Maryland cruises past UConn in season-opening football blowout

By Sushanth Balaraman + Alvin Wu
Sports
Maryland cruises past UConn in season-opening football blowout

Maryland running back Nolan Ray (#25) books it to the end zone to score a 48-yard rushing touchdown in the first quarter against UConn on Saturday, Aug. 31, in SECU Stadium. MARYLAND ATHLETICS/Handout

COLLEGE PARK, Md., Sept. 1 (ZFJ) — The Maryland Terrapins cruised to a dominant 50-7 victory over the UConn Huskies at SECU Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 31, coming together in a full offensive and defensive effort to begin the 2024 campaign on a high note.

“Great team win, and great start to the 2024 season,” began Head Coach Michael Locksley during the team’s postgame press conference. “We were able to do it today with all three phases contributing to the win.”

The Terrapins were led by quarterback Billy Edwards Jr., who threw for two touchdowns on 20 for 27 passing attempts and 311 yards. Edwards, a redshirt junior, played his first year of college football for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons before transferring to Maryland and backing up previous quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa, who now plays in the Canadian Football League after going undrafted in the NFL.

The victory against UConn represents what is likely to become a new era for the Terrapins football program, one defined by a three-way quarterback battle during the offseason and relative uncertainty about the starting offense come game day on the 31st.

“This week, I really didn’t try to change too much in terms of my preparation,” Edwards said during a postgame interview. “I’ve been here two seasons, had various roles throughout the two seasons, and I feel like the one thing that has always been the same is, I treated myself and trained myself to be the starter.”

Edwards, who started the game against the Huskies, won the job over sophomores MJ Morris and Cameron Edge. While Locksley has stressed that evaluations will continue into the first few weeks of the season, it was Edwards who received the most playing time on Saturday, and thus came out with the most production.

That being said, the offensive success was by no means purely one man’s effort. The Terps received production from a number of players on Saturday, and played “up to 72 different players,” according to Locksley. Running backs Roman Hemby, Nolan Ray, and DeJuan Williams all contributed with scores of their own, and the Tai Felton—Josiah McLaurin duo caught three touchdown passes, two from Edwards and one from Edge, respectively. On special teams, kicker Jack Howes made three field goals and four out of five extra points, while Gavin Marshall chipped in with an extra point of his own.

Defensively, the Terps’ secondary was a unit to beat, as both Ruben Hyppolite II and Glendon Miller came out with interceptions against Huskies quarterbacks Joseph Fagnano and Nick Evers, respectively. The unit largely thrived against a sputtering Connecticut offense, which, aside from a few booming pass plays, largely could not gain enough yardage to move the chains on third and fourth down.

Ultimately, the win for Maryland represents more than just a good start to the new season. With so many players getting time on the field, the game was an opportunity to test the team’s chemistry before the more challenging matchups of the season, including against 25th-ranked Iowa, 23rd-ranked USC, eighth-ranked Penn State, and third-ranked Oregon.

“There’s no doubt that being able to play a bunch of players today will benefit the Terps,” Locksley said.

Maryland (1-0) will continue their season next week at home against Michigan State, while UConn will host Merrimack in East Hartford.

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