COLLEGE PARK, Md. _ Years from now, Maryland football fans hope to look back to Saturday's season opener against Howard as the start of the program's turnaround under DJ Durkin. Who knows, maybe they'll say Durkin is the second coming of The Bear.
Facing a Football Championship Subdivision team that had been outscored by its two previous Football Bowl Subdivision opponents by a combined 125-0, the Terps built a 35-0 lead by halftime and rolled to a 52-13 victory at Maryland Stadium.
By halftime, Durkin found himself right behind the legendary Paul Bryant for the most points scored by his team in his debut. The Terps beat Guilford, 60-6, to open the 1945 season, the only one Bryant spent at Maryland.
Before an announced crowd of 35,474, Maryland scored the first four times it had possession and also turned a blocked punt deep in Bison territory into its first touchdown on such a play since 2014. The Terps amassed 521 yards on offense, including 317 yards rushing.
Redshirt senior quarterback Perry Hills, who became the first Terps quarterback to start three opening games since Brian Cummings (1995-97), completed his first 10 passes and finished the game 14-for-19 for 126 yards in a little over a half.
The opening-game victory was the seventh straight for the Terps, who now play their next two games on the road _ both in Florida. Maryland plays Florida International on Friday in Miami and plays Central Florida in Orlando on Sept. 17.
As sharp as Hills looked through his only series in the second half, Tyrrell Pigrome showed why it might be difficult for Durkin and offensive coordinator Walt Bell to keep the true freshman from Alabama off the field.
On his first series after replacing Hills, Pigrome stayed in the pocket to fire a 25-yard strike to wide receiver DeAndre Lane, then floated a perfect pass to the senior for another 25-yard gain to the Howard 5-yard line.
Both passes came on third-and-long situations.
After narrowly missing throwing his first touchdown pass when wide receiver Malcolm Culmer couldn't come down with the ball in the corner of the end zone, Pigrome executed a perfect fake handoff and ran five yards to help extend Maryland's lead to 42-0.
On his third series, Pigrome woke up the sleepy crowd.
It began with Pigrome rolling right in the pocket, then taking off. As a Howard defender seemed ready to take him down, Pigrome faked right, then left and ran for another 20 yards in what became a 25-yard run.
While he did look like a freshman at times _ missing fellow freshman Tino Ellis wide open in the end zone on a drive that ended with a 36-yard field goal by Adam Greene _ Pigrome will certainly give the Terps a different look than Hills.
Pigrome, who was replaced by fellow true freshman Max Bortenschlager midway through the fourth quarter, finished his debut completing four of six passes for 60 yards and rushing for 53 yards and a touchdown on seven carries.
The former three-star prospect who was the Gatorade Player of the Year in Alabama last year was not the only Maryland freshman to show some promise.
Running back Lorenzo Harrison picked up a team-high 67 yards, including a 10-yard touchdown, on nine carries. Fellow freshman running back Jake Funk scored his first as a Terp while finishing with 59 yards on eight carries.
Two late touchdowns by the Bison prevented Maryland from its first shutout win since a 37-0 victory over West Virginia in 2013. The game ended with Hills coming in for the final snap and taking a knee to cap off his third win in season openers in as many tries.
