University of Maryland Athletics

Football 10/15/2024 10:30:00 AM

Game 7: Maryland vs. USC Preview

Maryland (3-3, 0-3 B1G) vs. USC (3-3, 1-3 B1G)

October 19, 2024

SECU Stadium

4 PM

FS1

COLLEGE PARK, MD -- Maryland will host USC in its 102nd ever Homecoming game on Saturday, Oct. 19. The game is set to kickoff at 4:05 PM and will be broadcast on FS1 and the Maryland Sports Radio Network. As part of an annual Homecoming tradition, the Terps will be decked out in an all-red uniform combination. Fans are also encouraged to wear red.

Happy Homecoming

Saturday's game will be Maryland's 102nd homecoming game. The Terps have an all-time record of 61-36-4 in homecoming games (60.3 winning percentage). USC will be the 32nd different opponent Maryland will welcome on homecoming.
The Terps have won three of their past four and six of their last eight homecoming games, with wins against Purdue (2016), Indiana (2017 & 2021), Rutgers (2018), Minnesota (2020), and Northwestern (2022) in that span.

Billy Edwards Jr. vs. Northwestern in 2022

Making his first career start, QB Billy Edwards Jr. led the Terps to a 2022 Homecoming victory over Northwestern.

B1G Changes

The Terps will play their first game against one of the Big Ten's four new additions on Saturday. It will also mark the first-ever meeting between Maryland and USC. The Trojans (41.2) and the Terps (40.2) rank first and second in the Big Ten in pass attempts per game this season.
Maryland hasn't played a team from California in the regular season since it opened the 2009 regular season at Cal. The Terps also faced Stanford in the 2014 Foster Farms Bowl.

The last California team that Maryland faced was Stanford in the 2024 Foster Farms Bowl.

Tremendous tai

Through six games, senior WR Tai Felton has 55 receptions, 719 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns. Felton leads the Big Ten in receptions and receiving yards and ranks sixth in receiving touchdowns. Both his reception and receiving yard numbers rank top-four among all FBS wide receivers. Felton has 166 more receiving yards than the next closest Big Ten receiver (Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith).
Felton is the second Big Ten player over the past 25 seasons to have at least 700 receiving yards, 50 receptions and five receiving touchdowns through his team's first six games of the season. The other was Michigan's Braylon Edwards in 2004.
The 2023 Third-Team All-Big Ten selection is the first Big Ten player with 55+ receptions in his team's first six games since Purdue's Dorien Bryant had 58 in 2005. His 719 receiving yards are the most by a Big Ten player through six games since since Illinois' A.J. Jenkins had 815 in 2011.
Felton, who was added to the Biletnikoff Award Watch List on Oct. 2, started the season with four consecutive 100+ receiving yard games, the first Terp in program history to accomplish this feat. He became just the third Big Ten player since 1996 to start a season with 100 receiving yards in each of the first four games, joining Garrett Wilson (Ohio State, 2020) and Charles Rogers (Michigan State, 2002). He is the second Terp to have any four consecutive games with 100+ receiving yards since Jermaine Lewis in 1994.

Maryland Football vs. Michigan State at SECU Stadium in College Park, MD on Saturday September 7, 2024.Maryland Terrapins

The Ashburn, VA native is tied for eighth all-time on Maryland's career touchdown list with 13 and is ninth on the receptions list with 131.

Winning The Turnover Battle

Maryland ranks second in the Big Ten with a +7 turnover margin (Minnesota - +9). That number is good for a four-way tie for 11th among all FBS teams (Army West Point, BYU and Oklahoma).
The Terps have notched eight interceptions this season, second behind Minnesota's 13 for the most in the Big Ten, though the Golden Gophers have played seven games to Maryland's six. The eight interceptions are tied for the 12th-most among FBS teams. Maryland's interceptions have come from Glendon Miller (three), Jalen Huskey (three), Dante Trader Jr. and Ruben Hyppolite II.
Maryland has also recovered six fumbles this season, tied for the third-most in the nation among power conference teams and most in the Big Ten. Six different Terps have recovered a fumble and Kellan Wyatt leads the way with two forced fumbles.
The Terps have won the turnover battle in four of their six games. In three seperate games, they haven't committed a single turnover.
Maryland is the only FBS team this season to lead its conference in both average time of possession (32:14) and turnovers forced per game (2.3). The Terps last led their conference in both categories in 2001, when they were in the ACC

The Terps have eight interceptions through the first six games in back-to-back seasons for the first time this century.

billy Ball

Redshirt junior QB Billy Edwards Jr. currently ranks in the top-20 among all FBS quarterbacks in completion percentage (68.4) and passing yards per game (290.0). Edwards Jr., who was named to the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Top 25 on Oct. 7, leads the Big Ten in completions (156), is third in passing yards per game, and is sixth in completion percentage.
Edwards Jr. has five games this season with multiple touchdown passes and zero or one interception. Over the last 30 Maryland seasons, only two QBs have more such games in a season—Taulia Tagovailoa (seven in both 2021 & 2023) and Danny O'Brien (six in 2010).
He has recorded at least 20 completions and 250 passing yards in all six games this season. That is the longest streak by any Maryland player over the past 25 seasons and tied for the second-longest active streak in the FBS (LSU's Garrett Nussmeier, seven).
Against Villanova on Sept. 21, Edwards Jr. completed 28-of-32 (87.5%) passes for a career-high 328 yards and two touchdowns against Villanova. His completion percentage broke the single-game school record held by Taulia Tagovailoa, who completed 87.1% (27-of-31) of his passes at Charlotte in 2022. In that game, Edwards Jr. became the second Big Ten QB since 1996 to have a game with at least an 87.5% completion percentage on 30+ passes and 300+ passing yards. The other was Ohio State's C.J. Stroud in 2021.
With a 19-yard completion at 9:46 remaining in the 2nd quarter against Northwestern on Oct. 11, Billy Edwards Jr. reached 1,500 passing yards this season. He is one of just six Big Ten quarterbacks to do so this season.

Edwards Jr. has 14 total touchdowns through six games this season (11 passing, three rushing).

Long drives

So far this season, the Terps have had 17 scoring drives of 75+ yards--on pace for a total of 34. The 17 scoring drives of 75+ yards rank second in the Big Ten (Penn State-18).
Against Northwestern on Oct. 11, the Terps cashed in their two longest scoring drives of the season in terms of number of plays (18 plays for 86 yards and a FG + 16 plays for 90 yards and TD). The previous high was 14 plays on a 75-yard touchdown drive vs. Michigan State on Sept. 7.
The 16-play, 90-yard touchdown drive against Northwestern marked the first time Maryland had a drive of at least 16 plays ending in a touchdown against an FBS opponent since a 17-play, 99-yard TD drive vs. Marshall in the 2013 Military Bowl.

Maryland Football vs. Northwestern at SECU Stadium in College Park, MD on Friday Oct 11, 2024.

On the opposite side, the Terps are one of 12 FBS teams with multiple one-play touchdown drives this season.

Boomin' Bryce

Notre Dame transfer P Bryce McFerson has made an immediate impact for the Terps. His 45.8 punting average through six games ranks 10th among FBS punters and is the second-best mark in the Big Ten (Michigan State's Ryan Eckley - 48.0) among punters with a minimum of 3.6 punts per game.
McFerson was named to the Ray Guy Award's Ray's 8 in each of the first three weeks this season for this efforts, the only punter in the nation to do so.

Bryce McFerson punts at Indiana on Sept. 28, 2024

McFerson has 10 punts that have gone at least 50 yards this season.

Quick hitters

Billy Edwards Jr. now has eight career one-yard touchdown runs. Among active FBS quarterbacks, only Graham Mertz (Florida-12) and Will Howard (Ohio State-10) have more.
Maryland's time of possession of 32:14 is its most through six games since 2007 (32:47). The last Big Ten teams with a higher time of possession through six games in a season were 2023 Penn State (34:36) and 2023 Minnesota (32:20).
The Terps have had two or more interceptions in four games so far this season, one of only five power conference teams to do so (California, Iowa State, Minnesota and SMU) The Terps have not had more such games in a single season since 2010 (eight).
DBs Glendon Miller and Jalen Huskey each have three interceptions so far this season. The duo is the only pair in all of FBS with three or more interceptions this season. Only 14 other power conference players besides Miller and Huskey have three or more picks so far this season.
Jack Howes is perfect (nine-for-nine) in his career on field goal attempts between 30 and 39 yards. That is the most makes without a miss in that range by any Maryland player since 2000. Howes also made a career-long 49-yard field goal in the 2023 TransPerfect Music City Bowl, which is the longest field goal in Maryland bowl history.

Maryland Football vs. UCONN at SECU Stadium in College Park, MD on Saturday, Aug.31, 2024.

Maryland has won 23 straight games when leading through three quarters, dating back to 2020, which ranks fourth among Power Conference teams behind Georgia, Northwestern and Penn State.

Click here for this week's game notes.

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Players Mentioned

#3 Taulia Tagovailoa: QB; 5' 11"; Redshirt Senior

#9 Billy Edwards Jr.: QB; 6' 3"; Redshirt Junior

#10 Tai Felton: WR; 6' 2"; Senior

#91 Jack Howes: K/P; 6' 1"; Redshirt Junior

#4 Ruben Hyppolite II: LB; 6' 0"; Senior

#1 Glendon Miller: DB; 6' 2"; Redshirt Senior

#12 Dante Trader Jr.: DB; 5' 11"; Senior

#45 Kellan Wyatt: LB; 6' 2"; Junior

#22 Jalen Huskey: DB; 6' 1"; Junior

#34 Bryce McFerson: P; 6' 2"; Redshirt Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#3 Taulia Tagovailoa
: 5' 11"; Redshirt Senior
: QB

#9 Billy Edwards Jr.
: 6' 3"; Redshirt Junior
: QB

#10 Tai Felton
: 6' 2"; Senior
: WR

#91 Jack Howes
: 6' 1"; Redshirt Junior
: K/P

#4 Ruben Hyppolite II
: 6' 0"; Senior
: LB

#1 Glendon Miller
: 6' 2"; Redshirt Senior
: DB

#12 Dante Trader Jr.
: 5' 11"; Senior
: DB

#45 Kellan Wyatt
: 6' 2"; Junior
: LB

#22 Jalen Huskey
: 6' 1"; Junior
: DB

#34 Bryce McFerson
: 6' 2"; Redshirt Sophomore
: P