The UConn football team showed it still has a ways to go as it began the 2024 season with a 50-7 loss at Maryland in College Park on Saturday.

Quarterback Nick Evers, making his first college start, wasn’t able to get on the same page with his receivers. The redshirt sophomore was sidelined in the third quarter after a late hit caused his helmet to fly off, and never returned. He finished his debut having completed 6 of 17 passes for 73 yards and an interception.

There was a bright spot for the Huskies in Skyler Bell, who was on the receiving end of a number of dynamic plays through the air.

The Wisconsin transfer made a one-handed catch on a 37-yard pass from Evers in the first quarter and, after the late hit on Evers in the third, caught passes for 35 and 36 yards from backup Joe Fagnano. He finished the game with 141 yards on five catches.

Fagnano, who played out the rest of the game, denied the shutout and found Purdue transfer TJ Sheffield for a 27-yard score at the end of the third quarter. He finished 8-for-16 with 149 yards, a touchdown and an interception. UConn’s running game, led by 34 yards from Durell Robinson, only managed 88 yards on 30 attempts.

Maryland, which announced a crowd of 35,421 for its home opener, claimed all momentum from the start.

The Huskies’ defense, which was without lineman Pryce Yates (possible concussion) and safeties Malik Dixon-Williams (hand) and Rante Jones (missed first half due to targeting in final game of 2023 season), allowed consecutive chunk plays on the ground to start the game.

Maryland’s dual-threat QB Billy Edwards Jr. found Tai Felton down the seam for an 18-yard TD pass to start the scoring. A quick offensive possession led to the first punt of Connor Stutz’ UConn career, which landed inside the 10-yard line. But the field position was no issue for the Terps, who moved 92 yards down the field and scored on a 48-yard run from Nolan Ray, who broke a few tackles on his way to the endzone.

UConn allowed 131 rushing yards in the opening quarter while Maryland’s Edwards was a perfect 7-for-7 with 66 yards and a TD through the air. Meanwhile, on UConn’s sideline, Evers had yet to complete a pass.

The Huskies’ offense had its fair share of blunders, even as the defense started to settle in after the first quarter.

After forcing back-to-back punts, center Wes Hoeh snapped the ball prematurely and shut down an opportunity for the offense to convert on third down, forcing Stutz back out to punt from the back of the end zone. Short field position, despite a decent stop by UConn’s defense, allowed for the first of three Maryland field goals in the second quarter.

The Huskies followed a missed field goal with an interception before halftime. There was another interception and a muffed punt after the break.

The Huskies also had two players disqualified for targeting in the game. Linebacker Jordan Wright earned the call in the second quarter, leading to a field goal, and Jones was flagged in the fourth, causing him to miss more time next week.

Maryland went into halftime up 23-0 and moved quickly down the field again after the break with a pair of long completions to Felton. Roman Hemby, who had 66 yards on the ground, went four into the endzone to make it 30-0.

After completing his first deep pass to Bell, Fagnano fired behind and off the shoulder pads of Victor Rosa, causing the ball to deflect into the arms of a Maryland defender for the Huskies’ second interception of the game. UConn did manage to get a stop and a score before the end of the quarter with Sheffield running a good route to get open.

Maryland responded immediately with a 75-yard touchdown pass from Edwards to Felton. Third-string quarterback Cameron Edge made it 43-7 after another score through the air, and the Terps’ backups tacked on another touchdown on the ground to get to 50.

Edwards Jr. finished the game with 20 completions on 27 attempts for 311 yards and two TDs, while running five times for 39 yards. Felton, an all-Big 10 receiver last season, made seven catches for 178 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

UConn (0-1) will host FCS Merrimack at Rentschler Field on Saturday as it looks for its first win of the season.