Maryland football continues its three-game homestand on Saturday, Sept. 9, with a primetime game on NBC against Charlotte as the Terps look to extend their nonconference winning streak to 10 games.
“Anytime you play a national TV game it’s great for the university,” Maryland head coach Michael Locksley said. “… You’re able to illuminate the great things about being here in the DMV.”
Maryland defeated Towson, 38-6, in its season opener. Charlotte defeated South Carolina State, 24-3, scoring 24 unanswered points to close out the game.
The Terps beat the 49ers, 56-21, last season. Maryland’s roster looks similar, while Charlotte brought in 70 new players for the 2023 season. The Terps pride themselves on recruiting DMV talent, but the 49ers have taken full advantage of the DMV pipeline as well.
Charlotte first-year head coach Biff Poggi was previously the head coach at Gilman School and St. Frances in Baltimore. Poggi hired former Terps co-offensive coordinator Mike Miller to be the 49ers’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Charlotte also has six transfers who previously played at Maryland.
Saturday night marks the first time this season a national audience will see the Terps against a team with many transfers from Power Five schools.
“Our team has generated a lot of buzz just from the talent we have and the potential we have,” Maryland running back Roman Hemby said. “I feel like this is an opportunity for us to put our best foot forward and show the country and the nation what we’ve got.”
Here are some other things of note ahead of the nonconference matchup, which kicks off at 7:30 p.m.:
— Maryland will lean on its defense this season.
Terps quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa and the rest of the offense got most of the love in the season opener after putting up 38 points and nearly 450 yards of offense in the 38-6 rout of Towson.
But Maryland also takes pride in its defense being one of its strengths this season despite a lack of splash plays against the Tigers. The Terps have not allowed a touchdown in their past three games dating back to last season.
“We gave up some yardage there but we dug in our heels there once they crossed into the red-zone area,” Locksley said. “Think it’s a testament to the players, coming into it we felt that our defense had a chance to be pretty good because of the front seven.”
The front seven includes players like linebackers Jaishawn Barham and Ruben Hyppolite II, defensive end Quashon Fuller and nose tackle Jordan Phillips.
— The Terps’ run defense will be tested by Charlotte.
Charlotte posted the bulk of its offensive yardage on the ground in its season opener, and the quarterback scramble was particularly effective. 49ers quarterback Jalon Jones picked up 49 of Charlotte’s 220 rushing yards. He also added a touchdown.
“He wants to drop back, RPO [run-pass option] and he wants to just run the ball and make plays with his legs,” Maryland cornerback Ja’Quan Sheppard said. “Containing will be something that we’ve definitely got to work on from the secondary to the line standpoint.”
The Terps allowed the third-most rushing yards in the Big Ten in Week 1. As Maryland’s opponents get tougher, the defense needs to shore up that area.
“Containing a running quarterback will be something we need to deal with,” Locksley said. “… QB runs give [Charlotte] a numbers advantage when you try to load the box. We have to do a good job of getting off blocks and do a good job containing him.”
— Roman Hemby is looking to develop as a complete running back.
Hemby ran seven times for 114 yards and two touchdowns during the season opener in 2022 on his way to rushing for a team-high 989 yards and 10 touchdowns. But his 2023 debut was quieter, as he only accumulated 58 yards on 12 carries. He did score a touchdown, however.
Hemby is ready to take on a larger role this season, and where he wants to improve will not show up on the stat sheet.
“I want to become more firm in pass protection as well,” Hemby said. “I feel like I made a little bit of progress with that, but there’s always work to be done. Teams definitely scheme for different things and they try to attack weaknesses.”
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