Terps Football Opens With Win Over Richmond; Quick Hits

The University of Maryland Terrapins won their opening game of the 2015 Football season,with a 50-21 victory over Richmond.

(You can discuss this on the BSL Board here.)

Some quick hits:

1) As we wrote in a preview a couple of weeks ago, “MD was 13th (out of 14) in rushing offense (114 yards per game) during conference play last year. The Terps can increase their ypg by 50, and still might be no better than middle of the pack.” As one would expect, Maryland was able to run on Richmond today. The Terps had a large size advantage on their FCS opponent, and appropriately took advantage. Holes were opened all day, and MD rolled for 341 yards on the ground.

1a) All three RB’s, Brandon Ross, Wes Brown, and True Freshman Ty Johnson looked good with the rock in their hands. Ross set a career high with 150 yards on his 18 carries, and Johnson flashed the speed which has been advertised since he committed to the Terps.

2) William Likely set Maryland and Big Ten records with his 233 PR yards today. He’s an incredible weapon with the ball in his hands. My preference would be for him to not serve as the KR and PR man in these early weeks though, due to how valuable he is to MD’s Secondary. I’d like to see DeAndre Lane, and Will Ulmer be used in that capacity the next few weeks vs. Bowling Green, and USF. See if they can also show to be weapons. That said, I’m going to enjoy Likely’s ability as long as he’s back there.

3) Brad Craddock missed an XP and a FG. Hopefully just a one game hiccup. In the swing games of Maryland’s season – West Virgina, Michigan, Penn State, Iowa, Indiana, Rutgers – his kicking could be the difference in any of one of those match-ups. Need him to be money like he was last season.

4) I was surprised to see Perry Hills win the QB job this summer, and nobody can be pleased by his performance today. If he looked better than Caleb Rowe, and Daxx Garman this summer – that is not encouraging. I’m going with the hot hand with this trio, especially the next few weeks.  Who looks better in practice this week? If I were Coach Edsall, I’d already be leaning towards inserting Rowe as the starter next Saturday. Bowling Green plays today vs. Tennessee, and that’s a game I’m interested in. The Volunteers are seen as an SEC East sleeper. They might be too much for Bowling Green, but that experience will only boost the Mid-American Conference’s East Favorite. They have an offense that will expect to put points on the board vs. the Terps next week. MD’s offense is going to need to take advantage of opportunities that Hills missed today.

5) Jesse Aniebonam, and Quinton Jefferson had good outings today on the defensive side. Yannick Ngakoue had a relatively quiet day.

6) AJ Hendy got badly turned around on a big gainer down the middle of the field by Richmond.

7) Freshman Avery Edwards (TE), and D.J. Moore (WR) both had their first career receptions (2 each). They figure to have growing roles with this offense.

8) Malcolm Cullmer had a nice TD reception. Levern Jacobs showed his speed and athleticism on his his TD ‘reception.’ Amba Etta-Tawo had a nice grab on the sideline, but also dropped an easy first down. The Terps have usable weapons, do they have a QB capable of regularly getting them the ball?

9) Richmond was limited to 56 yards rushing on their 27 attempts (2.1 ypc).

10) The Terps did a good job of taking control of the game after Richmond went ahead 14-13, with 11:30 left in the 1st half. Overall, MD did what they should have today. It’s hard to take too much from this. It was an FCS opponent, that was outmatched everywhere. Maryland has to build on today, and improve the next two weeks vs. Bowling Green and South Florida prior to traveling to West Virgina.

11) Too many empty seats. Looked to be a good turn out from the students, but tv watchers saw thousands of empty seats, and an uninspiring atmosphere. Maryland’s ticketing department should be thinking bigger picture. If you can’t sell the seats, give the tickets away which will fill Byrd Stadium and create a better scene. Give them a good time, and they will be more prone to return. Make the whole experience better for everyone involved, they will also be more excited to come back.

12) I already said above that I’d be looking to insert Rowe as the starter next week vs. Bowling Green. I’d also be looking to insert Damian Prince. Mike Minter is a nice story. Prince is a bell cow, and someone you are trying to build the program around. Getting Prince extended experience this year should be a priority. When Derwin Gray is ready (eligible for physical contact September 10th), I’d start penciling in him to start vs. South Florida on the 19th.