Maryland opened the post-Taulia Tagovailoa era on Saturday against UConn at home and, with the way Billy Edwards Jr. opened the game, things have gone swimmingly to start.

Through the Terrapins’ first 2 drives, Edwards was perfect through the air and proficient on the ground. An 18-yard dart to Tai Felton gave Maryland its first points of the new season. After 4 defensive snaps, the Terps got the ball back and drove 92 yards for another score to go up 14-0.

Felton got the opening drive started with a 19-yard carry. It was 1 of 5 explosive plays on the 8-play drive. Roman Hemby had a 13-yard carry and an 11-yard catch. Edwards had a 14-yard scamper to get into the red zone and set up the 18-yard touchdown strike to Felton to cap the drive.

On the Terps’ second possession, they were more methodical. A pass from Edwards to Octavian Smith Jr. pushed the ball just beyond midfield and then redshirt freshman Nolan Ray closed it out with a 48-yard run for his first career touchdown.

Edwards opened the game 7-for-7 for 66 yards and a score through the air with 24 additional yards on the ground. Maryland went into the second quarter with a 14-0 lead.

He has big shoes to fill in 2024, stepping in for Tagovailoa after a career that saw the Hawaii native break the Big Ten’s all-time career passing record. But the Terps have talent around him enough to make noise in the new-look Big Ten.

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