Maryland (4-3, 1-3 B1G) vs. Minnesota (4-3, 2-2 B1G)
October 26, 2024
Huntington Bank Stadium
3:30 PM
FS1
COLLEGE PARK, MD -- Coming off a thrilling, comeback victory over USC, M
aryland will travel to Minnesota on Saturday, Oct. 26 at Huntington Bank Stadium. The game is set to kickoff at 3:30 PM and will be broadcast on FS1 and the Maryland Sports Radio Network.
Happy Homecoming
- The Terps are coming off a thrilling, come-from-behind 29-28 victory on Homecoming in the first-ever matchup between Maryland and USC. Maryland outscored the Trojans 22-7 in the second half and overcame a 14-point halftime deficit.
- LB Donnell Brown blocked a USC field goal attempt with 1:41 remaining and QB Billy Edwards Jr. put the Terps ahead with a three-yard rushing score five plays later. The Trojans got the ball back with 53 seconds to play, but LB Caleb Wheatland forced an incompletion on fourth down, the Terps got in victory formation, and fans rushed the field as the clock hit zero.
- Before Saturday, the last time Maryland overcame a 14+ point fourth-quarter deficit and won in regulation came on Nov. 11, 2003, at NC State when the Terps trailed 24-10 with 8:45 remaining before rallying for a 26-24 win on a 43-yard Nick Novak field goal with 23 seconds left in the fourth. The Terps also came back from 14 points down in the fourth quarter on Oct. 30, 2020, when Maryland trailed Minnesota by 17 at 38-21 in the fourth quarter before winning 45-44 in overtime.
- Since 2022, Maryland has six comeback wins when trailing at the end of the first quarter, the most in the Big Ten. Two of those have occurred this season (at Virginia and vs. USC).
Billy Edwards Jr. is 2-0 as a starter in Maryland homecoming games (Northwestern, 2022)
Recently vs. the golden gophers
- Maryland leads the all-time series 4-3. The teams met for six consecutive seasons from 2016-21, with each team winning three in that span. Maryland's last win was a dramatic 45-44 overtime win on Oct. 30, 2020, when the Terps rallied from a 38-21 deficit to win on a missed extra point.
- The Golden Gophers and the Terps are the top-two teams in the conference in passes intercepted. Maryland has the conference's number one passing offense while Minnesota ranks second in passing defense.
Jake Funk rushed for 221 yards and a touchdown in a thrilling Maryland win over Minnesota in 2020.
Tremendous tai
- Through seven games, senior WR Tai Felton has 64 receptions, 803 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns. Felton leads the Big Ten in receptions and receiving yards and is tied for fourth in receiving touchdowns. His 64 receptions are the most among power conference players and his 803 receiving yards rank second (Ole Miss' Tre Harris-987). Felton has 225 more receiving yards than the next closest Big Ten receiver (Indiana's Elijah Sarratt).
- Felton is the third Maryland player this century to have at least six receiving touchdowns within the team's first seven games of the season, joining DJ Moore (2017) and Torrey Smith (2010). He is one of just two Big Ten players since 1996 to have 803 receiving yards and 64 receptions through seven games (Purdue's Chris Daniels - 1999).
- On Saturday, Felton had his fifth game of the season with nine or more catches, the most such games by any FBS player this season. The only Big Ten players with more such games in a season this century are Purdue's Charlie Jones (eight in 2022) and Rondale Moore (seven in 2018).
- 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.
The Ashburn, VA native is tied for fifth all-time on Maryland's career touchdown list with 14 and is seventh on the receptions list with 140.
Big game billy
- Redshirt junior QB Billy Edwards Jr. currently ranks in the top-10 among all FBS quarterbacks in completion percentage (70.1-No.9) and passing yards per game (301.9-No.8). Edwards Jr., who was named to the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Top 25 on Oct. 7, is tied with Colorado's Shedeur Sanders for the most completions among all FBS QBs (195).
- Against USC on Saturday, he completed 39-of-50 passes for a career-high 373 yards and three total touchdowns (two passing and the game-winning rushing score). Edwards' 300-yard performance was the second of his career. His other was against Villanova on Sept. 21, where he passed for 328 yards. He also set career-highs in yards and completions. His 39 completions rank third in program history for a single game.
- The quarterback became the second Terp this century with 350+ passing yards and 35+ completions in a single game with his performance against USC. The only other time that happened since 1996 was when Taulia Tagovailoa had 41 completions with 371 passing yards against No. 22 Penn State on Nov. 6, 2022. He is just the second player in the Big Ten this season and second in the conference in the last two seasons with 350+ passing yards and 35+ completions (Oregon's Dillon Gabriel).
- Edwards Jr. has passed for 250+ yards and 2+ touchdowns in six games this season. Miami's Cam Ward is the only FBS player with more such performances (7). He has also thrown for at least 250 yards in seven consecutive games. There has been only one longer such streak by a Big Ten quarterback since 1996 – Ohio State's C.J. Stroud had nine straight 250-yard passing games in the 2021 season.
- Edwards Jr. has six 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 seven games this season. That is the longest streak by any Maryland player over the past 25 seasons and is currently tied for the second-longest active streak in the FBS (LSU's Garrett Nussmeier).
In going 39-of-50 against the Trojans, Edwards Jr. posted a 78 percent completion percentage. He's the first Big Ten player since at least 1996, with at least 50 pass attempts and a 78 percent completion mark.
The roman empire
- With a huge fourth-quarter score against USC on Saturday, RB Roman Hemby became the fourth Maryland player this century to rush for 20+ career touchdowns, joining Lance Ball (26), C.J. Brown (25) and Josh Allen (21).
- Against Indiana on Sept. 28, Hemby had his second career game with at least 100 rushing yards and five receptions (also Nov. 25, 2023 at Rutgers). All other Maryland players this century combined have two such games (Keon Lattimore in 2007 & Bruce Perry in 2001).
- A two-time All-Big Ten honoree, Hemby is ninth on Maryland's all-time touchdown list (20) and sits 14th on Maryland's all-time rushing yards list (2,112).
Hemby is one of just nine active FBS players who have recorded 1000+ scrimmage yards in each of the last two complete seasons.
Boomin' Bryce
- Notre Dame transfer P Bryce McFerson leads the Big Ten and sits third in FBS with a 46.5 punting average through seven games among punters with a minimum of 3.6 punts per game.
- McFerson has had a 50+ yard punt in six games this season, tied for the most in the Big Ten (Wisconsin's Atticus Bertrams, Michigan State's Ryan Eckley).
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.
Spreading it around
- Saturday's win against USC marked the second time this century that three Maryland players had 75+ receiving yards in the same game (October 12, 2013 vs. Virginia) with Kaden Prather (9 receptions-111 yards), Octavian Smith Jr. (8-84) and Tai Felton (9-84) all having massive performances. Since at least 1996, Maryland has never had three receivers record eight or more receptions with each gaining more than 80 receiving yards.
- This was the first time in all of FBS this season that a team had three receivers with eight catches, all with 80 receiving yards. In the Big Ten, it had been three seasons since a team had three receivers with at least eight catches for at least 80 yards. The last time was Ohio State's trio of Chris Olave, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Garrett Wilson achieving it against Purdue on Nov. 13, 2021. Before that, it had not happened in the Big Ten since 2017 (Indiana).
- Felton and Prather each had nine receptions in Saturday's win. Over the last two seasons, the only other Big Ten teammate duo to each have nine or more catches in the same game was Ohio State's Emeka Egbuka and Jeremiah Smith against Oregon earlier this month.
Saturday was was also the first time three Maryland players have each had 7+ receptions in the same game since November 29, 2008.
Quick hitters
- Maryland has forced four turnovers in consecutive road games, the only active such streak in FBS. The last FBS team to have at least four takeaways in three straight road games was Washington in 2012 while the last FBS team to begin a season with three straight such road games was South Carolina in 2004.
- For the first time since 2011, Maryland has had at least four fourth-down attempts in consecutive games. Against USC on Saturday, the Terps converted on three of six opportunities, including two of three in a pivotal fourth quarter.
- True freshman RB Nolan Ray is one of two Big Ten freshmen with multiple runs of 30+ yards this season (USC's Quinten Joyner). Ray had a game-high 33 yard rush against the Trojans to go along with his 48-yard touchdown dash on his first carry of the season vs. UConn.
- Maryland's defense has now forced five punts and one interception on its opening drives across seven games this season. The Terps have only allowed one score in that span. The Terps are tied for fifth in the Big Ten in points allowed in the first quarter this season (7).
- Maryland has now blocked six field goal attempts under coach Mike Locksley. That number is tied with Nebraska for the most in the Big Ten over that span (since 2019). Maryland has blocked two field goals in just seven games this season (Dillan Fontus vs. Villanova & Donnell Brown vs. USC).
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.
