COLLEGE PARK — DJ Durkin's first game as Maryland's new head football coach was an intimate affair, the sparser-than-announced crowd of 35,474 befitting a game between the new-look Terps and Howard that featured a 50-point betting line in Vegas.
Everyone knew this was going to be something of a walk-over for the Terps and their new coach. The Bison lost to their only two FBS opponents (Boston College and Appalachian State) last year by 125 points combined and there was no reason to expect anything but a lopsided win in Durkin's debut.
Not that Saturday's 52-13 victory was part of some grand plan to get this new era of Maryland football off to an impressive start. This game was scheduled during the Randy Edsall era, so it was more like a nice cookie left on the mantle for the new guy to enjoy while he's getting comfortable in his new digs.
Durkin could not have asked for much more from his first game as a full-time college head coach except maybe some slightly better competition.
"I'm very pleased with our guys, the way they approached the whole game," Durkin said. "We had a good workmanlike attitude in the hotel this morning and the walkthrough. They had that look about them of being ready to go and I think we came out and played that way. We started fast in all three phases and just really executed the game plan well."
Durkin has coached in a lot of football games, but he acknowledged after the game that his first time on the sidelines with his own major college team was a new and exciting experience.
"It was different," Durkin said. "It's good trying to stay wired into the whole football game. Usually, as a [defensive] coordinator on one side of the ball, you don't even see half the game. When the offense is out there, you don't know what's going on. I didn't see any of the plays. Obviously now, you're taking in everything. … It was great. I enjoyed it. We have a great staff and I thought everybody communicated really well. That's a big thing."
Still, it had to be tough to get a real feel for how competitive this Terps team is going to be since the Bison had no answer for anything that starting quarterback Perry Hills and the first-string offense tried to do in the first half. And you can be sure that Durkin didn't reveal much of his offensive scheme with back-to-back FBS nonconference road games coming up in Florida.
What this was was a confidence builder for a developing team that is coming off the kind of season that generally gets you a new head coach.
Hills ran the offense efficiently in his first chance to prove that he has reinvented himself as a dependable, low-risk quarterback, and Durkin got a look at freshmen quarterbacks Tyrrell Pigrome and Max Bortenschlager in the second half. The Terps' running attack produced 315 yards and six touchdowns, though — again — there was no way to gauge just how much the offensive line was tested by a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference team whose only victory last season came against Savannah State.
Durkin is known for his upbeat, high-energy style of coaching, but he was not particularly animated on the sideline. There was no reason to be during a workmanlike performance by his team that didn't contain an ounce of suspense. Frankly, there was more intrigue in the Ravens' public workouts at M&T Bank Stadium four weeks ago.
That wasn't a bad thing. The Terps checked all the boxes they could check in a nonconference opener against a badly overmatched team. They executed their offense. They didn't make any egregious mistakes on defense. And, most important of all, they marched over the Bison without sustaining so much as a hangnail.
The only blemish on Durkin's day was the necessity to hold defensive back JC Jackson out of the game for unspecified academic reasons.
Now, it's time get ready for some real college football. The Terps have a short practice week before facing Florida International on Friday night in Miami. They also play in Florida the following week before opening the Big Ten schedule at home against Purdue on Oct. 1.
Both of the remaining nonconference games are considered quite winnable and so is the Big Ten opener against the Boilermakers. So, it's conceivable that the Terps could start the season 4-0 and put themselves in good position to become bowl eligible before they run into the beasts of the Big Ten East in November.
Of course, that's a long way off. Durkin just got his first victory at Maryland and he got to enjoy just about every minute of it.
He didn't hesitate when asked what he would most remember about the first game of his head coaching career.
"The moment is easy," Durkin said. "The moment is in the locker room with the guys, after the win singing the fight song. That's a great one, for sure. The look on their faces. … That's what you do it for. That's what it's all about."
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Read more from columnist Peter Schmuck on his blog, "The Schmuck Stops Here" at baltimoresun.com/schmuckblog.