Upon Further Review: A look back at the Terps' win over Towson

Coming off of a huge road win over then-No. 23 Texas to open the season -- a win that included season-ending injuries to a pair of key starters -- most folks probably would not have been surprised to see a bit of a letdown in Week 2 as the Terps hosted FCS Towson in their home opener.

Instead, true freshman quarterback Kasim Hill came out firing in his first career start, completing 8-of-8 passes for 94 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the opening quarter, before finally throwing his first career incompletion early in the second. The Terps led 21-0 at the conclusion of the first quarter and at that point, the rout was on.

Below is a look at some of the keys to victory in the Terps’ home opening win over Towson.

Bowen’s Blockers

While the offensive line was solid in the run game last season, they often struggled in pass protection. This season has been another story, however.

Through two games, the Terps are 7th nationally in rushing yards per game (315 ypg) and 3rd nationally in rushing yards per carry (8.0 ypc).

But perhaps even more importantly, Maryland’s offensive line has only given up just three sacks through two games. This is a huge turnaround for a group that finished dead last in the Big Ten last season, giving up on average 3.5 sacks per game.

The addition of junior guard Sean Christie in the starting lineup has been a big positive for the unit. Christie and an improved Brendan Moore at center have been excellent in run blocking, as seen in the play below.

Another huge improvement along the offensive line has been the play of starting left tackle Derwin Gray. After some struggles a year ago, Gray is firmly entrenched at the left tackle spot and is playing with improved effort on a consistent basis and finishing off blocks, as seen below.

Perhaps the biggest reason for the Terps’ improvement along the offensive line, though, is the addition of Tyler Bowen to the staff. A former Terps offensive lineman himself, Bowen spent last season as the offensive coordinator at Fordham, leading one of the top offenses in the FCS. The O-line unit has thrived under his tutelage and each player seems to have really taken to his style of coaching. Look for the line as a unit to continue to improve as the season goes on.

Fear the Freshman

Opening the season on the road against a nationally ranked Texas squad, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the Terps only played two true freshmen, both seeing action after a starter ahead of them was lost for the game due to injury.

Towson, however, was a different story. The Terps got up early and put the Tigers away in the third quarter. This led to more true freshmen getting an opportunity to play in Week 2. Along with Kasim Hill and Bryce Brand, who both played at Texas, Javon Leake, Tahj Capehart, Kenny Bennett, Marcus Minor, Johnny Jordan, Jordan McNair and Sean Nelson all saw the field against Towson.

Leake, in particular, had a stellar debut at running back, breaking off a 61-yard TD run and finishing with 78 yards on four carries.

It was a true freshman running back that did not play, however, that seemed to be an even bigger story. Former DeMatha star Anthony McFarland did not see any action and head coach DJ Durkin was quick to address why following the game.

"Anthony [McFarland] is not 100 percent yet," Durkin said after the game. "He's still recovering and he didn't play a snap last of football last year. That guy grinds at practice and had the best two to three weeks at practice since he's been here. He will be great, All-American type of player here one day. He's just not 100 percent healthy right now so that's why he wasn't used in the game."

After having to play 17 true freshmen a season ago, the Terps definitely appear to be trending in the right direction when it comes to overall talent and depth in Durkin's second year.

Brooks a big playmaker for Terps

Last week it was a field goal block returned for a touchdown. This week it was a spectacular interception in the third quarter.

Many might be asking: what’s the biggest difference between last year’s Terps defense and this year’s seemingly much improved unit? The answer appears to be sophomore NICKEL Antoine Brooks.

For the second straight week, Brooks was all over the field on defense. Whether lining up inside the box or on the outside in coverage, Brooks seems to always be around the football.

After the game, teammates praised Brooks as one of the most instinctual players on defense and as someone who just enjoys playing the game. He’s been fun to watch flying around on the field through two games and according to Durkin, he’s just starting to learn the position after not being moved there full time until the start of fall camp.

Look for the defense to continue to improve as Brooks continues to grow into his role as starting NICKEL.

Quick hits:

- Senior Georgetown graduate transfer kicker Henry Darmstadter replaced Adam Greene on Saturday and was a perfect 9-for-9 on extra point attempts.

Said Durkin on Darmstadter: “Henry’s done a great job in practice and he’s earned that job. He’s done well on extra points, he even banked one in which is hard to do. That was good by him. He’s certainly a guy who we think can help us and he’s a guy we’re counting on. We’ll keep those guys competing and that’s going to be a big part of our game at some point. It hasn’t affected us yet but it certainly will so we have to be ready when it does.”

- If you were wondering who that was wearing No. 52 on Saturday, it was walk-on sophomore defensive lineman Oluwaseun Oluwatimi. After the Terps were called for a penalty at Texas for having two players in the game both wearing No. 57, Oluwatimi has permanently changed his jersey number to 52 for the remainder of the season. He finished with one tackle against Towson.