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Maryland Terps Open The Season With Dominant 62-0 Victory Over Hampton Pirates
Updated: Sep 7
The Maryland Terps opened the 2026 season in dominant fashion Saturday night, blowing past the Hampton Pirates 62-0 at SECU Stadium. The 62 points were Maryland's most in a game since 2021, as a breakout rushing performance and suffocating defensive effort powered the Terps to their 19th consectutive win against a non-conference opponent.
The victory also extended Maryland's streak to 16 consecutive season-opening wins against non-conference performances, and delivered their first shutout performance since 2019.
Maryland's run game, a major focus entering the season, immediately become the difference-maker in offensive coordinator Clint Trinkett's first game with the program. The Terps finished the night rushing for 365 yards and six touchdowns, marking the program's most impressive single game totals in recent seasons.
Running back Dejaun Williams delivered the early spark with a 94-yard touchdown run, marking the second-longest rush in program history. The redshirt sophomore finished the night with a career-high of 116 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Iverson Howard added 66 yards and two touchdowns to the Terps outstanding ground performance. This marked Maryland's first game with two players recording mutiple touchdown performances since 2023.
Quarterback Malik Washington opened his sophomore season with a solid performance throwing for 186 yards and one touchdown, while reaching a milestone of 3,000 career passing yards. The Terps' offense finished the night recording 646 yards of total offense, the team's most offensive yardage in a game since 2024.
While the offense was nothing short of exciting, the defense was just as dominant. Maryland held Hampton to 85 yards, including 10 rushing yards, while recording five sacks and three interceptions. Messiah Delhomme pick off two passes, while Jayden Shipps grabbed another, as the Terps limited the Pirates six first downs. The Terps' defensive dominance continued with another milestone, as Maryland held Hampton to fewer than 100 yards for the first time since 2019.
Maryland will look to build off this momentum against another non-conference opponent next week. The Terps will travel to Conneticuit to take on the UConn Huskies on Saturday Sept. 12 at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field. Kickoff is set for 3:30pm and will air on CBS Network.
