COLLEGE PARK, MD -- Behind two rushing touchdowns each by Roman Hemby and Antwain Littleton II, Maryland defeated Buffalo 31-10 in its first game of the 2022 season, the 17th consecutive home opener win for the Terps.
Hemby and Littleton combined for 148 rushing yards and Hemby registered his first-ever 100-yard rushing performance. The two touchdowns marked a career high for both redshirt freshmen.
Building off his record-setting 2021 season, Taulia Tagovailoa went 24-for-34 for 290 yards.
Rakim Jarrett had his fifth career 100-yard receiving game with 110 yards on six catches.
A pair of Terp receivers returned to action after season-ending injuries last year as Jeshaun Jones had four catches for 70 yards and Dontay Demus Jr. hauled in three balls for 23 yards.
The Maryland defense was stifling all game, holding the Bulls to 268 yards while recording four sacks (two by
Henry Chibueze in his Terp debut) and seven tackles for loss.
Jakorian Bennett, who led the Power 5 in pass break-ups last season, had a career-high five PBUs on Saturday.
Coach Michael Locksley's Take
"It's always great to be able to get the first victory, especially here at home in The Shell in front of our fans. I'm pleased with the way we were able to do some things today on offense, defense and special teams. But, obviously, it's game one, there's a lot of things we still got to get corrected, as I expect us to. I was proud of the way our defense played. I thought those guys did a pretty good job keeping them out of the end zone. There's plenty of things we can still get cleaned up, and usually you see your biggest jump as a team from week one to week two. So I expect us to really get some of that stuff cleaned up. It's always better to do it after a victory, which we were really fortunate to have gotten done here in the Shell today."
Player's Perspective
"As a team, since we all played so well, it was easier to make plays because everyone else was going above-and-beyond what they were supposed to do," safety Beau Brade said of the Maryland defense.
Breaking Down The Action
- After forcing a quick three-and-out on Buffalo's opening drive, the Terps struck first with a 78-yard drive in just under two minutes. Roman Hemby capped off the drive with a 33-yard touchdown run.
- Littleton scored Maryland's second touchdown of the day with a two-yard rush in the beginning of the second quarter.
- The Terp defense was stout throughout the first half and forced a key turnover on downs with 9:08 remaining and the Bulls threatening on the Maryland 21-yard line.
- Maryland added a 45-yard field goal from Chad Ryland and the Bulls got a 19-yard rushing score to make it 17-7 going into halftime.
- On the second play of the second half, Hemby took a handoff and darted 70 yards for the score and a 24-7 Terps' lead.
- Littleton's second touchdown came early in the final quarter on a one-yard carry after an 11-play, 78-yard drive.
- The Bulls added a late field goal.
Opener Success
- With the win, the Terps have now won 17 consecutive home openers, dating back to 2005, when they beat William & Mary, 27-14 on Sept. 5, 2005.
- During those 17 wins, Maryland has outscored its opponents 690-278.
- The Terps have also won 11 consecutive non-conference season openers, second in the Big Ten only to Michigan State, as the Spartans have won 13 in a row. Maryland's streak dates back to 2010 when the Terps beat Navy 17-14 at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore and includes two wins over Texas.
- During those 11 wins, Maryland has outscored its opponents 446-175. (add in today).
- In the Locksley era (2019-pres.), Maryland's average of 46.6 points per game in non-conference play leads the nation. The Terps have scored 30-plus points in seven-of-eight non-conference games under Locksley.
Young Running Backs? No Problem
- The Terps entered the game with a quartet of running backs with a combined 14 appearances and zero starts, but the young group showed no growing pains in their first test of the season.
- Hemby made his first career start at running back. On his first carry, he darted 33 yards for the first Maryland touchdown of the day, the third of Hemby's career.
- Hemby was also responsible for the biggest play of the day, a career-long 70-yard run on the second play of the half. That run was the longest rush by a Terp since Anthony McFarland's 80-yard rush on Oct. 5, 2019 at Rutgers.
- Hemby, who finished with 114 yards, became the sixth Terp to rush for 100 yards during the Michael Locksley era at Maryland. (Tayon Fleet-Davis, Jake Funk, Javon Leake, McFarland, and Tyrrell Pigrome).
- Littleton added a touchdown of his own early in the second quarter and then again in the fourth, bringing his career total to three touchdowns. He finished with 34 yards.
- With four total rushing touchdowns, it marked the first time since the Howard (9/11/21) game last season that Maryland had four rushing scores.
- The Terps had two players with two rushing touchdowns in the same game for the first time since that 2019 game against Rutgers as McFarland Javon Leake each had a pair of scores.
- "We showed good depth there," Locksley said of the young running back room. "Colby came in. Antwain had some big runs there, and showed his power and the kind of change-up he allows us to have. I thought Roman showed exactly why we named his our starter, the ability to hit the homerun and the consistency he plays with."
Taulia Rising On The Charts
- Tagovailoa surpassed the 5,000-yard mark for career passing yards at Maryland with 290 in the game. He now has 5,161. He's now seventh all-time at Maryland, passing former Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl QB Neil O'Donnell, who threw for 4,989 at Maryland from 1987-89.
- He also moved to fifth in career completions with 24 in the game, giving him 427 at Maryland. He passed Sam Hollenbach (417 from 2003-06). Next on the list at No. 4 is C.J. Brown (437 from 2011-14).
Rakim Rocks It
- Jarrett's 110-yard performance was his fifth career 100-yard receiving game.
- With his six receptions today, Jarrett has at least one reception in all 18 games he's played as a Terp.
Demus' Comeback
- After missing the final eight games of the 2021 season due to an injury suffered against Iowa on Oct. 1, Demus returned with three catches for 23 yards.
- Demus has now caught a pass in 28 straight games in which he has played, the sixth-longest streak in the country and second-longest in the Big Ten, only trailing Minnesota's Chris Autman-Bell.
- 7 100+ yard games, second in program history
- With his three catches, Demus now has 109 in his career to move to 11th in career receptions at Maryland. He passed Azizuddin Abdur-Ra'oof (108 from 1984-87). Next on the list at No. 10 is Guilian Gary (113 from 1998-2001).
- "I felt like I always did," Demus said. "I felt like where I left off, just executing at a high level. My body felt great, knee felt great, I can't really complain."
Jones' Big Return
- After missing the last seven games of the 2021 season due to injury, receiver Jeshaun Jones had four catches for 70 yards in his return to action, the second-most on the team in both categories.
J-(P)-B-(U)
- With his career-high five pass breakups today, Jakorian Bennett now has 23 in his career.
- Bennett's five pass breakups are the most by any Big Ten player since 2018, when Tino Ellis (Maryland) and Dicaprio Bootle (Nebraska) each had five on September 22.
- Bennett added five tackles, the second-most on the team.
- "You make a couple of plays and you start to get that juice, so I was just continuing to feed off that," Bennett said. "It's contagious. You want to make more plays to help the team win."
Quick Strike Terps
- Maryland's offense scored quickly throughout the game on Saturday.
- The first four scoring drives were less than three minutes and the first three touchdown drives were less than two minutes.
- The four touchdown drives came in at 1:33, 1:06, 0:39 and 4:17.
Notes and Nuggets
- True freshman Jaishawn Barham started at MIKE linebacker to become the first true freshman to start in a season opener since Rakim Jarrett and Tarheeb Still started the 2020 season opener.
- Henry Chibueze had his first-career sack in his first game as a Terp after transferring in from Liberty.
- Mosiah Nasili-Kite had his ninth career sack, coming in the second quarter.
- Colton Spangler booted a career-long 63 yard punt in the first quarter. It surpassed his previous high of 62 yards at Ohio State (10/9/21).
- Beau Brade recorded a career-high six solo tackles, besting his previous high of three against Virginia Tech in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl on Dec. 29.
- Florida transfer Jacob Copeland recorded his first reception as a Terp with a six-yard grab in the second quarter.
- Chad Ryland, an Eastern Michigan transfer who holds the school's single-season record for points, easily cleared a 45-yard field goal for his first points in a Maryland uniform.
- True freshman wide receiver Octavian Smith Jr. recorded his first career catch and first career carry.
- True freshman linebacker Kellan Wyatt posted his first-career sack in the third quarter.
Welcome Home
- Several former Terps who are playing in the NFL were on hand for Saturday's opener.
- 2022 NFL Draft picks Nick Cross of the Indianapolis Colts and Chig Okonkwo of the Tennessee Titans were recognized during the game.
- Two-time Super Bowl champion Torrey Smith, who played eight years in the NFL with Baltimore, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Carolina, was also in attendance.
Up Next
- The Terps hit the road for the first time this season, traveling to Charlotte to battle the 49ers at 3:30 pm. That game will air on Stadium and the Maryland Sports Radio Network.
