Maryland Football: Terps Had a Million Ball Carriers in Win Over Longhorns

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The Maryland football team had a huge upset victory over the Texas Longhorns in Week 1 which featured an abnormal amount of ball carriers.

After a rough offseason for Maryland football, it was really, really nice to see them play well against the nationally-ranked Texas Longhorns in Week 1. Texas held a slim 29-24 lead going into the fourth quarter but the Terps got two scores on offense and held strong on defense for a shocking 34-29 upset at FedEx Field in Landover, MD.

While the final score of the game was surprising to most, the final box score was even more wild — specifically, their rushing stats. In total, the Terps had 11 different guys carry the ball for them during the game. That’s a lot of dudes, especially when you realize they only had 11 guys carry the ball all season in 2017. Additionally, the feature game of the day, Michigan at Notre Dame, had 11 ball carriers combined.

Against Texas, the Terps carried the ball 46 times while throwing it 34 times. On the ground, they averaged 3.1 yards per carry and had nine different Maryland players record multiple carries — including three receivers and two quarterbacks.

Sophomore running back Tayon Fleet-Davis earned the first carries of his college career and wound up leading the team with 31 yards on seven tries. Fleet-Davis also scored his first-ever collegiate touchdown on a sneaky handoff from redshirt freshman quarterback Kasim Hill. The leading rusher from Maryland’s last two seasons, Ty Johnson, had the most carries of anyone against Texas, finishing with 11 rushes for 30 yards. Johnson is the only Maryland player this decade to have a 1,000-yard season on the ground (1,004 in 2016).

It should also be noted that juniors Lorenzo Harrison III and Jake Funk combined for minus-4 yards on four carries. Both guys were a big part of Maryland football in 2016 and 2017, teaming up for 1,536 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Below is the complete rushing stats for Marylans’s win over Texas.

Week 1 Maryland Terrapins Rushing Stats

  1. Tayon Fleet-Davis (RB, Sophomore) 7 carries, 31 yards, TD
  2. Ty Johnson (RB, Senior) 11 carries, 30 yards
  3. Jeshaun Jones (WR, Freshman) 1 carry, 28 yards, TD
  4. Taivon Jacobs (WR, Senior) 6 carries, 23 yards
  5. Tyrrell Pigrome (QB, Sophomore) 3 carries, 12 yards
  6. DJ Turner (WR, Junior) 2 carries, 10 yards
  7. Kasim Hill (QB, Freshman) 6 carries, 10 yards
  8. Brian Cobbs (WR, Freshman) 1 carry, 3 yards
  9. Anthony McFarland (RB, Freshman) 2 carries, 3 yards
  10. Lorenzo Harrison III (RB, Junior) 2 carries, -2 yards
  11. Jake Funk (RB, Junior) 2 carries, -2 yards

Of course, we can’t talk about this game without talking about freshman wide receiver Jeshaun Jones. In the first half alone, Jones had a 28-yard touchdown run, a 65-yard touchdown reception, and a 20-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Taivon Jacobs. For the record, Jacobs also ran the ball six times.

To start the game, Maryland honored fallen teammate Jordan McNair by carrying his jersey to the coin-toss and leaving his spot on the offensive line open for their first offensive play. Texas did the honarable thing by declining the five-yard penalty. After the game, interim coach Matt Canada dedicated the win to McNair.

The Terps will travel to Bowling Green for their next game on September 8th at 6:00 P.M ET.