The Huskies struggled mightily and their starting QB left with an injury.
The UConn Huskies traveled to Maryland to open the season and took a rough loss, falling 50-7 at SECU Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Terrapins jumped out to an early lead after a methodical touchdown drive on their first possession, followed by a UConn four-and-out and a 49-yard Nolan Ray touchdown run to make it 14-0 with 6:51 left in the opening quarter.
Terrapins quarterback Billy Edwards had himself a day, finishing with 311 yards and two touchdowns while completing 74 percent of his passes. Three Maryland running backs gained over 40 yards each while receiver Tai Felton caught seven balls for 178 yards.
Mistakes plagued the Huskies all afternoon, though they were able to keep the hosts in check across the rest of the first half. The UConn defense forced its first three-and-out in the second quarter and the Husky offense got into opposing territory for the first time after a 37-yard bomb from Evers to Skyler Bell that the receiver caught with one hand.
But that Husky drive ended with a missed field goal, and Maryland drove down for its own field goal in response to make it 20-0.
With 40 seconds left in the half, Evers was looking deep on the Huskies’ first play of the drive and threw a pick, leading to another Maryland field goal to make it 23-0 at the half. UConn had a botched snap, committed two big penalties, didn’t complete a pass until the final play of the first quarter, and had a late turnover add to the halftime deficit — it was not a great start.
It never got any better. Evers left the game early in the second half after taking a big hit on a scramble and Joe Fagnano finished the game. Neither performed particularly well.
Maryland scored a touchdown on its first drive of the second half to make it 30-0 and put this one away for good. The backups entered after that.
UConn got on the board with a 27-yard TD pass from Fagnano to TJ Sheffield late in the third quarter. Bell’s performance highlights an otherwise dismal stat sheet for the Huskies. The Wisconsin transfer finished with 141 yards on five receptions.
Otherwise, it was a total devastation for UConn. The Huskies committed two targeting penalties, lost first downs 29-11, gave up 7.6 yards per play and 5.4 yards per rush, and allowed Terrapin receivers to gain 248 yards after the catch. The tackling left a lot to be desired, showing little to no improvement from last year.
Next week, the Huskies host FCS Merrimack for their home opener. Kickoff is at 12 p.m. and the game will be televised on WFSB/WAAX/UConn+. After that, they visit Duke (1-0, opened season with win over Elon) and host Florida Atlantic (0-1, lost to Michigan State) over the next two weeks.