Maryland (4-4, 1-4 B1G) vs. #1 Oregon (9-0, 6-0 B1G)
November 9, 2024
Autzen Stadium
7:00 PM EST
BTN
COLLEGE PARK, MDÂ -- Maryland will head West to face undefeated and top-ranked Oregon in the first-ever meeting between the two programs. The game is slated for a 7 p.m. EST kickoff at Autzen Stadium and will be broadcast on Big Ten Network and the Maryland Sports Radio Network.
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Setting the stage
- The Terps will head out West to face No. 1 Oregon for the first time in program history. It will mark Maryland's first game played on the West Coast since the 2014 Foster Farms Bowl in Santa Clara, CA. The last time Maryland football traveled to the Pacific Time Zone for a regular-season game was to face California in 2009.
- Saturday's game will mark the first time Maryland faces the No. 1-ranked team in the country since Nov. 10, 2019 (at Ohio State). Overall, Maryland is 2-5 all-time versus the top-ranked team.
- This will be the second new Big Ten opponent Maryland will face this year, with the first being USC on Oct. 19. Against the Trojans, LB Donnell Brown blocked a field goal attempt with 1:41 remaining and QB Billy Edwards Jr. put the Terps ahead with a three-yard rushing TD five plays later. USC had the ball with 53 seconds left, but LB Caleb Wheatland forced an incompletion on fourth down and fans rushed the field as the clock hit zero in a 29-28 Maryland victory.
Oregon is the second West Coast team Maryland will face this year, with USCb being the first
Tremendous tai
- Through eight games, senior WR Tai Felton has 73 receptions, 907 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns. Felton leads the Big Ten in receptions and receiving yards and is sixth in receiving touchdowns. His 73 receptions are the most among power conference players and his 907 receiving yards rank fourth. Felton has 225 more receiving yards than the next closest Big Ten receiver, Washington's Denzel Boston, despite Boston playing one more game than Felton. Similarly, Felton has nine more receptions than the next closest Big Ten receiver (Oregon's Tez Johnson), despite Oregon playing nine games to Maryland's eight.
- Felton is one of just two Big Ten players since 1996 to have 900+ receiving yards and 70+ receptions through eight games (Purdue's Chris Daniels - 1999). With 93 more yards, he can become just the fourth Terp ever with 1,000 receiving yards in a single season and the first since current Chicago Bear D.J. Moore had 1,033 in 2017. The school record for a single season is 1,240 receiving yards by Marcus Badgett in 1992.
- Against Minnesota on Oct. 26, Felton had his sixth 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. Felton is one of just four power conference players this season with five 100+ receiving-yard games total (Colorado's Travis Hunter, Ole Miss' Tre Harris, and Miami's Xavier Restrepo).
With his hot start to the season, Felton became the second Terp to have four consecutive games with 100+ receiving yards (tied with Jermaine Lewis in 1994).
billy Ball
- Redshirt junior QB Billy Edwards Jr. currently ranks No. 10 among all FBS quarterbacks and No. 2 in the Big Ten in passing yards per game (289.3). Edwards Jr., who was named to the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Top 25 on Oct. 7, ranks in the top-10 nationally in completions (214) and in the top-20 in completion percentage (68.4 %).
- Edwards Jr. has passed for 250+ yards and 2+ touchdowns in six games this season, one of just seven power conference quarterbacks to have as many such games. He also threw for at least 250 yards in seven consecutive games. There had 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).
- Against USC on Oct. 19, 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).
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.Â
The roman empire
- With a huge fourth-quarter score against USC on Oct. 19, 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 rushing touchdown list (20) and sits 13th on Maryland's all-time rushing yards list (2,143). His 25 total touchdowns (20 rush, 5 receiving) are tied for eighth all-time.
- He is one of just three active players to have at least 2,000 rushing yards and 800 receiving yards in his FBS career, along with Boise State's Ashton Jeanty and USC's Woody Marks. He is the only Maryland player to reach those numbers with the program all-time.
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 fifth in FBS with a 46.8 punting average through seven games among punters with a minimum of 3.6 punts per game.
- McFerson has had a 50+ yard punt in seven games this season, tied for the second-most in the Big Ten. He has 14 punts of 50+ yards this season,the third-most in the Big Ten and 10th-most among all FBS teams.
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.
Samuels' big day
- Sophomore LB DJ Samuels made history against Minnesota, becoming one of just five FBS players since 2012 with both a receiving touchdown and three tackles for loss in the same game. Of that group, only one is a power conference player (UCLA's Datone Jones in 2012).
- Over the past two seasons, Maryland has had a total of three scrimmage touchdowns scored by primarily defensive players, with LB Sean Greeley catching two touchdown passes during the 2023 campaign. That number is tied for the third most among power conference teams. Additionally, Maryland has the most receiving TDs scored by defensive linemen and linebackers since 2023.
Only Ole Miss and Utah (five) have more TDs by primarily defensive players than Maryland since 2023.
Quick hitters
- Maryland has recorded at least 250 passing yards and 100 rushing yards in six straight road games, the longest active streak in the FBS. It is also the longest such streak for the Terrapins over the past 25 seasons.Â
- The Terrapins have recorded at least 13 fourth-quarter points in back-to-back conference games. The last time Maryland did this within a season was November 10-17, 2001.
- Against Minnesota, MJ Morris completed 87.5 percent of his passes while throwing two passing touchdowns and zero interceptions. No other Maryland player has reached those marks in the same game since at least 1996.
- The Terps have six games this season where a WR has had 100+ receiving yards (Tai Felton has five and Kaden Prather has one). That number is tied for first among Big Ten teams (Oregon). Maryland is one of just eight power conference teams with six or more such games.
- Maryland has 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 18 straight games when allowing less than 20 points.Â
Click here for this week's game notes.
