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Rapid Reaction: Maryland’s offense unstoppable again, runs all over No. 21 Syracuse
Published:
Final Score: Maryland 63 #21 Syracuse 20
Brief Recap: Right out of the gate, Maryland came out firing again this week. The Terrapins jolted out to an early 14-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back against a Syracuse team that is expected to be one of the best teams in the ACC. By halftime, it was 42-13 and the game was essentially over. Just for good measure, though, Maryland poured on 21 more points after the break and racked up a total of 650 yards of offense in the win.
Key Moment: Jordan Mosley intercepted a Tommy DeVito pass with over nine minutes to play in the second quarter and the Terrapins ahead 21-7. Two plays later, Anthony McFarland Jr. ran 20 yards to the end zone to give Maryland a three-touchdown advantage midway through the second quarter. At that time, it felt like this game was Maryland’s to lose.
Key Stat: Honestly, you could point to just about anything on the in the final stat page and consider it the key aspect of the game. But how about Maryland’s 3rd down conversion rate? The Terrapins were successful on 11-of-15 attempts. It’s hard to lose games when you’re doing that.
Key Player: Let’s give this to all of Maryland’s running backs: Javon Leake, Jake Funk, Tayon Fleet-Davis and Anthony McFarland all deserve credit. Together, the four combined for 343 yards and six touchdowns on the ground. Unbelievable.
What it Means: Maryland might be for real. Everyone wanted to look at the 79-0 final score against Howard and point toward the Terrapins bludgeoning a bad FCS program. But when you do the same thing to a pretty solid Syracuse squad, that’s a different story. We’ve known the Terps have had some really good athletes in College Park, and Mike Locksley is proving he knows how to use them. Plus, having Josh Jackson (21-of-38, 296 yards, 3 TDs) is a huge improvement at quarterback. Watch out, B1G East, this Maryland team can score.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB