BURG Sports Network

Maryland Head Coach Michael Locksley opening statement: “I was pleased today with the way the team started quickly. I’d like to attribute it to our fans. Got to give our fans a big thanks for getting out there early and really inspiring our team. It felt good to see that student section packed and I know our guys really enjoy seeing that lower bowl filled the way it is and I hope we continue to be able to create that type of advantage when we play at home. “We were, fortunately, able to start quickly. We got a good three and out on defense and then offensively, we were able to go out and score down quick. We keep stressing that starting fast is really important for us in all three phases for us to get a good start and then finish faster and we did that. I was happy with the offensive execution early in the game. As we got into the third quarter, we got in a little lull because we slowed down the tempo. We were trying to cut some of the plays of the defense we were trying to play and that's not something we're good on yet. It was good to work on slowing our tempo down because we have to make sure we are playing complementary football. They got maybe 70 or 80 plays themselves today, so that was a lot of plays and we need to be able to slow the tempo and control the tempo of the game on the offensive side of the ball. The execution was sloppy in the third quarter, but I was happy to see us win the fourth quarter. When you have a running back room like we have, it’s just great to be able to finish games with guys like Tayon Fleet-Davis and Jake Funk and those guys that were able to come in and finish the game in the fourth quarter. Third down was good for us on the offensive side of the ball. it was really important and we keep talking about football IQ and situational football and I think our guys are starting to get it. We were eight-for-eight for touchdowns in the RedZone, 11 for 15 in third-down situations and those are good things. That's how we want to play and obviously we got the 24-hour rule in effect. These guys can enjoy it. We had a great opportunity to play a ranked team here at home and to come out with a win today. Really proud of our guys and we ride them really hard during the course of the week. We strive for excellence in our execution and the thing we ask each guy for is the best version of themselves every time they come out and that collectively gives our team the best chance to be successful.”