, a pair of NCAA Football Championship Subdivision teams, last Saturday.

Maryland coach Michael Locksley also stressed that UConn will be a stiffer challenge.

“The work is going to be what’s important as we have our first opportunity to travel together with this team in this iteration of the Terps football squad,” Locksley said. “Looking forward to see how we respond. Obviously, going into a tough environment, I’ve coached games up there at Rentschler Field, and they have pretty good fan support in terms of how they create an environment. So I know it’ll be a tough environment, but a great test for us and our team as we hit the road.”

Have a news tip? Contact Edward Lee at eklee@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/EdwardLeeSun. 

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