Maryland Football: Five takeaways from nonconference play

Sep 3, 2016; College Park, MD, USA; Maryland Terrapins running back Trey Edmunds (9) scores a first quarter touchdown against the Howard Bisons at Byrd Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 3, 2016; College Park, MD, USA; Maryland Terrapins running back Trey Edmunds (9) scores a first quarter touchdown against the Howard Bisons at Byrd Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 6
Next
Sep 17, 2016; Orlando, FL, USA; Maryland Terrapins quarterback Perry Hills(11) throws a warm up pass before a football game against the UCF Knights at Bright House Networks Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 17, 2016; Orlando, FL, USA; Maryland Terrapins quarterback Perry Hills(11) throws a warm up pass before a football game against the UCF Knights at Bright House Networks Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports /

The biggest issue of the 2015 season was by far the turnovers.

Maryland quarterbacks threw 29 interceptions, which was the most in the entire nation. The bulk of the damage was done by Perry Hills and Caleb Rowe.

During the first three games of this season, the Terps have committed zero turnovers and that’s one of the big reasons that they have a 3-0 record.

Hills has seemed like a different quarterback in offensive coordinator Walt Bell’s system. He has run the ball quite a bit, but he also has been extremely efficient from a passing standpoint.

He hasn’t taken many chances and is just playing within himself. The senior signal caller has also had the running game to lean on, which has taken a great deal of the pressure away.

Utilizing the running game on early downs has made third down a lot more manageable if it gets to that point.

Winning the turnover battle is a huge step in winning football games. While it’s not the deciding factor, Maryland isn’t shooting themselves in the foot like they did so many times last season.