After dismantling Charlotte on the road last time out, Maryland football returns home for a Saturday night contest against SMU.
“Excited about the opportunity at The Shell,” coach Mike Locksley said.
The Terps traveled south for their matchup against the 49ers in week two, their first road trip of the season. Maryland’s offense was electric from the get-go, scoring 21 points in the first quarter and leading 35-14 at the half.
Taulia Tagovailoa torched the Charlotte defense, chalking up 305 yards and four passing touchdowns through the game’s first 30 minutes. After throwing for just 290 yards and zero touchdowns in week one against Buffalo, Tagovailoa finished with 391 passing yards, five total touchdowns, and an 87% (27-31) completion percentage, the Terps’ new single game record with a minimum of 15 pass attempts. Tagoavailoa’s superb performance named him Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week.
“As an offense, I think we’re getting better up front, in the running game, also in protection,” Tagovailoa said. “We’re getting more comfortable with our receivers … I feel like everything is coming together.”
Multiple receivers notched two-touchdown games against Charlotte. Jeshaun Jones notched six catches for 71 yards and two scores, a new career high in receiving touchdowns. Florida transfer Jacob Copeland scored twice as well, eclipsing the 100-yard mark for the first time as a Terp. Copeland recorded just one catch for six yards in the season opener against Buffalo.
Similar to week one, Maryland ran for over 150 yards, again by committee. Sophomore Colby McDonald and redshirt freshman Antwain Littleton II both scored on runs of over 45-yards, finishing with 61 and 59 yards, respectively, for the game. As a team, Maryland finished with 193 total yards on the ground.
Redshirt freshman Roman Hemby’s strong week one performance has him in the team lead in rushing (145). The next closest is McDonald with 64.
After being the strength in week one, Maryland’s defense took a back seat against Charlotte. The Terps allowed just 21 points, but they faced the 49ers’ third-string quarterback. Maryland recorded just one sack and failed to force a turnover, and have yet to record a turnover this season.
“[We need to] continue to apply pressure to them, push the pocket, give our DBs chances to cover the wide receivers,” redshirt senior defensive lineman Greg China-Rose said.
SMU enters undefeated at 2-0, just like Maryland. The Mustangs’ offense looked explosive in the first two weeks of the season, scoring 48 against North Texas and 45 against Lamar for an average of 46.5 points per game— tied for 14th best among all Division One programs.
Senior Tanner Mordecai has been stellar in his second year as signal caller of the SMU offense. Mordecai has notched 644 passing yards, seven passing touchdowns, and just one interception through two games.
The Mustangs haven’t relied entirely on the shoulders of Mordecai, as they enter with two rushers with at least 100 yards on the ground. Sophomore TJ McDaniel leads SMU in yards (138), but junior Velton Gardner isn’t too far behind him (100). McDaniel has played in both games, while Gardner only appeared against Lamar.
Senior receiver Rashee Rice has been fantastic out wide, going over 100 yards in both games this season. Rice leads SMU with 298 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns.
“We know that they like the deep ball,” China-Rose said. “We know that they’re going to come in here, try to play smash-mouth football.
The Mustangs have fared well defensively, allowing just 13 points per game. SMU has forced turnovers from all stages of its defense — an interception and a fumble recovery from the secondary, an interception and a fumble recovery from the defensive line, and an interception from the linebacking corps.
“[We] have an opportunity to play a team I think is top-25 in my mind [in] SMU,” Locksley said. “Explosive offense, play really good defense, to have them here at home is a great opportunity for us to take the next step.”
The game on Saturday will start at 7:30 p.m. and will take place at Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium in College Park.
