Maryland took control early against Indiana and never looked back on Saturday, moving to 5-0 in a comfortable win vs. Indiana. Breaking down three takeaways from Saturday’s win:
Outside of a 56-yard kickoff return on Indiana’s first touch, Maryland was dominant in all three phases to open the first half.
Maryland outgained Indiana by over 100 yards on 14 fewer plays in the first half and the efficiency of the passing attack was the reason why. Maryland QB Taulia Tagovailoa finished 13-of-20 for 205 yards and found five different receivers through the opening 30 minutes, though it was two wideouts who stole the show.
That starts with Tai Felton, who after two years of flashing in the Terps’ offense, had his breakout performance with three touchdowns and his first career 100-yard receiving game. Felton became the first player in program history to record three touchdowns in the same half, while Jeshaun Jones added a big play on the first drive to give the Terps early momentum. Taulia had little trouble finding his receivers in open space and hitting them in stride with the Terps’ athleticism clearly outmatching the Hoosiers’ secondary. All four of Maryland’s first-half scores came on possessions under one minute long and the chemistry that Taulia had with his wideouts was clear.
Felton led the unit in first-half targets (8) and receptions (5) while Jones led with 86 receiving yards as both he and Prather finished with four targets. Tight ends Corey Dyches and Preston Howard added two more catches for a combined 19 yards, but Taulia found find his receivers in strides as Felton’s speed made him a mismatch for Indiana’s defense.
On the other side of the ball, the Terps buckled down and that was clear on the first drive of the game. Indiana turned the explosive opening kickoff into a redzone trip, driving down to the UMD 6, before Christian Teague and Fa’Najae Gotay teamed up for a third down stop.
On the next three possessions, Maryland’s defense would force -9 yards and consecutive three-and-outs to cement the Terps’ early momentum. A big reason for Maryland’s continued success was their third-down defense, limiting Indiana to just 3-of-10 through the first half while limiting the Hoosiers’ production on the ground to just 2.3 yards per carry. Eight TFLs and a pair of sacks was the catalyst in the Terps’ defensive dominance as Christian Teague stepped up in run support.
Indiana would attempt to match Maryland’s firepower as the half progressed, going for it on a pair of fourth-down attempts on their second-to-last drive of the first half. The Hoosiers were able to convert on the first attempt but missed on the second as the Terps’ coverage forced IU QB Tayven Jackson into tough throws on the run seemingly all day. In the closing minutes of the half, it would be Kellan Wyatt who stepped up for his first TFL of the day and second fourth-down stop, ultimately giving the Terps one more scoring opportunity.
To the shock of no one, it would be Felton capitalizing for his third touchdown to give Maryland a 27-3 halftime lead as each of the first four scoring drives ended in under one minute.
Maryland’s rushing attack was hit or miss, with an obvious hit being a 32-yard rush by Antwain Littleton to lead the way. He and Roman Hemby were the lone to running backs to see the field to open the half, yet combined for just 42 yards on eight attempts. Take out the 32-yard rush; there’s cause for concern as the Terps look to find their footing.
But on Saturday, the rushing attack needed just to be complementary to the lethal passing attack as Hemby looks to return to 100%.
With a comfortable 27-3 lead at the break, Maryland never took their foot off the gas and maintained their control into the final whistle to hold the Hoosiers to one score on two redzone attempts prior to the final drive. Indiana would score on their fourth attempt, a 16-yard touchdown reception to cut the lead to 44-17 with 25 seconds remaining.
Maryland was able to set multiple feats in Saturday’s win. Following the 62-yard completion from Taulia Tagovailoa to Jeshaun Jones, Tagovailoa became the first Maryland quarterback in program history to eclipse 9,000 career passing yards while Jeshaun Jones eclipsed 1,500 career receiving yards.
Taulia finished the day 24-of-34 for 352 yards and five touchdowns, becoming the first Maryland quarterback to throw for five touchdowns since Scott Milanovich did so vs. NC State in 1994.
Felton, a former three-star out of Stone Bridge (VA) in the 2021 class, has either led or been among the offensive leaders in snaps through each of the first five games as the big-play threat has shown flashes of his dominance. One of six receivers with at least ten catches and 90 yards this season, Felton was the leader on Saturday as his breakaway speed and route running made him a frequent downfield target. While it may have been Jones who opened the game with the first big play, Felton proved to be the beneficiary of an experienced yet thin Indiana secondary.
Tai Felton’s three first-half touchdowns also marked his first career multi-touchdown game of his career, one day after IBG noted the Virginia native could be on the cusp of his breakout performance. Felton wasn’t done there as he reeled in a 46-yard reception on the opening possession of the second half, giving him his first career 100-yard receiving game. Felton finished the day with a team-high 134 yards on seven catches and ten targets, compared to Jones’s 121 yards on six catches and eight targets. The duo became the first Maryland receivers to record at least 100 yards in the same game since Rakim Jarrett and Chigoziem Okonkwo did so vs. Michigan State back in 2021.
With Maryland’s third consecutive win against Indiana, Maryland has set multiple team records with the program now off to its first 5-0 start since 2001. Maryland has also improved to 2-0 in the Big Ten for the first time ever, improved to 2-0 in conference play for the first time since 2012, improved to 4-0 at home for the first time since 2010, won its 7th-straight game for the first time since 2003-04.
We already hit on the 56-yard kickoff return to give Indiana early juice as the defense helped soften the blow. Maryland’s punt coverage was stellar in the win, however, with Dante Trader Jr. making two nice tackles to eliminate a Hoosier return.
Jack Howes was able to rebound on his first attempt, knocking through a 44-yard attempt on the opening drive of the second half, but saw his second 44-yard attempt blocked as the Hoosiers returned the live ball into Maryland territory.
It appeared that Howes was inching closer to a third attempt as Maryland had another potential scoring opportunity to close the first half. With 13 seconds remaining, linebacker Fa’Najae Gotay came down with his first interception of the season to give Maryland’s defense at least one takeaway in all five games this season. Jeshaun Jones had a chance to get out-of-bounds on a catch-and-run on the final play of the half, but stepped out after time elapsed.
Braeden Wisloski drew his third consecutive start at kicker returner with Jeshaun Jones adding 24 yards on a pair of punt returns. Jones also drew a kick-catch interference to give Maryland prime field position, ultimately leading to six points.
Notes
The list: trio of local four-stars, flip target headline visitor list for Maryland vs. Indiana (+)
