Preview: Maryland football set for Friday night lights vs. Northern Illinois

diggsreport
Sep 4
3 min read

Maryland (1-0, 0-0 B1G) vs. NIU (1-0, 0-0 MAC)

When: Friday, September 5 | Noon

Where: SECU Stadium

Watch: BTN - Joe Beninati, Matt Millen, Kylen Mills

Listen: 105.7 FM (Balt) / 980 AM (DC) - Johnny Holliday, Steve Suter, LaMont Jordan

Betting: Maryland -16.5 / O/U: 46.5 (DraftKings)

Following a 39-7 blowout of FAU in week one, Maryland football remains in College Park for a Friday night matchup against Northern Illinois in week two, a chance to extend nation’s longest non-conference game-winning streak to 17 games while allowing 30 points or fewer in every game.

Saturday marks the fourth all-time meeting and third in College Park between the two teams, but this will also be the first contest between Maryland and Northern Illinois since the Terps opened the 2004 season with a 23-20 win in College Park.

Northern Illinois is coming off a 19-17 win vs. Holy Cross to open the 2025 season as head coach Thomas Hammock returns just 23% of the production from his team that won a program-record eight games in 2024. Northern Illinois hasn’t deviated from their offensive approach under Hammock after dominating in the run game in week one, the 16^th time in 17 games that they’ve attempted 40 or more rush attempts.

While the front seven will look to shine for Maryland in week two, all eyes are on the offense following the debut of freshman quarterback Malik Washington. The former four-star quarterback was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week after throwing for 258 yards and three touchdowns.

“That maturity showed up when you start off 1-for-8 but you had three drops too. So we got to help him. A run game would help him as well. And I saw a young quarterback really put it on himself to deliver some great throws,” head coach Mike Locksley said on Tuesday.

What does he have in store for fans in his second career start? He might have his first test of the season, as Northern Illinois only gave up 218 yards of total offense to Holy Cross. Linebacker Quinn Urweiler and safety Muhammed Jammeh lead this defense. Urweiler led the team in tackles with ten and added a tackle for loss and a half sack. Jammeh, meanwhile, had seven tackles and a pass defended.

While Maryland’s offense scored three touchdowns in the second quarter of week one, it was the defense that got the scoring started with a Daniel Wingate pick-six, the first of six interceptions. Wingate was named a standout performer by ESPN’s EJ Manuel, leading a defense that caused trouble for FAU all game. His playmaking will come in handy as Huskies’ running back Chavon Wright rushed for seven yards a carry in week one. One notable development to watch was the presence of a pass rush, an area where Maryland has struggled with consistency. True Freshmen Sidney Stewart and Zahir Mathis were a problem all game. Mathis was the cause of the Wingate pick-six with a hit that interrupted the path of the ball. Stewart’s first career college sack resulted in a safety that started the scoring rally for Maryland in the second quarter. While Northern Illinois’ passing game didn’t do much, only 109 yards through the air against Holy Cross, receiver DeAree Rodgers was responsible for 73 of those yards on seven catches.

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