After Georgia Tech completed the upset over tenth-ranked Florida State to kick off the college football season on Saturday, the rest of the college football world prepares for week one as head coach Mike Locksley and Maryland football will kick off the 2024 season against UConn. The Terps will look to win their 19th consecutive home opener and 13th consecutive non-conference opener, the second-longest streak in the nation, ahead of a noon kickoff inside SECU Stadium.
This marks the first meeting between the two teams since 2013 when Maryland avenged its home loss against the Huskies the season prior, going into East Hartford to secure a 32-21 win under former head coach Randy Edsall. Maryland will also face several familiar faces and DMV natives this weekend, including Dean Engram (Gonzaga HS), Durell Robinson (St. Frances) and Ja’Khi Green (St. Frances) as Maryland looks to move to 3-1 all-time against UConn. And heading into week one, the sportsbooks still like the Terps’ odds of doing so.
Maryland enters game week a three-touchdown favorite against the Huskies with the spreads on BetMGM, DraftKings and FanDuel at 20.5 points, while Caesers remains flat at 20 points. The current line is down from its 24.5-point opening, while the over/under is set at 45.5 points heading into the week.
Led by first-year head coach Jim Mora, Maryland’s defense’s first assignment of the season will likely be slowing down former Oklahoma and Wisconsin quarterback Nick Evers. “Well he’s extremely athletic. He’s a 6-foot-3, 205-pound kid with a rockin’ arm who can also throw with touch and he can run. What you see in the college game now is the quarterbacks that are dual-threat guys, the guys that when a play breaks down, that they can tuck it and they can get a first down and get out of bounds and they can threaten the defense down the field with their legs. Or you can get into some triple option game or RPO game, zone read game. Those are the offenses that seem to be having success and he has all of those traits.”
Of course, Maryland’s offense has its own big question to answer as head coach Mike Locksley isn’t expected to name a starting quarterback ahead of their week one matchup as Billy Edwards Jr., MJ Morris and Cam Edge await the final verdict.
“I see myself playing coy,” Locksley said about his quarterback competition this week. “Our team will know. If you figure it out, you figure it out. I feel comfortable we’re moving in the direction that we need to. The confidence that I have is that all three of those guys – the whole room has competed. But the three that went into this, Cam, Billy and MJ, have all improved and when you improve that way your team improves.”
Maryland’s season opener will be broadcast on FS1.
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Any intel coming out about which quarterback is getting the start?