In a sentence: Maryland was favored to beat Morgan State by 38, and the Terps surpassed that spread in the second quarter. It was that type of demolition.
On the strength of five first half touchdown passes and a defense that gave up just 75 yards, Maryland demolished in-state FCS opponent Morgan State, 62-3. The 62 points is the most in the Ralph Friedgen era and is the most for the team since the Ford administration. The Terps rise to 2-0 on the year, equaling their win total of all of last year.
The demolition was unexpected, especially considering Maryland's propensity in recent years to come out flat against inferior opponents. Ultimately, this type of performance can't be made too much of (after all, Morgan didn't get in the endzone against Bowie State last week), but any type of destruction of this level is encouraging, no matter the opponent.
After a quiet game last week in which he was all but ignored, Torrey Smith had two touchdown receptions. In the absence of the Terps' starter at tight end, Matt Furstenburg made a statement with a two TD performance as well. Heck, even D.J. Adams got in on the act, with two touchdowns of his own in garbage time.
There will be a lot more coming up on this, especially because this was the only real important thing that can be taken from the game, but the QB controversy that was brewing was only inflamed once Danny O'Brien got himself in the game. Jamarr Robinson had two early TD passes and was 5-8 early on before throwing a terribly ugly interception and followed that up with a couple other ugly passes early on; when he left the game, he was 6-13 for 70 yards.
O'Brien got in and threw a touchdown with his first pass. On the next drive, he threw an incompletion, and then another touchdown. And then on the next drive, another touchdown. His first half passer rating was an insane 475.8. Halftime gave birth to wild imaginations and calls for a new starter.
O'Brien, who played one snap last week against Navy, wasn't as good in the second half, with a more mixed performance before leaving with an injury that looked more precautionary than scary. But he was confident and strong in the pocket, and it'll be tough to overlook the first half performance.
Of course, Morgan State is....Morgan State, and the performances will have to be evaluated later to draw any evaluations.
Some more coming tonight, lots more (plus grades, all of which will probably be "A"s) coming tomorrow.