A historic day from quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa continues to draw honors.
Tagovailoa was named the Big Ten co-offensive player of the week, one week after running back Roman Hemby drew freshman of the week honors from the conference. Tagovailoa shared the award with Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., who finished with 184 receiving yards and three touchdowns on seven catches.
Buy your single game tickets for Maryland football here
Taulia set a new program record for single-game completion percentage after finishing 27-of-31 for 391 yards and four touchdowns. It’s the highest mark for a Maryland quarterback with at least 15 pass attempts in one game. His 391 passing yards marked the ninth 300-yard performance of his Maryland career and moved into fourth place all-time on Maryland’s career passing yardage list with 5,552 yards.
Tagovailoa initially left the game early with an apparent ankle injury following his lone rushing touchdown midway through the third quarter, but showed no sign of lingering pain as ran out of the medical tent cheering on the fans before relieving Billy Edwards for one play. “Throughout the drive, I was cramping my right calf and then had to run the ball,” Tagovailoa said about the injury after the TD run. “So you know how that goes? Everything just locked up. So happy I got in the zone before I did…I feel good.”
Tagovailoa will return to action this week as the offense prepares for a potential shootout. The Terps return to action on Saturday as they host SMU in a battle of undefeated teams. The two teams enter the matchup averaging more than 40 points per game as the Mustangs lean on quarterback Tanner Mordecai in week three. After amassing over 600 yards of total offense, head coach Mike Locksley was pleased with his offensive efficiency.
“I thought Lia played really well. A week ago, he came into the locker room and really felt like he didn’t play well because he didn’t throw any touchdowns but I still thought he played well enough for us to win. Today, our receivers really stepped up, made some big plays early. Lia did a really good job on some of the deep shots that we didn’t have the timing down one week ago so it was good to see us, as I say, make that jump from week one to week two.”
The game is set to kick at 7:30 p.m. and it will air on FS1 and the Maryland Sports Radio Network.
Related Links
Preview: tight spread, points expected vs. SMU
Offense takes command in 56-21 win over Charlotte
Watch: Locksley, players review win over Charlotte
Instant reactions: Maryland 56, Charlotte 21
VIP: Coaches on the Road; 2023 Tidbit (+)
Maryland heating up pursuit of 2024 four-star Darren Harris