Maryland (1-0)
at
FIU (0-1)
September 9, 2016 || Ocean Bank Field at FIU Football Stadium || 7:30 PM
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Maryland looks to build on its successful start to the DJ Durkin era as it travels to Miami, Fla., to face FIU Friday, Sept. 9, at Ocean Bank Field at FIU Football Stadium for a 7:30 kick. It marks Maryland's first regular season Friday night game since defeating Virginia, 42-10, on Nov. 28, 1986 (The Terps have played three bowl games on Friday's during that span).
QUICK HITTERS
- Maryland returns to play FIU in Miami for the second time in history, as it played FIU in the Orange Bowl on Sept. 8, 2007 (W, 26-10). The Terps are 4-0 all-time against the Panthers. The last time both teams met, the Terps jumped out to a 40-10 halftime lead and never looked back in a 43-10 victory on Aug. 31, 2013.
- Maryland head coach DJ Durkin picked up the first win of his Maryland career (he won a bowl game as an interim coach at Florida in 2014) with a resounding 52-13 victory over Howard. It was the greatest margin of victory for a Maryland coaching debut since the legendary Paul “Bear” Bryant's Terps won by 54 points in 1945.
- The Terrapins have won three of their last four road-openers dating back to 2012, including wins over Temple (2012), UConn (2013) and South Florida (2014). Maryland's streak of three straight road-opener wins was snapped last year at West Virginia.
- Maryland played 14 true freshmen and 68 players overall in its season-opening win against Howard. It was the most true freshmen used by the Terps since at least 2001. In fact, only in 2012 did more than 14 true freshmen see action in the entire season (15) since 2001.
- Maryland features 13 players on its roster from the state of Florida, including starters Denzel Conyers, William Likely and Kingsley Opara.
MARYLAND OFFENSE: BY THE NUMBERS
1 - Senior running back Kenneth Goins, Jr. had the honor of scoring the first touchdown in the DJ Durkin era at Maryland, a 2-yard run up the gut less than four minutes into the game. The only Maryland player to appear in all 39 games since 2013 (primarily on special teams), Goins now has a rushing touchdown in back-to-back games dating back to last season's finale at Rutgers.
2 - Senior running back Trey Edmunds (Virginia Tech transfer) totaled two touchdowns in his Maryland debut, scoring on a run from three yards out and also returning a blocked punt to the house. It was the first time a Maryland player had scored an offensive and special teams touchdown since current NFL star Torrey Smith accomplished the feat against James Madison on Sept. 12, 2009. Edmunds' father, Ferrell, was an all-American tight end at Maryland.
6 - An astounding six different players scored rushing touchdowns for the Terps in their season-opening win vs. Howard: Lorenzo Harrison, Jake Funk, Tyrrell Pigrome, Ty Johnson, Trey Edmunds and Kenneth Goins. It was the first time six different Maryland players scoring rushing touchdowns in at least 36 years.
17 - Senior Levern Jacobs has quietly climbed into the upper echelon of receivers in Maryland's history, ranking 17th in career receptions (89) and 22nd in career receiving yards (1,105). He needs just 11 catches to become the 14th player in history to reach 100 catches and needs 17 catches to move into the top-10. Jacobs is also one of just two returning receivers in the Big Ten who did not drop a pass in 2015.
19 - Senior wide receiver Teldrick Morgan (New Mexico State transfer) needs just 19 more receiving yards to eclipse 1,500 for his career. Solely for comparison's sake, Maryland has only had 11 players record more than 1,500 receiving yards in its history. Morgan posted three catches for 27 yards in his debut against Howard.
73.7 - Senior quarterback Perry Hills impressed against Howard in his third career season-opening start, completing his first 10 passes of the day and finishing 14-of-19 with a 73.7 completion percentage before being relieved by Tyrrell Pigrome in the third quarter with the game in hand. The 73.7 completion percentage mark ranked first among Big Ten quarterbacks and 17th nationally in Week 1.
315 - Maryland had a field day on the ground against Howard, rushing for 315 yards and averaging 7.2 yards per carry. The 315 yards ranked second among Big Ten programs and 12th nationally in Week 1 action. True freshman Lorenzo Harrison led the way, gobbling up 67 yards and a touchdown on nine carries.
519 - The Terrapins totaled 519 yards of offense in the debut of Walt Bell as offensive coordinator against Howard. Prior to the game, Maryland had surpassed the 500-yard mark just one time in its previous 35 games dating back to 2013.
1000 - Senior running back Trey Edmunds wasted little time reaching the 1,000 career rushing yards milestone, rushing for 48 yards to reach the mark in the first game of the season against Howard. The veteran tailback also posted the 14th rushing touchdown of his career in the game.
MARYLAND DEFENSE/ST: BY THE NUMBERS
1- Maryland head coach DJ Durkin has insisted on making special teams play a priority since taking over the reins, and the unit responded in the first quarter against Howard when Ty Johnson blocked a punt and Trey Edmunds returned the ball 13 yards for a touchdown. It was Maryland's first blocked punt for touchdown since Avery Thompson fell on a loose ball in the end zone against USF on Sept. 6, 2014.
2 - Senior defensive back William Likely needs just two more tackles to reach 200 for his career. The two-time First Team All-Big Ten standout played sparingly in Maryland's decisive victory over Howard, posting one tackle. He also started on both offense and defense in the game for the second time in his career. Likely is Maryland's active leader in tackles (198), PBUs (33) and interceptions (7).
5 - The Maryland defense featured five players who made their first career starts last Saturday: defensive linemen Kingsley Opara and Cavon Walker, linebacker Shane Cockerille and defensive backs Denzel Conyers and RaVon Davis. Additionally, Darnell Savage, Jr. made his first start at the safety position (played cornerback in 2015) and Alvin Hill made his first start at cornerback since Sept. 20, 2014.
8 - Maryland forced Howard into a 3-and-out on eight of its 13 possessions (62%), including five straight 3-and-outs to open the game. The Terrapin defense did not allow a first down until more than 23 minutes into the game - midway through the second quarter.
9 - The Terrapin defense experienced great success in disrupting the Howard backfield in the season-opener recording 9.0 tackles for loss. Among the defensive standouts in the game were Kingsley Opara and Melvin Keihn, who both recorded career-highs with 2.0 tackles for loss each. Junior linebacker Jalen Brooks also recorded the first sack of his career in the game.
9 - Maryland forced Howard to punt nine times in its first 10 possessions last Saturday, with the lone non-punt coming as a result of the halftime break. The Terps were given zero opportunities to return a clean punt, however, as their lone return came on the blocked punt.
28 - Australian punter Wade Lees made his collegiate debut at 28-years-old as Maryland's starting punter. Lees was used minimally in the rout of Howard, punting just three times for an average of 35.0 yards. The Melbourne native was a standout Australian Rules Football player before pursuing American football. Junior Adam Greene also had a strong game, knocking down his only field goal attempt and converting on all seven extra points.
32 - Maryland took the opportunity to get 68 different players playing time in the win over Howard - a total that included 32 different players who recorded a tackle in the game. Junior Josh Woods led the Terps with a career-high seven tackles, while Melvin Keihn, Shane Cockerille and Kingsely Opara also totaled career-highs with five tackles each.
69 - The Terrapins dominated the defensive front seven, allowing Howard to rush for just 69 yards on the ground. It was the fewest rushing yards allowed by Maryland since it held Penn State to just 48 rushing yards at M&T Bank Stadium on Oct. 24, 2015.
-TERPS-
