Terps Tangle with Iowa Saturday
10/27/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland football program will travel to the state of Iowa for the first time in program history as it takes on the Iowa Hawkeyes at 3:30 pm ET on ABC/ESPN2. The Terrapins won the inaugural meeting between the teams last year, 38-31, on Oct. 14, 2014.
Live Coverage
Saturday's game will be broadcast live on ESPN and streamed live on WatchESPN at 3:30 pm ET. Dave LaMont (pbp), Ray Bentley (analyst) and Dawn Davenport (sideline) will call the action. The game can also be heard on the Maryland Sports Radio Network with Johnny Holliday (pbp), Tim Strachan (analyst) and Scott McBrien (color) on the call. The game is also available on Sirius Radio channel 134, XM Radio channel 201and SiriusXM channel 201, and via the TuneIn App.
By THE Numbers
3 - The Terrapins are set to face their third ranked opponent in their last four games as they take on the 10th-ranked Hawkeyes Saturday. Including Iowa, the collective record of the four Big Ten teams Maryland has faced is 26-4.
8 - Maryland's last win against a top-10 opponent was against Matt Ryan's 8th-ranked Boston College Eagles on Nov. 10, 2007. The Terps' last road win against a top-10 opponent came in the same season against No. 10 Rutgers on Sept. 29, 2007.
24 - Trailing 14-0 in the first quarter, Maryland rattled off 24 unanswered points to take a lead it would never relinquish in the Terps' win over Iowa last season. William Likely helped seal the win with a 45-yard interception for a touchdown in the fourth quarter while Wes Brown had two rushing TD's.
76 - Iowa plays in Kinnick Stadium which was named after 1939 Heisman Trophy winner Nile Kinnick. William Likely surpassed Kinnick's legendary 76-year-old single-game Big Ten punt return yards record with 233 yards against Richmond in the 2015 season opener.
294 - Junior quarterback Perry Hills has turned in a pair of fantastic rushing performances over his last two games, totaling 294 yards (170, 124). Only USF's Quinton Flowers has more rushing yards (299) for a QB over the last two games than Hills, who has also scored three touchdowns in the span.
A LIKELY STORY
After standout freshman and sophomore seasons in College Park, many wondered what junior cornerback and return specialist William Likely would do for an encore as a junior in 2015. He quickly answered, gobbling up a Big Ten record 233 punt return yards in the season-opener against Richmond before running back his second punt return for a touchdown in as many weeks against Bowling Green. Likely has 398 punt return yards through seven games, placing him fifth on the program's single-season chart. He was named Big Ten Specialist of the Week for his efforts against Richmond, and has twice been named to the Paul Hornung Honor Roll (Week 1, Week 3). Likely made his offensive debut against Ohio State on a run play, and was involved in five offensive plays vs. PSU.
Likely's Maryland Records:
- Single-game punt return yards (233 vs. Richmond, 9/5/15) - also a Big Ten record
- Single-season interception return yards (170 - 2014)
- Single-season interceptions returned for TD (2 - 2014)
- Single-game kickoff return yards (228 vs. Michigan State, 11/15/14)
- Co-single-season yards per kick return (31.0, 2014)
- Co-longest kickoff return (100 yds vs. Stanford, 12/30/14)
On The Offense
TERPS ON THE RUN
- The Maryland rushing attack is averaging 186.7 yards per game, including a pair of performances that exceeded 240 yards in its last two games. Through seven games in 2015, the Terps are averaging 5.2 yards per carry.
- Junior quarterback Perry Hills is averaging 103.2 rushing yards over his four starts this season, including a combined 294 yards over his last two games.
- Senior Brandon Ross became just the 12th player in Maryland history to surpass the 2,000 yard milestone at No. 1 Ohio State on Oct. 10.
- Ross has posted two 100-yard performances this season, posting 150 yards against Richmond and 130 at West Virginia.
- Maryland has had a 100-yard rusher in three of its last four games.
MARYLAND CAREER RUSHING LIST
1. LaMont Jordan (1997-00) 4,147
2. Charlie Wysocki (1978-81) 3,317
...
7. Davin Meggett (2008-11) 2,411
8. Da'Rel Scott (2007-10) 2,401
9. Louis Carter (1972-74) 2,266
10. Alvin Blount (1983-86) 2,158
11. Willie Joyner (1980-83) 2,140
12. Brandon Ross (2012-) 2,074
YOUTH MOVEMENT
- The Terps have been the beneficiaries of a youth movement at offensive skill positions this season, as four different true freshmen have scored a touchdown: Avery Edwards, Ty Johnson, D.J. Moore and Jahrvis Davenport.
- It is the first time in Maryland history that four true freshmen have scored a touchdown in the same season.
- Edwards and Moore are tied for the team lead with two touchdown receptions.
- Davenport caught his first career pass against West Virginia and took it 46 yards to the end zone for the touchdown.
O-LINE CONSISTENCY
- Maryland features strong consistency on the offensive line, specifically tackle Michael Dunn and guards Ryan Doyle and Andrew Zeller. The trio has combined for 93 starts over their careers along the offensive line.
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Dunn, a former walk-on, leads the offense with 32 consecutive starts after starting every game since the start of the 2013 season.
On The Defense
GETTING TO THE QB
- The Maryland defense has racked up 23.0 sacks through its first six games, ranking second in the conference and fourth nationally.
- The Terps totaled 6.0 sacks against USF - the most since notching 7.0 against Virginia Tech on Nov. 17, 2013.
- Junior defensive end Yannick Ngakoue is ranked second nationally and in the Big Ten with 1.3 sacks/g, posting 9.0 so far on the season.
- Ngakoue totaled three of his sacks against Bowling Green on Sept. 12 - a career-high, and had 2.0 against Penn State.
CARTER LEADS TACKLERS
- Sophomore linebacker Jermaine Carter, Jr. ranks second in the Big Ten Conference with 9.7 tackles/g, despite totaling just five tackles against Penn State.
- Carter also ranks second in the Big Ten with 6.3 solo stops per game, while Sean Davis is third in the category with 5.9/g.
EXPERIENCED SECONDARY
- Maryland's secondary has tremendous experience, featuring five players that have combined for 122 career starts: Sean Davis, A.J. Hendy, Alvin Hill, William Likely and Anthony Nixon.
- William Likely ranks fifth in the Big Ten with 1.3 pass breakups/game.
- Sean Davis leads the nation with five forced fumbles, having posted one in five of the first seven games this season. He also intercepted two passes against USF.
- The grouping of Davis, Hendy, Nixon and Likely has started all seven games this season.
MEDIA INFORMATION
For up-to-date game stories, statistics, schedules and results, and other Maryland athletic department information, please log-on to www.umterps.com on the Internet.
-Maryland-
