Story By: Sol Tucker
Photos By: Sol Tucker
College Park, MD–
In the third week of the season, the Terps perhaps did not expect a ride like they had against the SMU Mustangs tonight, but at least they got off the Mustang ride with a 34-27 victory to improve to 3-0 on the season.
This game was really a tale of two halves of football. The Terps did not have much of anything going for them in the first quarter and somehow with SMU galloping away on offense, trailed 6-3. That was the last of the sluggish offense we would see for the Terps on the night.
One of the biggest things of note that Head Coach Mike Locksley will have to work on between now and next week is their penalty situation. The Terps were flagged 15 times for 141 yards Saturday night, of which 7 of those plays set the Mustangs up for amazing field position and ultimately kept them in the game longer than they should have tonight.
SMU got the ball back one more time to try and force overtime but managed to turn it over again, this time on downs near midfield with 46 seconds left.
”We did not play our best football today. Let’s make no mistake about it. A lot of errors, a lot of penalties, a lot of turnovers,” Locksley said. ”But it was against a really, really good team. … To find a way to win, we needed a game like that.” Locksley could be seen on the sidelines reprimanding his players for their costly penalties.
After an interception by Dante Trader, Maryland had a chance to take the lead. The Terrapins went for it on fourth-and-9 from the SMU 45. Corey Dyches caught a pass a couple yards short, but he dragged linebacker Jimmy Phillips across the line to gain. Moments later, his TD made it 34-27.
One huge note from tonight were the offensive numbers put up by SMU. The Mustangs rolled up 518 yards of offense, but SMU’s turnovers were costly.
The loss by SMU tonight breaks their streak of three straight seasons starting at least 5-0.
With the victory tonight, the Terps head into their Big Ten schedule with a little bit of momentum to face the 4th ranked Wolverines on Saturday 9/24.
