2020 Schedule Maryland Minnesota Setting the Stage
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GAME INFO SETTING THE STAGE TELEVISION ESPN MARYLAND MINNESOTA Jason Benetti (pxp) 2020 Record: 0-1 (0-1 B1G) 2020 Record: 0-1 (0-1 B1G) Andre Ware (analyst) Head Coach: Michael Locksley (Towson ‘92) Head Coach: PJ Fleck (Northern Illinois ‘03) Quint Kessenich (sideline) Top Passer: Taulia Tagovailoa (So.) / 94 yds Top Passer: Tanner Morgan (R-Jr.) / 197 yds / 1 TD Top Rusher: Jake Funk (Sr.) / 35 yds / 5.8 ypc Top Rusher: Mohamed Ibrahim (R-Jr.) / 140 yds / 2 TDs MARYLAND SPORTS RADIO NETWORK Johnny Holliday (pxp) / 42nd season Top Receiver: Jeshaun Jones (R-So.) / 5 rec / 37 yds Top Receiver: Rashod Bateman (Jr.) / 9 rec / 101 yds CJ Brown (analyst) / 2nd season Top Tackler: Chance Campbell (Jr.) / 15 TT / 1.5 TFL Top Tackler: Tyler Nubin (Sr.) / 7 TT / 0.5 TFL / 1 FF LaMont Jordan (analyst) / 3rd season 105.7FM (Balt.) / 980AM (DC) TuneIn Radio App WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW XM 195 / Sirius 137 Maryland will welcome Minnesota for its home opener as the Terps host the Gophers for their annual homecoming 2020 SCHEDULE 1 game. The game will kickoff Friday, October 30 at 7:30 p.m. at Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium and air on ESPN and the Maryland Sports Radio Network. DATE OPPONENT TIME BTN O24 at Northwestern * L, 3-43 In what is Maryland’s 98th homecoming game, this is the first time in program history that the Terps will host its ESPN O30 MINNESOTA *^ 7:30 p.m. homecoming game on the first home game of the season. Maryland has won 19 of its past 21 home openers, N7 at #18 Penn State * TBD 1 only dropping the game in 2006 and 2018. Over that span, the Terps have opened up the home slate against a N14 #3 OHIO STATE * TBD conference foe two times, defeating Miami in 2011 and North Carolina in 2001. This is the first time that Maryland N21 MICHIGAN STATE * TBD will ever open up its home schedule against a Big Ten opponent. N28 at #17 Indiana * TBD D5 at #13 Michigan * TBD LB Chance Campbell had a career night in the Terps first game of the season at Northwestern, leading the team D12 RUTGERS * TBD with 15 tackles (10 solo), both a career-high. Campbell leads the entire FBS in total tackles per game and stands D19 B1G Champions Week * TBD 15 second in the FBS in solo tackles per game. The junior is just the sixth Terp to have a 15 tackle game since ALL CAPS indicates home game; *Big Ten game.; Maryland joined the Big Ten in 2014 (Cole Farrand (three times), Jermaine Carter Jr., Shane Cockerille, Tre Watson ^ Homecoming game; All times Eastern (twice) and Fa’Najae Gotay). SERIES NOTABLES The Terps had 20 players see the first action of their career against Northwestern (OL Johari Branch, DB JaKorian Bennett, RB Peny Boone, DB Beau Brade, LB Frankie Burgess, WR Nick DeGennaro, WR DeJuan Ellis, RB MARYLAND: Challen Faamatau, DL Ami Finau, OL Evan Gregory, LB Ruben Hyppolite II, RB Isaiah Jacobs, WR Rakim • The Terps dominated Minnesota the last Jarrett, WR DeaJaun McDougle, DL Mosiah Nasili-Kite, DB Osita Smith, DB Tarheeb Still, LB Kobi Thomas, time the Gophers came to College Park, 20 RB Jha’mel Thorne & DL Almosse Titi). Ten true freshmen (Boone, Brade, Burgess, DeGennaro, Hyppolite II, winning the game 42-13 on September Jacobs, Jarrett, McDougle Smith and Still) saw meaningful action in the opener with DeGennaro leading the Terps 22, 2018. RBs Ty Johnson and Anthony with 42 yards receiving, Boone and Jacobs tying for the team lead in carries and Hyppolite and Still each tallying McFarland Jr. ran wild, combining for four tackles. Branch, Finau, Jarrett and Nasili-Kite and Still all started the game for Maryland. 235 yards rushing and three touchdowns With the Big Ten going to an all-conference schedule in 2020, the Terps will play eight games against conference while Maryland forced three Gopher only opponents, facing six teams within the division (Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, turnovers. 54.1 Rutgers) and two teams cross-division (Minnesota & Northwestern). The Terps’ eight opponents were 39-33 in Big Ten games last year, a .541 winning percentage, the third-highest percentage of any team’s eight opponents across • Maryland has faced Minnesota the most the Big Ten. Maryland will play four of its eight scheduled games against teams in the 2020 Preseason Coaches of any Big Ten West opponent since Poll, three in the top-15 and two in top-10. joining the Big Ten in 2014, playing the Gophers in each of the past five seasons. Maryland has won 62-percent of its homecoming games all-time, a 58-35-4 record. The Terps have won in three of the past four years on homecoming, defeating Purdue in 2016, Indiana in 2017 and Rutgers in 2018 before falling to 62 Michigan last season. Minnesota will be the 29th different opponent Maryland will welcome on its homecoming. STREAKS SOCIAL MEDIA CONTACT Starts on Offense: WR Dontay Demus Jr. (14) Twitter: @TerpsFootball Dustin Semonavick Starts on Defense: S Nick Cross (6) @CoachLocks (Asst. AD/FB Communications) Games with a Catch: WR Dontay Demus Jr. (15) Instagram: @TerpsFootball Email: [email protected] Games with a player tallying 15 tackles: 2 @CoachLocks O: 301-314-7065 // C: 757-544-8393 Wins when Maryland commits no turnovers: 6 Facebook: /MarylandFootball YouTube: /MarylandAthletics Ben Kessler (Secondary Football) Email: [email protected] O: 301-314-7068 // C: 908-770-3059 MARYLAND TERRAPINS 2020 MARYLAND FOOTBALL ON THE OFFENSE By The Numbers 2 With both a rushing and receiving touchdown against Texas and Illinois in his freshman 2018 season, redshirt-sophomore wide receiver Jeshaun Jones became the first Big Ten freshman to have two games with a touchdown catch and touchdown run since Ohio State’s Maurice Clarett in 2003. With five receiving touchdowns, Jones tallied the most by a Maryland freshman since Stefon Diggs in 2012. Jones is back for the Terps in 2020 after missing last season with an ACL injury. In his return to the field last week at Northwestern, Jones led the Terps with five receptions for 37 yards. 6 WR Dontay Demus Jr. had an impressive sophomore campaign last season, tallying 625 yards, the 23rd most in a single season all-time by a Terp and six touchdowns, the first Maryland sophomore withsix receiving touchdowns in a season since DJ Moore also had six in 2016. 7 Maryland is one of only seven teams in the FBS (Colorado State, Houston, Iowa, Navy, North Carolina, Troy) that returns its top five pass catchers by yards to its roster from last season. Leading the group is All-Big Ten performer Dontay Demus Jr., who recorded 625 yards and six touchdowns in 2019. He is joined by returning pass catchers Brian Cobbs, Chigoziem Okonkwo, Tayon Fleet-Davis and Darryl Jones. Demus Jr., Cobbs, Fleet-Davis and Jones will all participate in the 2020 season. 10 Wide Receiver U: Maryland is one of only two schools (Alabama) that has two NFL wide receivers currently in the top-10 in the league in receiving yards. Stefon Diggs stands second in the NFL with 555 yards while DJ Moore ranks 10th in the league with 474 yards. 15 WR Dontay Demus Jr. has tallied a reception in 15 straight games dating back to the 2018 season. 40 Maryland had 14 touchdowns of 40-plus yards last season, the most in the Big Ten. The Terps scored a 40-plus yard touchdown in 10 of 12 games, including two in the final game of the season at Michigan State. The two 80-yard touchdowns against Rutgers were the first time Maryland has had two 80-plus yard touchdowns in the same game since at least 1977. 2 GAME 2: MARYLAND vs. MINNESOTA 2020 MARYLAND FOOTBALL ON THE DEFENSE/ST By The Numbers 3 The Terps forced three safeties last season (Lavonte Gater vs. Howard and two team vs. Temple), the most in the country. 5 Maryland has consistently had one of the best special teams units in the Big Ten, especially in the return game. Isaiah Jacobs leads the Big Ten after Week One, averaging 19.3 yards per return. Last season, the Terps ranked fourth in the conference in kick return average (22.73 yards per return) and led the league in punt return average (13.67 yards per return) and opponent net punting average (35.12 yards). The Terps have had a top-five kickoff return unit in the Big Ten for the each of the past four seasons (2017-pres.), this year ranking fourth at 18.63 yards per return. Maryland has scored the most kickoff return touchdowns of any team over that span with five. 6 Six Maryland players from the 2019 team moved onto the NFL this offseason. RB Anthony McFarland Jr. was drafted in the fourth round (124 overall) by the Pittsburgh Steelers, DB Antoine Brooks Jr. was also selected by the Steelers in the sixth round (198), while DB Tino Ellis (Miami Dolphins), LB Keandre Jones (Cincinnati Bengals) and TE Tyler Mabry (Seattle Seahawks) all signed as undrafted free agents. 12 LB Ayinde Eley ranked 12th in the Big Ten in total tackles last season with 79 (44 solo). Eley added four tackles for loss, three pass breakups, two fumble recoveries and an interception to his 2019 totals en route to All-Big Ten plaudits. Eley tallied eight tackles in the season opener at Northwestern (five solo), good for 16th in the BigTen.