Story By: Erin Zollars
Photos By: Sol Tucker
College Park, MD–
For those who might have said the first game against Howard last week was just a game where they blew out a really bad football team, didn’t stop in and see what the Terps did this week.
The 63-20 score showcased that the Terps team might actually make some noise this season and there are quite a few teams that should pay attention to what is going on in College Park.
Quarterback Josh Jackson, the graduate transfer from Virginia Tech who impressed in his debut last weekend, led the Terrapins with 296 passing yards, spread around a deep receivers group, while his running backs plowed through the Orange’s defense for nearly 350 yards.
“Josh is seeing the guys down the field and he is also getting the help he needed in the running game,” said Maryland Head Coach Mike Locksley. “I have a lot of confidence in him to see down the field and find the holes in the defense just as we did today.”
“We run a style of offense that the defense can’t be right unless they out-execute us,” Locksley said, adding that the run-pass-options in Maryland’s system force defenses to commit to stopping the run, which in turn creates opportunities for the passing game.
Maryland scored six touchdowns and punted only once in the first half, creating a 42-13 lead at the break and scoring its most points in a first half against a Power Five opponent since 2003 and most in any half against a ranked opponent since 1984. What was thought to be a close game, with Maryland favored by a slim margin, turned into one that resembled the opener against Howard. Both games had observers checking school record books, pinpointing the milestones Maryland surpassed.
Next up for the Terps is a visit to Rutgers. If the Terps do everything right like they have the first two game, they could return home for a huge match-up against 15th ranked Penn State on September 27th and catapult themselves right into the mix for top ranking come bowl season.
