The Maryland Terrapins opened the 2026 season in commanding fashion Saturday night, blanking the Hampton University Pirates 62-0 at SECU Stadium and marking the program’s first shutout victory since 2019.
“That feeling, the energy that you get from everyone around you is something you can’t… replicate,” said quarterback Malik Washington, “so just getting out here and feeling that energy from everybody was really good.”
The Terrapins leaned on a prolific run game, topping the board with 62 — their highest point total since 2021 — and a defense that kept the Pirates out of the end zone all night.
Meanwhile, they earned their 19th consecutive win against a non-conference opponent and extended their streak of season-opening victories against non-conference teams to 16.
The rushing attack, a major emphasis entering the season, quickly became the focal point of offensive coordinator Clint Trinkett’s program debut. Maryland finished the night with 365 yards accumulated on the ground and six rushing touchdowns.
Running back DeJaun Williams set the tone for the Terrapins, breaking the game open with a 94-yard touchdown run. This marked the second-longest rush in program history. The redshirt sophomore went on to post a career-high of 116 rushing yards and two touchdowns to end the night.
“We put a lot of emphasis on our ability to run the ball better,” said Maryland head coach Mike Locksley, “and watching DeJaun Williams throughout training camp, he’s a guy [who] was injured early in his career. In high school, he missed most of his senior year, had the [ACL surgery] … and I see the explosiveness back.”
Quarterback Malik Washington complemented the ground attack with 186 passing yards and a touchdown in his sophomore debut. He also reached 3,000 career passing yards in the season opener. Maryland accumulated 646 yards of offense, recording their highest game total since 2024.
The Terrapins’ defense showed its dominance, holding Hampton to 85 total yards, including 10 rushing yards, while recording five sacks and three interceptions. This set another milestone for the Maryland football program, holding a team to less than 100 yards for the first time since 2019.
The Maryland Terrapins will take their first trip of the season this week, traveling to Connecticut to face the UConn Huskies on Saturday at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field.
Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. and will air on CBS Network.
“[We’re] still a young team, but we’re no longer inexperienced,” Locksley said. “[The Maryland Terrapins] gained experience with how and what we’ve gone through. And so my perspective hasn’t changed. I feel pretty [strongly] that we have a good team. But at the end of the day, our work has to be louder than our words. [The team] has done the work so far.”
