Maryland football routs UConn in season opener, 50-7

Photo Courtesy of Maryland Athletics

In the final seconds of the third quarter, Tai Felton caught a five-yard pass but was surrounded by two UConn defenders. The senior spun away from both of them and ran 75 yards to the endzone, putting the final touches on a Maryland (1-0) home-opening win.

The Billy Edwards and Felton connection shined in Maryland’s 50-7 rout of UConn (0-1) at SECU Stadium on Saturday.

Felton finished the game with a career-high 178 receiving yards on seven catches and two touchdowns. This marked his third career game with over 100 receiving yards.

Edwards made the start at quarterback in the first game of the post-Taulia Tagovailoa era and delivered an 18-yard touchdown pass to Felton on his opening drive. The duo connected on a fourth down conversion two plays before to keep the drive alive.

“It was good to get a few completions under my belt that first drive and get the run game going,” Edwards said, “I was just trying to stay calm and just practice out there. That’s what I was telling myself the whole time.”

On the pass, the Maryland offensive line gave Edwards a clean pocket, not allowing any pressure.

The new starting quarterback finished his day going 20-for-27 with 311 yards and two touchdowns for a 195.3 rating. Edwards also flashed his dual-threat versatility, rushing five times for 39 yards while extending plays by running around the pocket.

“I thought Billy did a really good job of controlling the offensive system… Did a great job distributing the ball, getting it to the playmakers,” head coach Mike Locksley said. “It’s his job. He’s our quarterback, we’re riding with him.”

The line continued its dominance in the first, opening a hole on the left side and allowing a 48-yard touchdown run from Nolan Ray. The freshman bounced off two secondary defenders on his way to the endzone to push the lead to 14-0.

As a unit, the Terps ended the first half with 165 rushing yards, the most in a first half under Locksley.

The Maryland offense continued to move the ball in the second quarter but failed to get in the endzone. Meanwhile, the defense continued to squash any UConn momentum.

Glendon Miller intercepted Nick Evers around midfield with 30 seconds left in the half, leading to Maryland’s third field goal of the quarter. Miller, a senior, led the defense in tackles with six, the second most in his career.

“It’s great to get an interception first game and start with some momentum,” Miller siad, “We played more so a cover three look. [Evers] was staring at the receiver a little bit so I just kind of took a chance and jumped on it.”

Miller and the Terps’ defense shut down Evers. He went 6-for-17 with 73 yards, an interception and a 59.6 quarterback rating before being taken out in the third quarter after a hard hit to the head.

Senior Ruben Hyppolite welcomed backup quarterback Joe Fagnano to the game with an interception. At the Maryland 15, Hyppolite dove toward the sideline and secured the ball off the hands of Victor Rosa for his first career interception.

The Huskies finally found the endzone in the final minute of the third quarter but second-half touchdowns from Roman Hemby, Felton, Josiah McLaurin and DeJuan Williams sealed the game.

MJ Morris took over quarterback duties in the fourth quarter but lasted just two plays after taking a late hit from Rante Jones. Jones became the second UConn player of the game to be ejected for targeting after hits on sliding Maryland quarterbacks.

Maryland earns its 13th straight season-opening win against a non-conference opponent. The Terps will face their first conference opponent, Michigan State, next Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in College Park.