Preview: Maryland football opens conference play against revamped Michigan State Roster

Photo by Maryland Athletics

Maryland football (1-0) begins its conference slate in week two by hosting Michigan State (1-0) on Saturday. The Terps are coming off a dominant 50-7 win over UConn, in which redshirt junior Billy Edwards Jr. cemented himself as Maryland’s new starting quarterback.

Edwards threw 20-for-27 with 311 yards and two touchdowns. The junior added 39 yards on the ground while filling in for longtime starter Taulia Tagovailoa.

“I thought Billy did a really good job controlling the offensive system with 300 yards and to me 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.”

Edwards and senior Tai Felton’s connection was unstoppable in the win. Felton posted a career-high 178 receiving yards on seven catches and two touchdowns.

The running game was also on point. As a team, the Terps ran for 248 yards and had eight players record a rush. Running backs Roman Hemby and Nolan Ray each had over 60 yards and a touchdown in Maryland’s first win of the season.

Michigan State first-year head coach Jonathan Smith also earned his first win last Friday against Florida Atlantic. The Spartans stumbled to an ugly 16-10 win despite committing three turnovers including two in the first quarter.

Michigan State painted the field yellow in the win with 12 penalties for 140 yards – a major reason FAU stayed in the game.

“A week ago [Michigan State] had a tough season opener where they found a way to win,” Locksley said. “They’ve got 61 new players and we’ve kind of been there before where you’re implementing new players, new philosophies. From week one to week two, I would expect to see a jump on their side.”

Sophomore quarterback Aidan Chiles leads the offense and is one of the 61 new players on the roster. Chiles was the backup at Oregon State last season where he threw 24-for-35 with four touchdowns and no interceptions in just nine games before following Smith to the Spartans.

Last week, Chiles went 10-for-24 for 114 yards and two interceptions. His only touchdown came on the ground.

However, it was the ground attack that helped the Spartans win. Running backs Kay’ron Lynch-Adams and Nate Carter combined for 149 rushing yards with Lynch-Adams finding the endzone. Expect a heavy run attack this week against Maryland.

Meanwhile, the Maryland defense stood strong against the run in week one, allowing just 88 total rushing yards.

“You see the biggest jump in great teams from week one to week two and how we respond and build off [week one],” senior linebacker Ruben Hyppolite II said, “[Conference play] is coming early so we got to handle business.”

The Terps made a statement at Michigan State to open conference play last season, winning 31-9. With the Spartans hungry for revenge, both team’s week one to week two jumps will be on display Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at SECU Stadium.