Story By: Andrew Lang
Photos By: Sol Tucker
College Park, MD–
Before the season started, Terps Head Coach Mike Locksley talked about bringing the best Terps team to the field that he has seen since coming to College Park, today he backed that up with a 50-7 season opening victor over UCONN.
Prior to the start of the opener, no one but Locksley and his staff knew who would be starting at quarterback for the Terps, but he hinted that fans would see a bit of a couple of guys. It was Billy Edwards Jr. who got the nod and finished out the game with 311 yards passing on the day.
“It was good to get a few completions under my belt that first drive, [let] the run game get going,” Terps Quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. said. “It felt good … I was just trying to stay calm.”
UCONN was never really able to get together much an offensive attack and the fact that 28 of its players were from the transfer portal, most of their synergy was lacking when it came to putting anything together to threaten the Terps at any point in the game.
The Terrapins (1-0) put up 629 yards of total offense — 248 yards on the ground and 341 in the air in what was one of their best opening games in over 20 seasons.
The Terps have now won 19 consecutive home openers and 13 consecutive non-conference openers, the second-longest streak in the nation. Overall, Maryland has won 13 non-conference games in a row with a 15-1 record in those contests under head coach Michael Locksley since 2019.
The Terps had also been questioned about their ability to break free in the running game, that all changed today.
During the first quarter and maybe the biggest play of the game was from redshirt freshman Nolan Ray’s 48-yard touchdown scamper for Terps. He evaded multiple Husky defenders before cruising the last 20 yards into the end zone. Maryland’s 131 first quarter rushing yards were its most since 2018, when it racked up 148 against Ohio State.
After the game Terps Head Coach Mike Locksley had some praise for the leadership of his Quarterback.
“I thought Billy [Edwards] did a really good job of controlling the offensive system,” Locksley said. “And to me, did a great job distributing the ball, getting it to the playmakers.”
