Syracuse Football Suffers Surprising Blowout Loss In Maryland

By Mike Adzima

CitrusTV Football Reporter

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — The Syracuse football team found itself down by two scores early in the first quarter on the road against Maryland. The Terps’ fast offense put the Orange defense on its heels from the start, and Syracuse (1-1, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) was never able to recover in what became a 63-20 blowout victory for Maryland (2-0, 0-0 Big Ten) on Sunday. 

Quarterback Tommy DeVito and the SU offense got off to yet another slow start, but things started looking up when DeVito led the Orange downfield on a 91-yard drive near the end of the first quarter. A nine-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Trishton Jackson capped off the drive, cutting Maryland’s lead to just one score. But, the Terps immediately bounced back, putting up two unanswered touchdowns in a row after that. 

Trishton Jackson had the best day of anybody on the Orange offense, catching seven passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns. The Michigan State transfer showed signs of becoming the go-to guy for DeVito, who threw for 330 yards, three touchdowns and turned the ball over twice on an interception and fumble. 

However, the dominance of the Maryland offense stole the show. Virginia Tech transfer Quarterback Josh Jackson contributed nearly 300 yards of the Terps’ 650 yards of total offense. Specifically, a major issue for the Orange defense was stopping the Terps on third down as Maryland converted on eleven of 15 third-down attempts.

“That is not indicative of our defense. We’re normally fantastic on third down,” said Syracuse head coach Dino Babers about his defense’s performance after the game. 

Maryland also had an absolute field day against the Orange defense on the ground, as the rushing attack for the Terps was firing on all cylinders. UMD had four different running backs rush for over 50 yards with Javon Leake leading the pack with seven carries for 107 yards and two touchdowns. 

Anthony McFarland Jr. led Maryland’s rushing attack in terms of workload with 14 carries. He finished third in the Terps’ backfield with 75 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. The sophomore also added two receptions for 45 yards and a touchdown in the air.

Overall, Babers took responsibility for not having his team properly ready and mentally prepared for Saturday’s road test, simply saying “We weren’t ready” after the game.

The Orange will need to quickly put this blowout in the rearview mirror as defending national champion Clemson come to Syracuse for its home opener next Saturday night.

@mikeadzima | mradzima@syr.edu