Preview: Syracuse Faces Another Road Test at Maryland

#21 SYRACUSE (1-0) AT MARYLAND (1-0)
Game Details: 12 p.m. | Saturday, Sep. 7
Location: College Park, Md. | Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium
Game Links: Tickets | Listen | Watch | Live Stats
Television: ESPN
Radio: Syracuse Sports Network from Learfield IMG College
Twitter: @CuseFootball | @Cuse
Syracuse Links: News | Roster | Schedule | Stats | Notes
Maryland Links: News | Roster | Schedule | Stats | Notes

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – No. 21 Syracuse (1-0) hits the road for the second consecutive week to take on Big Ten opponent and old rival Maryland (1-0) on Saturday, Sep. 7.

Saturday's game will be nationally televised on ESPN, with Mark Jones, Dusty Dvoracek and Olivia Dekker on the call.

Neither team allowed a point in their opening game. The Orange shut out Liberty 24-0 in its campaign starter and the Terps beat Howard, 79-0. They are two of five FBS teams who have not been scored upon in 2019.

The Orange moved up to No. 21 in this week's Associated Press Top 25 and remained at No. 22 in the Amway Coaches Poll.

Syracuse is looking to extend their winning streak to four games dating back to last season.

OUT OF THE GATES
The Orange won its sixth straight season opener at Liberty last Saturday and is looking for a 2-0 start for the second consecutive season under head coach Dino Babers.

Syracuse has not opened with two straight true road games since 2010 and have not won their first two games away from home (including neutral sites) since 1999, when the Orange won back-to-back road contests at Toledo (35-12) and Pitt (24-17).

SERIES HISTORY
Saturday's game is the 37th all-time meeting between Syracuse and Maryland. The Orange lead the series 19-15-2, including a 9-6-2 record in games played in College Park. It's the first meeting between the programs since 2014, and only the third meeting since the turn of the century.

The Orange and Terps squared off in all but three seasons (1979, 1980, 1986) between 1965 and 1988, and the two teams spent one season together in the ACC in 2013. Syracuse has won five of the last six pairings.

ADAMS FINDS THE END ZONE
In his two games for the Orange, redshirt junior Abdul Adams has rushed for three touchdowns. Adams scored two touchdowns in his Syracuse debut at the Camping World Bowl last season, and punched in the team's first touchdown of 2019 last Saturday at Liberty.

Adams' three Syracuse TDs have come on 22 attempts, or one score every 7.33 rushes. For perspective, Adams had one ground TD in 19 games during his two seasons at Oklahoma.

Adams hails from Landover, Maryland, which is approximately 20 minutes from College Park.

SACK ATTACK
The Orange and the Terps both posted eight sacks in their season openers, a mark that ranks second nationally after Week 1. Florida (10) is the only school who registered more. Syracuse's eight sacks were one shy of the program record of nine, which came most recently in a 2009 win over Rutgers.

The Orange saw seven different players credited with at least a half a sack against Liberty. Defensive end Kendall Coleman picked up where he left off last season with two sacks. Nose tackle Josh Black (2.0 sacks) and linebacker Lakiem Williams (1.5) both had career days.

Since the start of the 2018 season, Syracuse has the second-most sacks per game (3.64) among FBS teams. Only Penn State (3.86) has more.

TAKETH AWAY
Syracuse turned Liberty over four times in Week 1 and turned the miscues into 10 points. The Orange own a current streak of 15 consecutive games with a takeaway dating back to the 2017 finale versus Boston College. It is the fourth-longest active takeaway streak in the nation and longest current streak in the ACC. Maryland's streak of games with a takeaway sits at 13, which is ties for fifth in the nation.

1. Indiana – 19
2. Houston – 18
3. Mississippi State – 17
4. Syracuse – 15
5. Maryland – 13
Miami (Fla.) – 13

SCOUTING THE TERPS
Maryland is 1-0 after dominating Howard 79-0 in its season opener. The victory was the first of the Mike Locksley era. Locksley returned to College Park (where he previously served as offensive coordinator from 2012-15) after three years on the Alabama staff under Nick Saban.

Quarterback Josh Jackson, who transferred from Virginia Tech, debuted for the Terps by throwing for 245 yards and four TDs against Howard. Jackson spread the ball around, with 10 different receivers catching passes. Wide receiver Dontay Demus Jr. (100 yards), wide receiver Brian Cobbs (58), and wide receiver Darryl Jones (57) all went over 50 yards thanks to big plays in the passing game.

Running Tayon Fleet-Davis and Jake Funk handled the bulk of the carries, combining for 28 rushing attempts and 158 yards in the opener.

Defensively, Maryland joined Syracuse as one of five teams to post a shutout in their opening game. The Terps and the Orange are also tied for second nationally with eight sacks. Defensive End Keandre Jones led the way for the Terps in that category with 1.5 against Howard. The defense as a whole spent much of the day in the Bison backfield as 15 different players collected a tackle for a loss.

UP NEXT
After two weeks on the road, Syracuse returns to the Dome for three straight home games. The Orange being the stretch on Saturday, Sept. 14 when they square of against ACC rival and defending national champion Clemson in the home opener. Kickoff against the Tigers is set for 7:30 p.m. on ABC.

Season and single-game tickets are on sale now online (Cuse.com/tickets), by phone (888-DOME-TIX) or in person at the Dome Box Office located in the Ensley Athletic Center. Season tickets start at $125.

Syracuse's single-game ticket allotment for the Clemson game is sold out. The only way to guarantee a seat to watch the Orange and Tigers is through the purchase of a season ticket.

For complete coverage of Syracuse football, follow us on Twitter (@CuseFootball), Instagram (@CuseFootball) and like us on Facebook (Syracuse Football).

Preview: Syracuse Faces Another Road Test at Maryland

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Players Mentioned

Abdul Adams

Josh Black

Kendall Coleman

Lakiem Williams

Syracuse University Athletics