Maryland will look to turn the page this weekend when they hit the road for the first road game of the 2024 season, taking on former ACC and regional rival Virginia in a rematch of last season’s nonconference matchup.
Led by third-year head coach Tony Elliott, Virginia will look to move to 3-0 for the first time since 2019 after the ‘Hoos came back to defeat Wake Forest, 31-30, on Saturday night. Maryland will look to extend its three-game win streak against Virginia when they travel to Charlottesville for an 8 PM kickoff. We take a look at how Virginia stakes up in the early look at this week’s matchup:
Offense
Key Players: QB Anthony Colandrea, RB Kobe Pace, WR Malachi Fields
Points: 32.5 ppg
Passing: 327 ypg
Rushing: 136.5 ypg
Turnovers: 1.5 per game
Colandrea is in his second season as a starter for Virginia who won the job last season as a true freshman. Last season, Colandrea went 23-of-39 for 263 yards and a touchdown, however also finished the game with three interceptions, as well as three sacks and a fumble. After Virginia took an early 14-0 lead in last year’s matchup, Colandrea found himself scrambling outside of the pocket much more which is when the Terps’ defense was able to capitalize to force turnovers. Through two weeks, Colandrea has gone 50-of-66 for 654 yards and five touchdowns. However, Colandrea has also thrown two interceptions and been sacked three times this season. The key to the game to contain Colandrea will be the same as last season where limiting his dual-threat ability forces the ‘Hoos offense into a more one-dimensional look.
A big part of that is due to a lack of success running the ball as Virginia sits in the middle of the pack in the ACC through two weeks. Kobe Pace leads the team in rushing with just 107 yards on the ground as they’ve leaned heavily on the passing attack through two weeks. Pace, however, is a massive threat out of the backfield to catch the ball as well. In their two games this season, Pace is third on the team in receptions with six for 59 yards. If Colandrea gets in trouble in the pocket as the Terps’ front seven looks to find its footing, look for him to find Pace as a check-down option.
The leader of the Virginia passing attack is Fields and it is not close. Fields has nearly double as many receptions as the second-most on the team and has 119 more receiving yards than the second-most on the team as well. Fields is great at using his 6-foot-4 frame to his advantage over defensive backs. Whether it is over the middle of the field or on the deep ball, Fields’ catch radius will be difficult for the Terps' defensive backs to defend. After the Terps' secondary struggles against the Spartans, look for Virginia to go to Fields early and often against the Terps to try and get the offense going.
Defense
Key Players: LB James Jackson, LB Kam Robinson, S Jonas Sanker
Points: 21.5 ppg
Passing: 256.5 ypg
Rushing: 144 ypg
Turnovers: 1 per game
Last season, the biggest flaw of the Virginia defense was their pass rush. While it has seemed to improve this season with them totaling six sacks in two games, after just having 11 all last season, they have yet to find an alpha dog on the defensive line that will break away from the rest of the group. The strength of the Virginia defense is their two linebackers. Jackson and Robinson totaled 151 tackles last season and have totaled 19 so far this season as well. In Virginia’s 4-2-5 defensive scheme, the linebackers are asked to do just about everything, especially when the Cavaliers can’t get the pass rush going.
Sanker leads the Cavalier defense with 11 solo tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, and is tied for first with a sack on the season. Sanker is an all-around safety who led the team in solo tackles and total tackles last season. Look for Sanker to be in the box a lot to help stop the Terps rushing attack and force the Terps to be one-dimensional and pass the ball on Saturday.
The Virginia defense does not cause lots of turnovers. So far this season they have only caused two and they were both fumbles. As long as the Terps keep things clean on offense and do not turn the ball over, they should be able to control the game. The Cavaliers have only allowed 144 yards per game against the run. If the Terps want to get back on track this Saturday, they will need to find their run game again and get it going to keep pressure off of Billy Edwards to constantly make plays.
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