NFL
By: Nathan Snell
In the anticipated game Saturday Afternoon. Over 35,000 people attended the event at SECU Stadium. Maryland Football was back. The Terrapins defeated the Owls 39-7. Maryland won its 26th season opener since 1995, improving to 26-5.
Coming into this game, the Terrapins did not name an official starting quarterback. There was a slow start in the first quarter, but a strong second quarter set the tone for the rest of the day.
The Breakdown of Success
Malik Washington had a great day! But it is only Game One.
Mr. Malik Washington was 3 of 19, and again, that was to be expected of a freshman starting in his first collegiate game. In fairness, 16 of those drops were playmakers leaving their hands on the bench. There were times Washington looked indecisive with the ball. His first touchdown came in the second quarter to Shaleek Knotts, and it was smooth sailing. By halftime, Washington had two touchdowns: a 29-yard catch to Kalab Webb and a 9-yard catch to Dorian Fleming. Washington finished the day with 258 passing yards. However, this does not mean he is the starting quarterback; he did, however, make a profound impression. One thing to note about Washington: the ceiling and the potential are there.
Maryland’s Defense made early mistakes, but they have promise.
This is a new defense, and they will need time to adjust to it. But how much time do they need? The Terrapins committed five penalties on FAU’s opening drive—three offside penalties and one that took a Maryland interception. That gave FAU four minutes of their offense being on the field. But the defense held firm as they held them cold at the four-yard line. FAU went for it on 4th down, and Caden Veltkamp stuffed. FAU’s offense is an Air Raid offense, and it finished with 142 yards passing in the first half. Credit the Terps’ front seven. They made it tough for Veltkamp, scrambling out of pockets and making throws that led to four interceptions. Maryland, as a defense, had six interceptions, the most in a game since 1998 (Seven against Duke).
How will Maryland utilize their PLAYMAKERS?
It will be interesting to see how Pep Hamilton utilizes his playmakers. On Saturday, Ten Terrapins caught one pass. Maryland finished with 112 rushing yards on the ground with Dejuan Williams. The receiving core will be key in these next two non-conference games. Octavian Smith Jr, Jalil Farooq, and Shaleek Knotts saw most of the field Saturday. Ryan Manning, who redshirted last season, and Webb did not see much of the field, which was confusing.
The Terrapins are back at SECU Stadium on September 5th against Northern Illinois.
Other Notes:
Daniel Wingate’s pick-six was Maryland’s first in a season opener since Cam Chism recorded one against Miami in 2011.
Maryland’s defense tallied 3+ interceptions and 3+ sacks in the same game for the first time since 2013 against Old Dominion.
Maryland had four interceptions from four different Terps for the first time since 2018 against Rutgers.
