Howard @ Maryland preview

The DJ Durkin era begins Saturday when Maryland hosts Howard for a non-conference game. This will be the first head coaching job for Durkin, who spent two seasons as the defensive coordinator at Florida and one at Michigan before taking over the Terrapins, who were 22-33 under former coach Randy Edsall.

Durkin's first order of business, aside from hitting the recruiting trail, was to settle on a starting quarterback, which he did last week by tabbing Perry Hills. The senior, who started eight games last season, spent time during the offseason working with former NFL quarterback and fellow Pennsylvania native Gus Frerotte and saw instant dividends. "I quickly realized how much better I was because of our time together," Hills told the media. "I felt stronger with the ball and I was more confident in the pocket." Hills threw for 1,001 yards and eight touchdowns, and ran for 535 yards last season including 170 yards at Ohio State - a team record for a quarterback. Durkin and the Terrapins have time to ease into the season as they face the Bison of Howard, an FCS team that finished 1-10 last season including a 76-0 loss to Boston College.

TV: Noon ET, Big Ten Network. LINE: None

ABOUT HOWARD (2015: 1-10): The Bison return their leading passer and rusher from last season in junior Kalen Johnson and sophomore Ricquaz Brannon. Johnson threw for 1,174 yards and eight touchdowns and Brannon totaled 341 yards on 101 carries for coach Gary Harrell, who made news by hiring a pair of former NFL players in Cato June and Brandon Torrey to coach on offense. June, a former linebacker who will serve as running backs coach, won the Super Bowl with the Indianapolis Colts in 2007 and Torrey, a former Howard offensive lineman, was a member of the New York Giant's Super Bowl winning team in 2008.

ABOUT MARYLAND (2015: 3-9): The running back position is a bit unsettled with the graduation of leading rusher Brandon Ross as senior Wes Brown, who finished third on the team in yards behind Ross and Hills last season, is suspended for the first three games because of a violation of team rules. That leaves listed starter Ty Johnson, who returns after averaging 7.1 yards per carry on 35 attempts, and Virginia Tech transfer Trey Edmunds, who carried the ball only 68 times over the last two seasons, to shoulder the load. This may require Hills to run a bit more in the high tempo offense of coordinator Walt Bell, whose Arkansas State team finished 12th in the nation in scoring last season at 40 points per game.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Hills throws to a receiving corps that includes seniors William Likely III, DeAndre Lane and Malcolm Culmer, but it's sophomore D.J. Moore who should have the biggest impact for the Terrapins following a 25-catch season as a freshman.

2. Durkin served as an interim head coach for one game, leading Florida to victory in the 2014 Birmingham Bowl in place of Will Muschamp.

3. Likely, who broke a 76-year-old Big Ten record with 233 punt return yards last season against Richmond, is listed as a starter on offense and defense (DB) for Maryland.

PREDICTION: Maryland 66, Howard 7