Maryland football opened its season on the right foot, taking down Buffalo, 31-10, in the first game of its 2022 campaign. The Terps had a noticeable talent advantage over the Bulls, so despite mistakes, they were able to come away with an easy win.

Now 1-0 on the season, Maryland will travel to play at Charlotte on Saturday in what appears to be the easiest game on its schedule. The 49ers have lost their two games by a combined 47 points, included a 17-point home loss against FCS opponent William & Mary.

With week one in the rear-view mirror, let’s take a look at how each of Maryland’s position groups fared in their first game of the season.

Quarterback

Taulia Tagovailoa’s statistical performance against Buffalo was fine — nothing glaringly disappointing but also nothing to write home about. He went 24-for-34 with 290 passing yards and an interception on an avoidable overthrown ball over the middle to Corey Dyches. On multiple occasions, Tagovailoa also threw balls in dangerous areas that led to his receivers taking big hits and vastly underthrew Tai Felton on a deep ball downfield that could’ve been a touchdown. That being said, he also had moments where he led the Terps’ offense on clinical drives and provided glimpses of the talent he possesses.

Tagovailoa was not at his sharpest against Buffalo but did enough to move the ball down the field. He was helped, however, by the effectiveness of Maryland’s running game — something that likely won’t be entirely replicable against Big Ten opponents — and will need to be better with decision-making and execution as the season continues and the Terps face better, more opportunistic defenses. As the game went on, Tagovailoa’s play improved, making it reasonable to believe that some of the missed chances earlier in the game could be chalked up to early-season rust.

Grade: C+

Running backs

On the offensive side of the ball, Maryland’s running backs were the most impressive group on the field…