Maryland (2-0, 0-0 B1G) vs. SMU (2-0, 0-0 AAC)
September 17, 2022
Maryland Stadium
7:35 pm EDT
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The University of Maryland football team is set to host SMU for its regular season non-conference finale on Saturday, Sept. 17. The game will kickoff at 7:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on FS1 and the Maryland Sports Radio Network.
GAME 3 STORYLINES
REWRITING THE RECORD BOOKS
- QB Taulia Tagovailoa has established himself as one of the top quarterbacks in the country, currently standing fifth in the nation in completion percentage (78.5), eighth in passing yards per game (340.5), ninth in completions per game (25.5), 10th in total offense (342) and 13th in passing efficiency (180.6), standing top-three in the Big Ten in each category.
- Tagovailoa was named the Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week this past week after a 27-for-31, 391 yard, 5 TD (4 passing) performance in a 56-21 win over Charlotte. The redshirt junior's 87-percent completion percentage is the best in program history with a minimum of 15 attempts. This mark's Tagovailoa's second career Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week award (11/1/20), becoming the first Terp to win the award twice.
- The Ewa Beach, HI native rewrote the Maryland record books in 2021, setting five program records. The All-Big Ten honoree reached the top of the Maryland single-season record book in passing yards (3,860), completions (328), completion percentage (69.2%), touchdowns (26, tied with Scott Milanovich, 1993) and 300-yard passing games (7).
- In his third season as a Terp, Tagovailoa stands first in program lore in career completion percentage (68.7%), second in career 300-yard passing games (9), third in career passing touchdowns (37), fourth in career completions (454) and fourth in career passing yards (5,562). Tagovailoa became the quickest Maryland quarterback ever to eclipse the 5,000 career yards mark in the season opener against Buffalo.
non-conference success
- The Terps have won six-straight games against non-conference opponents, with the last loss coming on September 15, 2019 against Temple. Under head coach Michael Locksley, the Terps are 8-1 in non-conference games with wins over Power Five teams Virginia Tech, West Virginia and Syracuse.
- In the Locksley era (2019-pres.), Maryland's average of 47.5 points per game in non-conference play leads the nation. The Terps have scored 30-plus points in eight-of-nine non-conference games under Locksley.
the cupboard is stocked
- The Terps bring back nine players who earned All-Big Ten honors over the last two seasons. OL Spencer Anderson, CB Jakorian Bennett, WR Dontay Demus Jr., OL Jaelyn Duncan, DL Ami Finau, WR Rakim Jarrett, DL Mosiah Nasili-Kite, DB Tarheeb Still and QB Taulia Tagovailoa all return to the Terps as the foundation of the 2022 team.
- Maryland has the 10th ranked returning offense in the nation according to ESPN's SP+ rankings, which takes into account teams' returning production, recent recruiting and recent results to project where they're trending between seasons.
- The Terps, which return a plethora off offensive talent, including the entire starting offensive line from 2021, has the third ranked offense in the Big Ten for 2022 (Michigan and Ohio State) according to ESPN.
Jakorian pbu-bennett
- DB Jakorian Bennett led all Power Five players with 16 pass breakups last season. In 12 games played, Bennett had 13 pass breakups and three interceptions, for an average of 1.3 pass breakups per game.
- The senior had five games with at least two pass breakups, tied for the third-most in the country. Bennett's 16 pass breakups were the most by a Terp since Domonique Foxworth had 22 in 2002.
- In Week One against Buffalo, Bennett recorded five pass breakups, the most by a Terp since Tino Ellis also had five against Minnesota in 2018. Bennett's five breakups were the second-most by any player in the country in Week One, only trailing Joey Porter Jr. of Penn State, and its tied for the second-most by any Big Ten player since 2015.
- Bennett now has 21 pass breakups since the beginning of 2021, the most in the country.
wide receiver u
- Maryland has the third-best wide receiver room in the nation, per CBS Sports, only trailing Ohio State and USC. The Terrapin receiving corps has combined for an impressive 411 receptions, 6,029 receiving yards and 84 touchdowns thus far in their career.
- The group features 2022 Biletnikoff Award Watch List member Rakim Jarrett, who led the Terps and stood top-10 in the Big Ten in every receiving category in 2021. Jarrett totaled 62 receptions for 829 yards and five touchdowns last season and has at least one reception in all 18 games he's played as a Terp. Jarrett recorded the fifth 100-yard game of his career in the season opening win vs. Buffalo, catching six passes for 110 yards. Jarrett was named the No. 68 best player in college football by ESPN in their preseason top-100 player list and was selected as the No. 23 best player in the Big Ten by the Big Ten Network.
- Jeshaun Jones has had an excellent start to 2022, leading the team with 10 receptions for 141 yards and two touchdowns through two games. Jones found the end zone twice against Charlotte and has 70-plus yards in each of the Terps two games this season. The redshirt senior, who's battled back from two ACL injuries, is the fourth-highest rated WR in the Big Ten through two weeks via Pro Football Focus, earning a 77.5 grade.
- Jarrett and Jones are joined by 2021 Biletnikoff candidate Dontay Demus Jr., who currently stands second in program history in career 100-yard games (7), sixth in career touchdowns (13), eighth in career yards (1,827) and 11th in career receptions (111). Demus Jr. has caught a pass in 29 straight games in which he has played, the seventh-longest streak in the country and second-longest in the Big Ten, only trailing Minnesota's Chris Autman-Bell.
- Jacob Copeland has had an impressive start to his Maryland career, leading the Terps with four catches for 110 yards and two touchdowns in the win over Charlotte. Copeland currently leads the Big Ten and stands 17th in the nation in yards per reception (23.20).
- Demus Jr., Copeland & Jarrett were all listed in The Athletic's 2023 NFL Draft WR class rankings, with Demus Jr. listed as the No. 6 senior receiver, Copeland ranked as the No. 14 senior receiver and Jarrett listed as the No. 7 draft-eligible underclassmen wide receiver.
The roman empire
- Redshirt freshman RB Roman Hemby was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Monday after a seven carry, 114-yard, two touchdown performance in his first career start in the season opening win over Buffalo.
- Hemby stands fourth in the Big Ten in yards per carry (8.9), totaling 143 yards on 16 carries.
Click here for this week's game notes.
