For the second straight week, the Maryland Terrapins found themselves down 14-0 at home. And for the second straight week, the Terps rallied off a streak of points to easily cruise past their opponents.
This time, Maryland scored 42 unanswered points against the Virginia Cavaliers, defeating their DMV rival, 42-14, on Friday night.
Maryland Rides Momentum, Defense to 42-14 Victory Over Virginia
It didn’t start off on the right foot for the Terps for the second straight week, but there may have been a wrinkle.
The Cavaliers made a surprising decision to start true freshman Anthony Colandrea instead of Tony Muskett, who was named the started and warmed up as such. They didn’t waste any time either as on their first offensive play from scrimmage, Virginia trotted Colandrea out and called a flea flicker that caught the Maryland defense off guard.
Colandrea connected with Malik Washington for 49 yards before Perris Jones capped the quick scoring drive with two carries for 16 yards and the game’s opening touchdown.
The hot start continued for the Cavaliers after forcing Maryland off the field following a missed 55-yard field goal. Colandrea seamlessly moved Virginia down the field with completions to Kobe Pace, Malachi Fields, and Malik Washington.
He then executed a terrific throw-back pass that caught Maryland’s secondary off guard for his second touchdown of the first quarter.
However, after a Braeden Wisloski kickoff return touchdown simmered Virginia’s sizzling start, Maryland rattled off 14 points to return it to a tie game just before the half.
Despite the feisty start for Virginia, the first-half numbers indicated just how close this game actually was. Both teams combined for 289 passing yards: 145 for Maryland and 144 for Virginia.
Second Half, Different Story for Virginia
The second half was a much different story, however, for all sides. Virginia’s offense couldn’t move the ball with much consistency. Maryland, on the other hand, found much success in the final two quarters on both sides of the ball.
Taulia Tagovailoa gave the Terps their first lead of the game on a 64-yard touchdown strike to Jeshaun Jones. Off a double move on the outside against man coverage, Jones created incredible separation with a nifty route and was wide open for the score.
Maryland took a 21-14 lead, and the air out of the UVA sails.
And if that wasn’t enough to deflate their hopes, Maryland CB Tarheeb Still perfectly undercut a corner route in the red zone to intercept Colandrea and thwart a scoring chance for the Cavaliers early in the fourth quarter.
Tagovailoa led a scoring drive the other way, with Roman Hemby cashing in for six points on a three-yard touchdown run.
Colandrea had a bit of an unlucky bounce on his very next pass attempt. He forced an outside throw into coverage and it bounced around multiple Maryland defenders before Donnell Brown intercepted it. Maryland needed two plays after that to score and increase their lead to 21 points.
Antwain Littleton II punched it in from two yards out to push the Terps’ lead to 35-14.
The freshman woes continued for Colandrea as he threw a third interception in as many pass attempts as frustrations set in for the Virginia squad. Tagovailoa and RB Colby McDonald put the game to bed with a quick scoring drive following the third takeaway of the second half for the Terrapins.
The Terps added a fumble recovery in garbage time as the dominant performance continued after their sluggish start.
Four different Maryland players scored touchdowns in the dominant performance from the Terps.
Tagovailoa finished the game with 342 yards passing on just 19 completions, while the rushing attack scored four of the team’s six touchdowns on the night.
Maryland is in action next on September 23 at Michigan State. Virginia heads back home for another Friday night game next week, hosting NC State on September 22.
Game Highlights
- Colandrea’s 1st down pass to Malik Washington on their second scoring drive was a thing of beauty. On a full roll to his right side, Colandrea spotted his secondary read at the intermediate level of the field and rifled a pass over underneath defenders and in front of the defenders over top.
He split the zone coverage on a dead sprint, squaring his shoulders, and powering a rocket past four Terrapins.
- Maryland KR Braeden Wisloski split the coverage unit and outran the Virginia special teams for a 98-yard kickoff return touchdown, single-handedly bringing the Terps back into the game when it felt like they had no life.
- Maryland LB Glendon Miller popped off the screen in the first half, perfectly diagnosing a swing pass and flying to the football on the perimeter. Miller blew up a promising play with his ability to knife through defenders and punish the ball carrier.
- Maryland CB Tarheeb Still undercut a corner route in the end zone, staying with his receiver underneath and intercepting a Colandrea pass that stopped a scoring chance for Virginia.
- Maryland TE Preston Howard went airborne on the go-ahead drive by Maryland, catching a short pass and leaping over a defender perfectly before he rumbled on for 33 more yards.