EAST HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Maryland is benefiting from their up-tempo offense in 2026.
The Terps scored 62 points in their season opening win over Hampton and rolled to a 38-14 win over Connecticut on Saturday in front of 34,494 fans at Pratt and Whitney Stadium.
After the host Huskies took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter, the Terrapins (2-0) scored on six of their next eight drives with five touchdowns and a field goal.
Maryland sophomore QB Malik Washington completed 34-of-41 passes for 347 yards and two touchdowns while Harry Dalton III ran for 48 yards and two touchdowns for the Terps.
Trending
“I am proud of this team. I told them this would be an audit for us,” Maryland coach Michael Locksley said. “I thought we did a good job of taking care of business. Malik was really efficient today.”
Washington, who completed 18 passes in a row at one point, completed passes to eight different receivers. Chris Durr Jr. pulled in a career-high 10 receptions for 103 yards and a touchdown. Na’eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding caught eight passes for a game-high 130 yards and a touchdown.
“We’re always going to be a multi-tempo offense,” Lockley said. “With us and a guy like Malik getting him in the rhythm is really important. It is more flow than tempo.
“There will be times we want to play fast and keep people off the field in certain situations. But I think our goal is to get 80 plays and the only way you can get 80 plays in today’s game is you have to go with some tempo,” he said. “When you have as many playmakers as we have on offense and the diversity of how we spread the ball around, you won’t get enough plays if you play slow.”
The Terps ran 78 plays on Saturday.
UConn (1-1) was led by QB Kalieb Osborne, who completed 10 of 21 passes for 156 yards with two touchdowns. He was UConn’s leading rusher with 30 yards on 13 carries. Maryland limited the Huskies to 67 yards on 31 carries.
Washington completed 16 of his first 16 passes in the second half for 138 yards and a touchdown as he marched the Terps up and down the field.
Streaks
Maryland has won 20 straight non-conference games. It is the longest streak in the FBS.
The loss to Maryland snapped a nine-game winning streak at Pratt and Whitney Stadium for the Huskies, dating back to a loss to Wake Forest in October 2024.
Up next
Maryland: vs. Virginia Tech next Saturday
Author
