COLLEGE PARK, MD. - Maryland will play its first game of the season against a ranked opponent on Saturday when it travels to face interstate rival West Virginia, which is ranked No. 8 in this week’s Associated Press poll. The Terps (2-1) and Mountaineers (2-0) have played 48 times in the all-time series which dates back to 1919, the most games Maryland has played against any non-conference opponent. West Virginia has had the upper hand as of late, winning six straight in the series including a 37-31 victory in College Park last season. Prior to that, Maryland had won four in a row.

First-and-10

• Despite surrendering just 223 yards of total offense to Connecticut last Saturday, the Terps suffered a hard-fought, 24-21 loss to the Huskies. After trailing 14-0 in the second quarter, Maryland battled back to get within three points when freshman wide receiver Stefon Diggs caught a 29-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Perry Hills with 14:07 left in the fourth quarter, making it 17-14 Connecticut. The Huskies, however, answered with a 10-play, 76-yard touchdown drive to go up 24-14. Hills helped get the Terps back within striking distance on a 10-yard touchdown run with 4:39 remaining, but after the Maryland defense forced a three-and-out to get the ball back with 3:29 left, the offense was unable to tie or score the go-ahead points.

• Still, the Terps have shown improvement from week-to-week with a team that has already played 12 true freshmen, the ninth most in the Football Bowl Subdivision, and lists 14 total in its two-deep depth chart (excluding return men). Maryland played 12 true freshmen in the season opener against William & Mary, the most for a Maryland team in at least 15 years (see note page 3), and seven players made their first career starts in the season opener. In week two, Hills received ACC Rookie of the Week honors after going 11 for 21 for 190 yards, two touchdown passes and a touchdown run in a 36-27 win over Temple. Against Connecticut, freshman running back Wes Brown shined against what came in as the top-ranked rushing defense nationally. The Huskies had allowed just 77 rushing yards total through their first two games – and Brown nearly matched that on his own. He had 74 yards on 14 carries, a 5.3 average, including a 19-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. On the season, Brown has a team-high 124 rushing yards and is averaging 5.9 yards per carry.

• The defense has led the way for a young but talented Maryland team on its way to a 2-1 record through the first three games of the season. The Terps have been very tough against the run with an experienced front seven highlighted by senior defensive linemen Joe Vellano and A.J. Francis, and senior linebacker Demetrius Hartsfield. Those three have played a big role in holding opponents to an average of just 2.58 yards per rush, which ranks 14th nationally. It’s also been a disruptive defense – Maryland’s 2.67 sacks per game are tied for 27th in the FBS and its seven tackles for loss per game are tied for 32nd. The Terrapin defense ranks sixth nationally against the pass (124.3 yards per game) and 28th against the run (103 yards per game). Overall, the Terps are allowing just 227.3 yards per game, which ranks eighth nationally.

• Maryland has also had a knack for forcing timely turnovers in the first three games. In the closing moments of the 7-6 win over William & Mary in week one, cornerback Jeremiah Johnson forced a fumble on a sack that Hartsfield recovered to seal the game. In week two vs. Temple, the defense forced fumbles on the Owls’ first two possessions of the game and Hartsfield again helped seal the win by intercepting a tipped pass with 2:05 remaining to preserve the 36-27 victory. In week three against Connecticut, Darin Drakeford forced a fumble on the Huskies opening drive that Maryland recovered. The Terps have forced six total turnovers so far, which is tied for the second most in the ACC.

Quick Hitters

• Maryland’s defense has allowed just 682 total yards to opponents through three games (William & Mary – 229, Temple – 230, Connecticut – 223). That marks its best defensive performance in a three-game span since 2004, when it held The Citadel (137), West Virginia (156) and Eastern Michigan (275) to a total of 568.

• Maryland won its first two games despite committing more turnovers than its opponent in each contest. In the loss to Connecticut, though, the Terps turned it over twice and the Huskies only had one giveaway. All 10 of the Terrapins turnovers (four interceptions, six fumbles) have come from freshmen.

• The Terps have done a good job controlling the clock. In three games, Maryland has had the ball for an average of 30:30 to 29:30 for the opponent. That’s a major upgrade compared to 2011, when Maryland averaged just 25:16 a game to 34:44 for the opponent.

• Seven players made their first career starts in the season opener against William & Mary: quarterback Perry Hills, running back Albert Reid, safety Sean Davis, defensive back Jeremiah Johnson, linebacker Cole Farrand, nose tackle Darius Kilgoand offensive lineman Nick Klemm.

• In addition to the seven first-time starters, 14 players saw their first action against William & Mary. And of the 44 players that saw time against the Tribe, 25 of them were underclassmen.

• Maryland has 14 true freshmen listed on its two-deep (excluding return men), which is the fourth most in the FBS (Colorado – 16, Texas – 15, TCU – 15).

• The Terps are holding opponents to 2.58 yards per carry, which ranks 14th nationally. Of the opponents’ 120 rushing attempts this season, 81 have been for three yards or less (28 of 41 vs. William & Mary; 28 of 39 vs. Temple; 25 of 40 vs. Connecticut).

• Demetrius Hartsfield leads the team with 26 tackles and has had a hand in three turnovers, also a team high (one interception, two fumble recoveries).

• Head coach Randy Edsall handed out game balls for the win over Temple. Sal Conaboy got the game ball for offense,Demetrius Hartsfield for defense and A.J. Francis for special teams.

• Maryland was hit hard by injuries in the preseason. Thirteen players missed the season opener due to various injuries and ailments, and 14 were out against Temple. Seven of those were potential starters on offense and defense: defensive linemanAndre Monroe; defensive backs A.J. Hendy and Matt Robinson; linebacker Kenneth Tate; quarterback C.J. Brown; running back Brandon Ross; offensive lineman Josh Cary. Place-kicker Nick Ferrara also missed the first two three. Both Monroe and Brown are out for the season. Robinson and Cary both made their returns against Connecticut.

• Perry Hills became the first true freshman starter at quarterback for Maryland since Latrez Harrison in 1999. He also became the first freshman to start a season opener since redshirt freshman Calvin McCall on Sept. 2, 1999, in a 6-0 win over Temple.

• Maryland had 15 seniors on the 2011 roster, but just 12 of those players were listed on the two-deep at some point during the year. There are 17 seniors listed on the 2012 roster, and 12 are on the two-deep.

• Three Terps ended 2011 ranked among the top 12 in the ACC in tackles. Hartsfield was second at 12.0 per game and Franklin was sixth at 8.8. Vellano was 12th with 7.8 per contest.

• There are just two returning starters (Bennett Fulper and Justin Gilbert) on Maryland’s offensive line, but six players entered the season with starting experience. De’Onte Arnett, Josh Cary, Sal Conaboy and Peter White have also started on the O-line.

• Nine bowl teams from last year appear on Maryland’s 2012 schedule: Temple (Gildan New Mexico Bowl), West Virginia (Discover Orange Bowl), Wake Forest (Franklin American Mortgage Music City), Virginia (Chick-fil-A Bowl), NC State (Belk Bowl), Georgia Tech (Hyundai Sun Bowl), Clemson (Discover Orange Bowl), Florida State (Champs Sports Bowl) and UNC (AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl).

Maryland-West Virginia Series History

• Maryland and West Virginia have met a total of 48 times since the first meeting between the schools in 1919. The Mountaineers own a 25-21-2 lead in the all-time series. West Virginia has taken six straight from Maryland after the Terps had won the four meetings prior to that. The Terps defeated the Mountaineers 41-7 in the 2003 Toyota Gator Bowl in the only postseason meeting between the two schools.

• Last season, a comeback bid by Maryland fell short as West Virginia won 37-31 in College Park. Kevin Dorsey had nine catches for 79 yards and a touchdown, and Matt Furstenburg had seven catches for 70 yards. Mountaineer QB Geno Smith went 36 of 48 for 388 yards and a touchdown.

• Maryland has played West Virginia more than any other non-conference opponent, and the Terps have only faced six schools more than the Mountaineers.

• The Terps and Mountaineers met every season from 1980 to 2007. The teams took two years off (2008-09) in the series, but are scheduled to meet every year until at least 2017.
• 2013 – @ Maryland
• 2014 – @ Maryland
• 2015 – @ West Virginia
• 2016 – @ West Virginia
• 2017 – @ Maryland

• Maryland is 3-10 all-time against ranked West Virginia teams. The Terrapins last win over a ranked Mountaineer squad came in the 2003 Toyota Gator Bowl, when the 23rd-ranked Terps toppoled the 20th-ranked Mountaineers, 41-7.

• Maryland is 11-12-1 at home and 9-13-1 on the road in the series. The lone neutral site game was the 2003 Toyota Gator Bowl.

University of Maryland Quotes

Offensive Coordinator Mike Locksley

On West Virginia’s defense:

“For us it’s a front that Perry [Hills] hasn’t faced. We’ve faced four down fronts for the most part, and we’ll get some three down fronts like last week in nickel situations. This team is a true 50 defense. Which for him is just another week of adding to his box of experience. You have to attack different fronts different ways, and so this week we have to prepare and come up with a game plan vs. a 50.”

On how Perry Hills bounced back after last Saturday’s loss:

“I talked to him on the phone and saw him after the game and my big thing was telling him as a quarterback it’s a natural leadership position. The other guys on the offense are going to look to him for leadership, and it’s a game. It’s one game, and obviously we didn’t play very well on offense and that’s collectively, myself included as a coach. We need to come in, he needs to come in tomorrow and put it behind us. That’s going to be our base way of doing things around here, win or lose, we have 24 hours to get over it and make the necessary adjustments we need to make.”

On Matt Furstenberg’s play and his involvement:

“There’s an effort to get the passing game going. But, with a young quarterback obviously coverages and things they do on defense dictate where the ball goes.  We go into every game with a plan to try to get certain touches to certain people. We have to make adjustments and when you have a freshman quarterback, a lot of the things that you go in planning for you see different things. It becomes a game of adjustments throughout the course of it. Matt’s a guy that the impact he’s made for us may not be on the stat sheet. He’s done a great job in the run game for us and he’s helped us in some protection situations, and we’ll continue to try and find ways to get all those guys involved. As I told our offense, especially the guys on the back end, we’ll only be able to do and go as far as far as our quarterback is able to take us.”

On having Tyler Cierski back and where the reps will go:

“It’s a great situation to have as we’ve talked about. That’s the type of situation you’d like to have at all the positions, along the offensive side of the ball. We’re fortunate to have four backs that are all capable of carrying the load for us. The competition day to day and throughout the course of a game week will obviously dictate the roles that each guy has.”

On Brandon Ross returning:

“Well yesterday was really the first day, and I thought he did well for his first day back. He’s been in all the meetings even though he hasn’t been practicing with the guys that are traveling, but he’s been there mentally throughout the course of the injury. From a mental standpoint we feel that he’s there, and then last week he was able to get some physical reps down on the scout team. From what I heard he did a great job and looked good running.”
Defensive Coordinator Brian Stewart

On how he rated the return of Matt Robinson and Isaac Goins:

“I thought both did a good job. I thought our communication in the back end was clean. I thought they did a good job of coming in where they left off and knowing what they’re supposed to do. They did a good job of making sure everybody was on the same page.”

On the difficulty of going up against WVU’s offense:

“The offense has one of the better quarterbacks, Geno Smith, in NCAA Football. Not just having him, but the tempo of their offense, they’re a fast paced offense. And then they have good skill players on the edge with Stedman Bailey and Tavon Austin are going to end up as two of the better receivers. As a challenge, we’re excited about the challenge. To be the best, you have to play the best. I think it’s excited they’re on the schedule and we get an opportunity to play them.”

On the challenges the air raid offense presents:

“For the most part they can lure you to sleep, especially if their quarterback has a strong arm like Geno does, and their receivers can catch the ball. What we want to do is keep the ball in front of us, tackle the catch, and eliminate the big play. If we can get off on third down, I think we’ll have the opportunity to be close.”

On slowing down a quarterback like Geno Smith:

“I don’t think you go into it worried about slowing him down. I just think like I said you eliminate the big plays, keep the ball in front of you, tackle the catch, put pressure on him, and get off on third down. You’ll have opportunities.”

On Head Coach Randy Edsall’s insight on WVU:

“Coach Edsall knows what we do defensively, and the people we’re playing against. So, he always is going to have his name on it and he’s talked to us about it.”

On how the secondary has taken steps the past two games:

“I just think with Matt [Robinson] back as a starting safety our communication is a lot cleaner. You’re not going to get freshmen mistakes from him. Unfortunately freshmen are going to make mistakes, and they’re going to see run when it’s not run, and see pass when it’s not pass. Matt understands his keys, your keys tell you run or pass, and then you play it from there. So, I think the biggest improvement is not having mental errors in the back end like we had against Temple and William & Mary.”

On the challenge of playing a hurry-up offense:

“My first college job back from the NFL was the University of Houston. This is the exact same offense that the University of Houston employs. As a matter of fact, Dana Holgorsen in 2009 had the number one offense at the University of Houston, and then he went to Oklahoma State. The way the defense is set up with the no huddle and the wristbands that we use, it came from playing against that offense in practice. I don’t anticipate the communication being a problem. What I do anticipate is that it’s hard to practice that speed.”

On the linebacking core:

“Honestly I’d like to see more plays. We had some opportunities to make plays and it’s not anybody’s fault. We just need to understand what’s asked of everybody, and once we get that cleaned up I think we’ll be able to make some more plays. For the most part they’ve done what we’ve asked, but I just guess I’ve been spoiled.”