Maryland (3-2, 0-2 B1G) vs. Northwestern (2-3, 0-2 B1G)
October 11, 2024
SECU Stadium
8 PM
FS1
COLLEGE PARK, MD -- Maryland and Northwestern are set to meet under the Friday Night Lights on October 11 at SECU Stadium. The game is set to kickoff at 8:05 PM and will be broadcast on FS1 and the Maryland Sports Radio Network. Fans are encouraged to wear black as part of the Blackout theme.
Friday Night Lights
- Maryland is set to play a Friday game for the fifth consecutive season (with two Friday games played in 2021). The Terps have won four straight prime-time games and are 4-1 in their last five games played on Friday.
- Since 2020, the Terps have picked up Friday wins over Minnesota (2020), Illinois (2021), NC State (2022) and Virginia (2023).
- Maryland has won four consecutive night games: Virginia (2024), Virginia (2023), Charlotte (2023), and SMU (2022).
In Maryland's last Friday night game, a 42-14 home win over Virginia, true freshman Braeden Wisloski returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown.
Last Time vs. The Wildcats In college park
- Maryland and Northwestern last met in College Park on Oct. 22, 2022 for Maryland's Homecoming game. The Terps came away with a 31-24 victory to clinch bowl eligibility on the earliest date in over 20 years.
- Billy Edwards Jr. made his first career start at quarterback in that game, playing for an injured Taulia Tagovailoa. He finished with 166 yards on 18-of-28 passing with a touchdown in addition to 66 yards on the ground in the victory.
- Roman Hemby clinched the win for the Terps, breaking off a 75-yard touchdown run to break a 24-24 tie with 3:22 left to play. Hemby rushed for a career-high 179 yards, his fourth-career 100-yard game, and scored three touchdowns in the Terrapins' victory. His three rushing TDs in a game are the most by a Terp since Javon Leake had three rushing TDs vs. Illinois in 2018. His rushing total was the most by a Terp since Jake Funk had 180 vs. Rutgers in 2020.
Roman Hemby's 179 rushing yards against Northwestern in 2022 is the most by any Maryland player over the last four seasons.
Tremendous tai
- Through five games, senior WR Tai Felton has 46 receptions, 642 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns. Felton leads the Big Ten in receptions and receiving yards and is tied for fourth in receiving touchdowns. Both his reception and receiving yard numbers rank top-six among all FBS wide receivers. Felton has 129 more receiving yards than the next closest Big Ten receiver (Indiana's Elijah Sarratt-513), despite playing one less game.
- Felton is the first Maryland player since 1993 with 600+ receiving yards in the team's first five games (Jermaine Lewis, 670 yards).
- Felton, who was named to the Biletnikoff Award Watch List last week, 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 eighth all-time on Maryland's career touchdown list with 13 and is 11th on the receptions list with 122.
Dominating The Turnover Battle
- Maryland leads all power conference teams in turnover margin (+11). Since 1996, only three other Big Ten teams have had a +11 turnover margin or better through five games (Penn State in 2023, Iowa in 2021 and Wisconsin in 2002). The +11 mark is the best for the program through five games since at least 1986.
- The Terps have notched eight interceptions this season, second behind Minnesota's 10 for the most in the Big Ten, though the Golden Gophers have played six games to Maryland's five. The eight interceptions are tied for the eighth-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, the second-most in the nation among power conference teams (Oklahoma-8) 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 only committed three turnovers on offense this season and have won the turnover battle in four of their five games. In three seperate games, they haven't committed a single turnover. Maryland is tied for the best mark in the Big Ten in terms of fewest turnovers (Washington, Penn State).
The Terps have eight interceptions through the first five games in back-to-back seasons for the first time this century.
Big Game billy
- Redshirt junior QB Billy Edwards Jr. has been one of the nation's top passers this season, currently ranking in the top-15 among all FBS quarterbacks in completion percentage (72.3%) and passing yards per game (288.8). Edwards' 11 passing TDs are tied for fourth in the Big Ten.
- Edwards Jr. has five games this season with multiple touchdown passes and zero or one interception, one of five FBS QBs with that many in 2024. 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).
- 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.
- Edwards Jr. is 6-2 as Maryland's starting quarterback.
Edwards Jr. has 13 total touchdowns through two games this season (11 passing, two rushing).
The roman empire
- RB Roman Hemby had his best game of the season at Indiana, rushing for 117 yards and a 75-yard touchdown on 10 carries in addition to catching five passes for 48 yards and a receiving touchdown. In that game, Hemby, who had already surpassed 2,500 career scrimmage yards, reached the 2,000 rushing yard mark for his career.
- Against Indiana, 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 tied for 10th on Maryland's all-time touchdown list (19) thanks to his third rushing touchdown of the season coming against Indiana on September 28.
- Hemby is sixth among active running backs in most career scrimmage yards (2,797) and seventh in most career scrimmage touchdowns (24).
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 has made an immediate impact for the Terps. His 46.4 punting average through five games ranks seventh 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.
McFerson has nine punts that have gone at least 50 yards this season.
Quick hitters
- Maryland scored 129 points in the first quarters of games last season, the seventh most among power conference teams. Currently, the Terps have 45 first quarter points in 2024. That number ranks tied for second in the Big Ten and is tied for 18th among power conference teams.
- So far this season, the Terps have had 15 scoring drives of 75+ yards--on pace for a total of 36. The 15 scoring drives of 75+ yards are tied for first in the Big Ten (Indiana and Penn State) and tied for seventh among all FBS teams.
- Maryland is one of 11 FBS teams with multiple one-play touchdown drives this season.
- The Terps have had two or more interceptions in four games so far this season. That number is tied for the nation's lead along with James Madison, SMU and San Jose State. The Terps and SMU are the only two power conference teams to have four games with multiple interceptions, but SMU has played six games to Maryland's five. 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 nine other power conference players besides Miller and Huskey have three or more picks so far this season.
The combined record of Maryland's opponents faced thus far is 22-7, including an undefeated Indiana team (6-0) and a 4-1 Virginia team who's only loss is to Maryland.
Click here for this week's game notes.
