top of page

Maryland vs. Virginia: how to watch, listen, game preview

Writer's picture: diggsreportdiggsreport

Maryland (1-1) at Virginia (2-0)

When & Where: September 14 • 8:00 PM • Scott Stadium • Charlottesville, VA

TV: ACC Network • Wes Durham, Tom Luginbill, Dana Boyle

Radio: 105.7 FM (Baltimore) • 980 AM (DC) • Sirius XM 138 or 196

Betting: Maryland -2.5 • O/U: 57



After suffering its first taste of disappointment of the season at home last week, Maryland looks to win its 14th consecutive non-conference game in hopes of defeating Virginia for the fourth consecutive time and second in as many seasons. The Cavaliers will take momentum into Scott Stadium after a comeback win at Wake Forest pushed head coach Tony Elliott and his squad to 2-0, making Saturday a potentially marquee game in his early tenure. So, what does Maryland have to do to pull out a win? We take a look at three things to watch.

 

Control the Run Game

 

Virginia had issues in both stopping the run and gaining yards on the ground against Wake Forest. On offense, quarterback Anthony Colandrea had almost as many rushing attempts as running backs Kobe Pace and Xavier Brown combined. The Demon Deacon defense held the Cavalier rushing attack to under 100 yards and 2.6 yards a carry. Their lone rushing touchdown came off a quarterback sneak by backup Grady Brosterhous. Maryland’s defense has had a tough time stopping the run through their first two games. Against both UConn and Michigan State, the defensive line got pushed around and gave up some big runs. They need to rebound this week and remind everyone why there were high hopes for the unit going into the season. Gap integrity and level rushing loom large for the Terps’ front seven against Colandrea’s dual-threat ability as the Terps look to keep him in the pocket on Saturday. The Terps’ defensive linemen trio of Taizse Johnson, Jordan Phillips, and Tommy Akingbesote will face off against an interior of Virginia that has started over 70 games combined in college with Brian Stevens, Ty Furnish, and Noah Josey.

 

Maryland’s run game last week was more of the same from 2023. The team rushed for 82 yards at under three yards per carry and only had one run go over ten yards. Roman Hemby hasn’t shown the same speed he had as a freshman and is under four yards a carry through two games. Nolan Ray’s 48-yard touchdown run on his first carry of the season has accounted for over half of his season total. Most of the issues have come from the offensive line’s inability to get movement at the line, which they’ll have to turn around on Saturday to keep their defense off the field and tire out Virginia’s. Six sacks helped bring Wake Forest’s rushing yards down to 141 by game’s end, but they did some damage on the ground. Virginia’s front seven isn’t the veteran unit that Michigan State’s was, but there are still some players to watch out for. Linebackers James Jackson and Kam Robinson, who Elliott said was limited earlier this week, make plays all over the field. The line has to keep them away from the ball carrier. The same could be said for safety Jonas Sanker as he leads the Cavaliers in tackles for loss. Look for him to try to cause confusion when he plays near the line. Center Josh Kaltenberger has a big challenge ahead of him with Archbishop Spalding alum Jahmeer Carter. Tackles Andre Roye and Alan Herron have ends Chico Bennett and Kam Butler looking to make a big play at any time.

 

Big Test for the Secondary

 

Despite coming up with three interceptions, Maryland’s secondary played as bad as you can play against Michigan State. Spartan quarterback Aiden Chiles passed for 363 yards and 3 touchdowns, the last one being a 77-yard strike where cornerback Jalen Huskey was beaten badly by Nick Marsh. The damage would have been worse if it hadn’t been for some off-target throws by Chiles. It doesn’t get much easier for the Terps when they travel to Virginia.

 

"One, their quarterback, I think he had his kind of coming out a year ago when we played him,” head coach Mike Locksley said earlier this week. “He replaced the quarterback that started the game for him, and he came in and this guy kind of has some Taulia Tagovailoa skill set. He's a guy that we have to contain. He runs around and he extends plays. He throws the ball really well, and you're right – Malachi [Fields], the receiver, number eight, a threat. And then they the slot, guy that transferred in, number 11 [Trell Harris], another threat. The thing that jumps out for us is, last week's game, the big plays are what the difference in the game was. So for us, how do we minimize the big plays?"

 

Where the Cavaliers had issues running the ball, they more than made up for it in the passing game. Three players accounted for 307 of Virginia’s 357 yards through the air against Wake Forest. They were wide receivers Malachi Fields and Trell Harris, and tight end Tyler Neville. Fields followed up his first career 100-yard game against Richmond with an 11-catch, 148-yard performance against Wake Forest, both marking career highs. He won’t be easy to keep in line as his 6-foot-4 frame makes him a physically opposing threat, but Maryland might have the size at corner to be up to the challenge. Huskey will get his chance for redemption after giving up multiple big plays and had a costly penalty that turned a potential three-and-out into the Spartans’ game-winning drive. How the starting safety tandem fares on the deep ball will be a big test after last week’s failures in the secondary. Perry Fisher, who had his hand taped during the open portion of practice this week, played last week despite a club on his right hand and he’ll be covering the Kent State transfer Harris, who caught seven passes for 91 yards and a touchdown. The wild card is Neville. The Harvard transfer only caught 4 passes but two went for touchdowns. The defense has to be aware of where he is in the red zone. Chris Tyree, who lines up at both receiver and running back, is another versatile weapon the ‘Hoos are waiting to break out. Maryland has the talent to outmatch Virginia, but they’ll be tested against an offense that has weapons.

 

Limit the Mistakes

 

Maryland could have easily pulled away Michigan State multiple times but poorly timed mistakes prevented them from doing that. An offside gave the Spartans a second chance at a kick that gave them a 17-14 lead at halftime. Following an interception early in the fourth, quarterback Billy Edwards threw one of his own as the Terps were driving to take a two-score lead. Maryland’s next drive ended with a missed field goal that would have put them up by 10 with under 5 minutes to go. Instead, Michigan State tied it on the first play of their drive, when cornerback Jalen Huskey was burned by Nick Marsh for a 77-yard touchdown. Maryland couldn’t take advantage of the kickoff going out of bounds and went three-and-out. The defense had a three-and-out stop of their own before a penalty on Huskey continued the drive that ended in the Spartans’ game-winning kick.

 

For Maryland to rebound on Saturday they need to cut down on those mistakes. Besides the one pick, Edwards has kept the ball out of harm’s way and must continue to do so. Maryland also cannot afford to have the costly penalties that plagued them last week. On defense, the secondary cannot have any lapses in coverage and allow the opposing receivers to run free again. They also must force some mistakes by the Virginia offense. Quarterback Anthony Colandrea threw two interceptions that led to ten points for Wake Forest and had three against Maryland last year. Seeing more of Maryland forcing mistakes and not committing them could be the difference between getting back on track or being in danger of having the season get away from them.


Related Links


 

  • X
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • YouTube

© 2022 created by WebJane Design with Wix.com

COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND

bottom of page