Maryland football wallops UConn, 50-7, behind Billy Edwards Jr.’s big day: ‘Great liftoff’ (2024)

COLLEGE PARK — The post-Taulia Tagovailoa era for Maryland football began as well as coach Mike Locksley could have hoped.

Billy Edwards Jr. shepherded a largely untested offense to more than 600 yards and four touchdowns, and an experienced defense overwhelmed a middling opponent as the Terps waltzed to a 50-7 victory over visiting UConn in the season opener for both schools Saturday afternoon before an announced 35,421 at SECU Stadium.

“Great start to the 2024 season, great liftoff,” said Locksley, who improved to 5-1 in season-opening games. “We talked to our team going into this game about the start and the importance of getting off to a fast start and putting it all together, and I thought we were able to do it today with all three phases contributing to the win.”

Maryland, which reached the 50-point plateau for the first time since a 56-21 throttling at Charlotte on Sept. 10, 2022, did what it was expected to do against a Huskies team that went 3-9 last fall and 9-16 in its first two years under former NFL coach Jim Mora. UConn dropped to 1-3 in its series with the Terps, with that lone win occurring Sept. 15, 2012.

Maryland’s 13th consecutive win against a nonconference opponent in season openers (which trails only Michigan State’s run of 24 straight) got a significant lift from Edwards. Locked into a competition with redshirt sophom*ores MJ Morris and Cameron Edge in the preseason, the 6-foot-3, 222-pound redshirt junior earned Locksley’s blessing to succeed Tagovailoa, who had started the past four years en route to becoming the Big Ten’s all-time leader in passing yards.

Edwards validated Locksley’s decision by completing 20 of 27 passes for 311 yards and two touchdowns and carrying the ball five times for 39 yards. Senior wide receiver Tai Felton proved to be Edwards’ favorite target as he caught seven balls for 178 yards and two touchdowns, including a 4-yard reception that he turned into a 75-yard sprint down the right sideline with two seconds left in the third quarter.

Edwards opted for more short-yardage throws on crossing routes and dump-offs to the flat than passes to test the Huskies’ defensive backfield, but the offense was forced to punt only twice under his direction (once in each half). He said he treated Saturday’s game like a Tuesday practice.

“I’ve made the throws in practice countless of times, and then to come out here, it was just about remaining calm and trusting my feet, trusting my training,” said Edwards, who was the Most Valuable Player of the Music City Bowl on Dec. 30 after totaling 176 yards and two touchdowns (one passing and one rushing) in the Terps’ 31-13 rout of Auburn. “I’ve got a lot of good skill players around me and just letting them do their thing.”

Felton’s 75-yard touchdown play — the program’s first since Oct. 30, 2020, when Jeshaun Jones took a pass from Tagovailoa 76 yards to the end zone — ended the day for Edwards, who drew considerable praise from Locksley.

“I really liked the way Billy played,” he said. “I like the control and command he had of our system. A couple balls we’ll talk about and have a chance to get corrected and some fundamental things that will get better, but really pleased with his first outing as our starter.”

The 6-1, 209-pound Morris, a North Carolina State transfer, helmed Maryland for three possessions. But the team punted on the first two, and Morris absorbed a late hit by UConn senior safety Rante Jones that forced him to the sideline with 12:58 left in the fourth quarter. Jones was penalized for targeting the head and neck area and was ejected. Edwards also took a shot to the head from Huskies defensive back Jordan Wright while sliding at the end of a run in the second quarter, leading to Wright being called for targeting and disqualified.

OH MY 😳😳😳
No surprise there was a targeting call here 😬 pic.twitter.com/P4ev7xQp2E
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) August 31, 2024

Morris, who completed three of four passes for 13 yards and ran five times for 13 yards, was replaced by the 6-foot, 225-pound Edge, who completed all three of his throws for 49 yards, including a 24-yard swing pass to freshman running back Josiah McLaurin for a touchdown with 9:26 remaining. Edge finished by connecting on four of six passes for 57 yards and the touchdown to McLaurin.

That score was a poignant moment for McLaurin, who lost his father in a car accident a week ago, according to Locksley.

“He stayed here all week, and we loved on him,” he said. “Our team got behind him, and that’s why our team was really excited that he was able to get a touchdown. He’s got to go home tomorrow to bury his dad and get back here. It was great to see him be able to make a play.”

To alleviate pressure on Edwards, the offense leaned on a heavy dose of running the ball. Redshirt junior running back Roman Hemby, an Edgewood native and John Carroll graduate, led the way with 66 yards and one touchdown on 14 attempts, and redshirt freshman Nolan Ray added four carries for 57 yards, including a 48-yard scamper to the end zone that included five missed tackles by UConn defenders and staked Maryland to a 14-0 advantage with less than seven minutes to go in the first quarter.

The offense finished the opening frame with 131 rushing yards — the unit’s highest total since Nov. 17, 2018, when the squad gained 148 yards on the ground in an eventual 52-51 overtime loss to Ohio State. For the game, the Terps averaged 5.4 yards per carry with 248 yards on 46 attempts.

“We have so many playmakers that it’s hard for anybody to stop just one guy or stop everybody,” Felton said. “Our goal is to just make plays. So when it’s my turn to get the ball, I’m trying to make a play. When it’s [senior wide receiver Kaden Prather’s] turn to get the ball, it’s time to make a play. But our goal is to make a play no matter who is getting the ball.”

If the offense was methodical, the defense was stifling. Although the Terps failed to pitch their first shutout since a 37-0 rout of Rutgers on Nov. 26, 2022, they held the Huskies to just 103 yards of offense in the first half and surrendered only 2 of 7 conversions on third down.

Maryland, which returned seven starters from last year’s unit that enjoyed its most productive season since 2010, did not allow UConn to cross midfield until its fifth series of the game, and that possession ended when graduate student kicker Chris Freeman, an Indiana transfer, hooked a 43-yard field goal attempt wide left with less than five minutes left in the second quarter.