Maryland (1-0 SU, 1-0 ATS) takes on Charlotte (0-2 SU, 0-2 ATS) in the rare time a Big 10 program meets a Conference USA squad on the road. The Terps take on the 49ers on Saturday at 3:30pmET from Jerry Richardson Stadium.
Maryland beat up on Buffalo in their opener 31-10 at Maryland Stadium, but did not cover the 24. The 49ers fell at home to the College of William & Mary (FCS) 41-24 last Friday to fall to 0-2 on the season.
Maryland cruised to a three-touchdown win last Saturday over Buffalo and it was expected. However, the offense wasn't very sharp as junior quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa went 24 of 34 for 290 yards, but also had a pick and a bad overthrow on a pass to TE Corey Dyches over the middle of the field.
Offensively, the Terps accumulated just 16 first downs and were helped by big plays from freshman running back Roman Hemby, who had touchdown runs of 70 yards and 33 yards. However, he had just seven carries for 114 yards, which means he averaged 16.3 yards per attempt.
We got after it in week one
Be at The Shell all year
— Maryland Football (@TerpsFootball) September 8, 2022
The real strength for Maryland aside from the quarterback position is their receiving corps. Rakim Jarrett led the Terps with six catches for 110 yards, but had a drop. They also have Florida transfer Jacob Copeland, senior Jeshaun Jones, and senior Dontay Demus, who are both returning from knee injuries.
Defensively, the Terps struggled last season, allowing 30.7 points per game and 249.5 yards in the air. Against the Bulls, they held them to 160 passing yards and 108 rushing yards on 38 attempts. The defensive backs appear to be improved this season, but they were called for three pass interference calls. As a whole, Maryland committed eight penalties for 82 yards.