Maryland football will face Northern Illinois on Friday, Sept. 5 at 7:30 p.m.
The Terrapins will continue their season-opening nonconference homestand when they face the Huskies in a Friday Night Lights showdown. Maryland is currently on a 16-game winning streak against nonconference opponents.
This will be the teams’ first matchup since 2004, when Maryland narrowly won, 23-20.
Here are three things to look for:
The freshman takeover
Head coach Michael Locksley mentioned during Big Ten Media Days on July 22 that Maryland has “embarked on recruiting the best two high school classes that we’ve seen in the history of Maryland football.” There were glimpses of the first recruiting class in the win against Florida Atlantic.
Freshman quarterback Malik Washington finished 27-for-43 for 258 yards and three touchdown passes in three quarters. Washington is the first true freshman to start a season opener for Maryland since Perry Hills in 2012.
“As I’ve always said about the quarterback battle, it’s always who gives us the best opportunity to win, the best opportunity to score points. Malik did that,” Locksley said. “It’s the comfort level we had and the maturity he showed.”
Freshmen defensive lineman Zaire Mathis and Sidney Stewart caused havoc in the trenches in their college debuts. Mathis had a sack on fourth-and-9 for a turnover on downs, and Stewart filled the stat sheet with five tackles (three for loss), a sack and a safety.
“We threw them from the yellow school bus right to the big leagues, and they responded the right way,” Locksley said of Mathis and Stewart. “Those two guys are made of the right stuff.”
Can Maryland find a balanced approach on offense?
Washington had a solid showing in Maryland’s win against FAU, but he also threw the ball 43 times in his first college game.
“I didn’t anticipate throwing the ball 43 times,” Locksley said. “But we do run a style of offense that allows if they’re going to load the box, we have to take advantage of what they give us. We had some short yardage opportunities where I feel like we didn’t play with a great mentality.”
The Terps finished the game with 112 rushing yards. Freshman DeJaun Williams finished with a game-high 54 rushing yards, while sophomore Nolan Ray and freshman Iverson Howard finished with 25 and 23 yards, respectively.
“It was below par,” Locksley said. “There were some areas where yards were left on the field. … Between DeJuan and Nolan, both guys are triple threats. They can run, block and catch, and I expect those guys to play better. They are guys who are playmakers, and we’ve got to get them going.”
Can Maryland clean up the penalties?
Bad tendencies resurfaced in the Terps’ opening game. Maryland had six penalties in its opening defensive drive, nearly leading to an FAU touchdown.
“It’s our first game. I hate it,” Locksley said of the penalties. “To have six penalties on the first drive on defense — a couple of them were competitive penalties, but it’s just a byproduct of a new team. Sixty-five guys that haven’t played here, six new coaches. These are the kinks that we’ll get worked out.”
Maryland has finished every season with at least 70 penalties since 2018, excluding the COVID-shortened 2020 season. Locksley took over in 2019. Maryland finished the FAU game with 14 penalties.
“We had eight in the first quarter, so improved as the game went along,” Locksley said. “That’s kind of what I expect when you have a team of guys that are playing in their first game in [SECU Stadium]. The presnap ones get under my skin because those are focus issues. … We will get it corrected.”
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Maryland Athletics