Maryland has officially come out of its 2023 nonconference slate unscathed after moving to 3-0 following a 42-14 win over Virginia.
Maryland now moves to 3-0 for the third consecutive season and has won its eleventh consecutive nonconference game, including its fourth straight against an ACC opponent.
It wasn’t always pretty, but with now eight days until the Big Ten opener, we break down takeaways from Maryland’s third consecutive home win this season.
Maryland’s offense fell flat to open the game with a three-and-out giving Virginia a chance to impress on their first drive, and it was the Cavs who lived up to expectations.
With true freshman Anthony Colandrea drawing the surprise start over Tony Muskett, a flea flicker on the opening play set the Virginia offense inside Maryland’s redzone. Two plays later and it was a 13-yard rush by UVA RB Perris Jones to open the scoring, 7-0.
Maryland’s offense seemed to settle in on the second drive, driving down to the Virginia 33 before a holding call set the Terps back. Maryland couldn’t recoup the yards lost, setting up an eventual 55-yard field goal by Jack Howes that sailed wide.
On the ensuing possession, a seven-play, 63-yard drive by Virginia ended in a 19-yard touchdown as Colandrea’s dual-threat and deep ball had the Terps’ secondary on its heels. The 128 yards of total offense by Virginia silenced a growingly filled SECU Stadium as the Terps’ gap integrity and edge pressure were exposed, but a freshman helped turn the tide.
Trailing 14-0, it’d be freshman receiver Braden Wisloski who provided the spark after his 98-yard kickoff return landed him in the endzone for his first career touchdown, sparking 35 unanswered points by Maryland. Not only did Wisloski’s momentum-boosting play lead to SECU Stadium to erupt in cheers, but it also marked the first kick return for a touchdown in nearly four full years.
Maryland would hold Virginia to 67 yards on its final three drives of the first half, forcing a pair of punts that pushed Maryland inside its own five-yard line midway through the second quarter. Maryland’s offense would answer in a big way, assembling a 14 play, 97-yard drive that ended in a three-yard rushing touchdown to tie the game at 14. It was the type of follow-up that Maryland needed to reclaim momentum in the Black Out game, but it took nearly 20 minutes for Maryland to tie the game in the second consecutive concerning start for Mike Locksley’s team.
When the defense did settle in, they never looked back.
Colandrea’s running threat posed a consistent threat to Maryland as they lost contain on a few plays, but the Terps defense was able to adjust and hold Virginia. After allowing 128 yards on the first two drives, Maryland’s defense allowed 151 in the second half, including 1.6 yards per carry over the final 30 minutes.
In fact, Virginia saw two drives end in zero points despite ending Maryland territory and winning the turnover battle proved to be the difference.
Virginia was threatening to open the fourth quarter, setting up at the Maryland 12, but cornerback Tarheeb Still jumped the out route on third down to haul his first of two interceptions on the night. Sandwiched between Still’s momentum-building plays was another Donnell Brown interception, a play that looked eerily similar to his interception in the win vs. Charlotte.
Wyatt was a key piece in edge support all night, finishing with a pair of tackles and a TFL, while linebacker Ruben Hyppolite led the way with a team-high six tackles.
The three interceptions, along with a fumble recovery by Tre Colbert, helped the Terps turn out the lights against their border foe. The theme of Maryland’s 2022 defense was the second-half adjustments, and over the last two weeks, its been the adjustments that have helped shut down opposing offenses after the first two drives.
The biggest cause for concern is Malik Washington finishing with a game-high 141 yards on nine catches, while Malaki Fields added 70 yards on seven catches.
Maryland’s path to a win seemingly looked like it’d be centered around the ground game, considering the Terps’ veteran trio was leading the way against a Virginia front seven that’s struggled to fill the holes through the first two weeks. That expectation failed to come to fruition, though, as Virginia averaged over four yards per carry through the first half. Maryland, meanwhile, was repeatedly stuffed.
A big piece of Virginia’s success on the ground came from Anthony Colandrea, who added 19 yards on 11 rushes as his dual-threat ability tested the Terps off the edge. Second-year linebacker Kellan Wyatt showed flashes through the opening 30 minutes, including consecutive tackles for loss to pin Virginia’s offense back before a holding call extended the drive.
On the other side, Maryland’s offensive line opened with its usual starting five (L-R: Glaze, Bullock, Harris, Moran, Fagan) but that starting rotation that Locksley wanted to lock into? That didn’t happen.
What did happen was Gottlieb Ayedze making his season debut, replacing Amelio Moran at right guard on the second drive. The former Frostburg standout also replaced Conor Fagan at right tackle at times throughout the game. Kyle Long also checked in at left guard midway through the second quarter, Mike Purcell rotated once again with Harris at center and started the second half.
Virginia’s front seven was able to find success, though, limiting Maryland to just 3.2 yards per carry through the first half.
With Ramon Brown out and Nolan Ray and Colby McDonald along the sideline, Friday night was largely a two-man show between Roman Hemby and Antwain Littleton until Colby McDonald busted a 35-yard rush in the third quarter, on just his second attempt on the night. Still, the rushing attack struggled in short-yardage situations as Maryland finished 1-for-6 on third downs with four yards or less to go.
As Maryland grew their lead with each passing minute in the second half, Maryland wouldn’t shy away from its rushing attack though as McDonald would punch in the fourth rushing touchdown of the night.
McDonald finished with a team-high 75 yards and a touchdown on ten carries, Littleton added 28 yards on nine carries while Hemby added 23 and a pair of touchdowns on nine carries in the win.
Taulia Tagovailoa helped lead the passing attack and did well adjusting to Virginia’s pressure up the middle, often rolling out to his left and leaning on his legs to extend the play. Taulia put together his 13th career 300-yard passing game on completions to eight different receivers.
Jeshaun Jones led the way with a game-high 96 yards and a touchdown on five catches, while Dyches added another 56 yards on four catches.
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