Maryland overcame a slow start to pull out a “gutsy” road win over border rival Virginia, scoring the game’s final 20 points en route to a 27-13 win.
“I expected this to be a tough ass game,” Maryland head coach Mike Locksley said following the win.
After opening as a 2.5-point favorite, Maryland found itself as a 2.5-point underdog by kickoff as the Terps struggled to establish an offensive flow, punting on five of their first six possessions to allow Virginia to take a 6-0 lead midway through the second quarter.
Wide receiver Tai Felton returned to stardom once again as he drew 16 of QB Billy Edwards' 43 attempts, but Saturday marked another milestone for the star wideout as he shined in his home state. WR Tai Felton found the endzone for the fourth time in three games this season, while also becoming the first player in program history to record at least 100 receiving yards in each of the first three games of a season. His 19-yard touchdown in the final minute of the first half came one play after he nearly recorded a touchdown in the back of the endzone, but it was the play to cap the first momentum-building drive for the offense.
“It was cover six,” Felton said postgame. “We covered three, and then he was outside leverage, just like he was in practice. Coach did a great job of kind of having the same look that I had in game in practice. So it was basically same look that we had practiced all weekend. And when I went out there and I lined up and I [saw] where the corner was, he was outside leverage, so I sprayed it outside leverage, went to his outside shoulder, stemmed him, broke it off, and then Billy had a perfect ball. The ball on the iPad looked crazy.”
It took roughly the entirety of the first half until Maryland’s offense found its footing, but even when they did, the Terps found themselves staring at a deficit less than a minute later. Still, Maryland entered the locker room without panic after the offense began to generate momentum for the first time on the night in Scott Stadium.
“He told the guys that adversity in the offense is going to happen, no matter if it's this game or any game down the road, adversity in the offense is going to happen,” wide receiver Tai Felton said about the halftime message. “So it was just us, just pushing hard and pushing through the obstacles that we had faced during the game, and us to keep pushing at full throttle so we can keep making plays. So we made some plays out there.”
It wasn’t just Felton who made plays down the stretch, though. After the defense held Virginia to a three-and-out to open the second half, Edwards connected with WR Kaden Prather for their first touchdown of the season to give the Terps their first lead of the day while securing the final lead change of the night. Edwards would join in on the second half surge, capitalizing on a fourth-down conversion on a QB sneak for his second rushing touchdown of the season.
But getting into the endzone wasn’t what resonated with Edwards following the win.
“I don't care if it's me or any ten guys on that field. I think the best part about that was we had success running the ball. We were driving down. I think that was the drive I hit the wheel route to Dylan Wade down the sideline. Whatever we do, you know, [a] score here would really put, not put the game away but we had nine out of the ten nails in the coffin for UVA.”
Now up to ten on the season, Maryland’s four takeaways – including a redzone fumble recovery on Virginia’s second series – gave the offense time to find its groove while the second-half defense allowed just 82 yards of total offense. But one week after allowing over 360 yards through the air last week, Maryland held Virginia QB Anthony Colandrea well under his average completion percentage and allowed just two pass plays over 20 yards while generating a pair of interceptions.
“We didn't have the greatest week as a corner room, and we really wanted to be relentless like coach Locks said all week, was be relentless and bounce back,” cornerback Jalen Huskey said, who came down with his second interception in as many weeks. “So I just felt like I had to be as I'm the older guy in the room, I just wanted to bring the energy to everybody in the room and into the team.”
After Virginia’s ground game found some success with chunk plays through the first half, the second-half defensive adjustments that fans became used to under defensive coordinator Brian Williams in 2023 showed up once again as Maryland held Virginia under two yards per carry in the third quarter.
“To allow no points on defense, [Brian Williams] and the defensive staff did a good job of switching the looks up,” Locksley said.
Maryland returns to College Park to wrap up non-conference play vs. Villanova next Saturday, Sept. 21 for a noon kickoff.
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