NCAAF Game Preview - Syracuse at Maryland
Sat Sep 7, 2019 12:00 PM EDT

TxAM
10
Clem
24
F
NMS
10
Bama
62
F
Murr
17
UGA
63
F
SD
14
Okla
70
F
Cin
0
OSU
42
F
LSU
45
Tex
38
F
Army
21
Mich
24
F(1OT)
Tul
6
Aub
24
F
UT-M
0
Fla
45
F
NIU
17
Utah
35
F
Cal
20
Wash
19
F
Buff
13
PSU
45
F
NEV
6
Oreg
77
F
C Mi
0
Wisc
61
F
UCF
48
FlAtl
14
F
WestMI
17
MSU
51
F
Rut
0
Iowa
30
F
Syr
20
MD
63
F
NoCol
17
WaSt
59
F
Stan
20
USC
45
F
Marsh
7
Boise
14
F
Neb
31
Colo
34
F OT
Wake
41
Rice
21
F
W&M
17
UVA
52
F
SacSt
7
AzSt
19
F
Ohio
10
Pitt
20
F
(N/A)
23
Kent
26
F
WVU
7
MIZ
38
F
Sou
24
Mem
55
F
BGSU
0
K St
52
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OD
17
VaTec
31
F
ChaSo
10
SCar
72
F
Vand
24
Purd
42
F
UAB
31
Akr
20
F
WCU
0
NCSt
41
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SoFL
10
GATec
14
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Ford
29
Ball
57
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TnTec
17
MiaOH
48
F
SMiss
15
MissSt
38
F
Gram
14
LT
20
F
SIU
45
UMass
20
F
E Il
0
Ind
52
F
Ill
31
UConn
23
F
Rich
13
BC
45
F
UNCC
41
App
56
F
WIl
13
ColSt
38
F
UTSA
14
Bayl
63
F
SDSU
23
UCLA
14
F
ULMon
44
FlaSt
45
F OT
StFPA
7
JMU
44
F
Maine
18
GaSo
26
F
GWebb
9
ECU
48
F
NCAT
13
Duke
45
F
(N/A)
0
SamHu
77
F
Furm
42
GASt
48
F
Chat
20
JacSt
41
F
Wyo
23
TxSt
14
F
JacSt
14
SoAl
37
F
NorTx
27
SMU
49
F
McNee
14
OkSt
56
F
TnSt
26
MidTN
45
F
CoCar
12
Kans
7
F
BYU
29
Tenn
26
F(1OT)
E Ky
0
Lou
42
F
W Ky
20
FLInt
14
F
Stony
7
UtSt
62
F
Ark
17
Miss
31
F
Lib
14
ULLaf
35
F
E Mi
17
KY
38
F
UTEP
3
TxTch
38
F
PVAM
17
Hou
37
F
MiaFL
25
UNC
28
F
Tuls
34
SJSU
16
F
ArkSt
43
UNLV
17
F
MIN
38
Fres
35
F(1OT)
NoAZ
41
Ariz
65
F
OreSt
28
Hawaii
31
F
Syracuse-Maryland Preview
Fri Sep 6, 2019 9:58 AM

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) It's time to find out just how good is Maryland, and for Syracuse to prove it belongs in the Top 25.

Scoring at will against an overmatched opponent, the Terrapins launched their first season under coach Michael Locksley last weekend with an attention-grabbing 79-0 rout of Howard.

For an encore, Maryland will seek to knock off No. 21 Syracuse on Saturday.

"It will be a good gauge, playing against a ranked team that won 10 games last year," said Terps quarterback Josh Jackson, who threw four touchdown passes in his Maryland debut.

The Orangemen opened with a methodical 24-0 victory at Liberty. Their goal this week is to climb in the rankings and gain some momentum for next week's matchup with No. 1 Clemson.

Coach Dino Babers knows it would be foolish to look past the Terrapins, who last year went 5-7 under interim coach Matt Canada but gave mighty Ohio State a scare before falling in overtime.

"We're playing a Big Ten football team. The last time I saw this team on TV they had a different head coach, different coaches and I thought they were about to beat Ohio State," Babers said. "That's how good their personnel is, and I don't feel like they've lost that much personnel."

Quite the opposite. Locksley has used the transfer portal to add talent, most notably Jackson, a transfer from Virginia Tech who last week helped Maryland score a school-record 56 points in the first half.

In addition, two new linebackers keyed a defense that limited Howard to 68 yards. Ohio State transfer Keandre Jones registered four tackles and 1 1/2 sacks, and former Clemson star Shaq Smith had three tackles and a sack.

"They've reloaded with a lot of fantastic players," Babers said. "We've got our hands full and we're playing them at their place."

Some more things to know about the first Syracuse-Maryland matchup since 2014:

COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN

Jackson's debut at Maryland went far better than Tommy DeVito's first game as Syracuse's starting quarterback.

DeVito went 17 for 35 for 176 yards and two interceptions. Part of the issue was sub-par communication between a new quarterback and a receiving corps that was banged up during preseason camp, an issue that shouldn't be a problem on Saturday.

"This is guys being hurt, not hurt, not in and throwing off the timing in the passing game," Babers said.

TURNOVERS KEY

Both defenses specialize in bothering the quarterback and forcing turnovers.

Syracuse had eight sacks and two interceptions against Liberty, and the Terrapins had eight sacks and a fumble recovery last week.

The Orangemen have forced a turnover in 15 straight games, the fourth-longest streak in the nation, and Maryland is just behind at 13 in a row.

MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE

Regarding his team's so-so performance on offense last week, Syracuse linebacker Lakiem Williams said, "I feel like every offense kind of starts off slow in the beginning of the season. They've got new receivers out there, a new o-line. Once they find their groove, I feel like they'll pick up."

Maybe so, but Maryland amassed 623 yards behind with Jackson, three sophomores on the offensive line and receiver Dontay Demus Jr., who had 100 yards receiving and two touchdown catches in his first college start.

ROAR OF THE CROWD

Lagging attendance has been an issue at Maryland in the past, and the crowd of 32,761 for Locksley's debut on a gorgeous afternoon was a bit of a disappointment.

Locksley hopes more people in the stadium will give the Terrapins a true home-field advantage.

"It's important to try to get a crowd there," the coach said. "You know, when you play in tight, hard-fought games, the crowd becomes a factor. We hope that we can continue to get people interested in coming out to the shell to watch us play."

A win over Syracuse in Maryland's final non-conference home game can only help generate interest in a team with four straight losing seasons.

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AP Sports Writer John Kekis contributed to this story.

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More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and http://www.twitter.com/AP-Top25

Team Record Comparison

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