Maryland’s defense marched onto the field as the Virginia offense did the same. The Cavaliers exited halftime still harboring the momentum they gained after scoring a touchdown in the first half’s final seconds.
That momentum quickly disappeared.
The Terps’ defense forced a three and out, giving the ball to their offense. Billy Edwards Jr. led the Terps on an eight-play drive spanning 86-yards – and ending with a 26-yard back shoulder pass to Kaden Prather for the go-ahead touchdown.
The Terps scored on four of their second half drives to beat Virginia, 27-13, Saturday night in Charlottesville.
Maryland dominated the final 30 minutes on both sides of the ball. The Terps’ defense held Virginia’s offense to 82 total yards and forced two takeaways, while their offense accumulated 250 total yards, and scored 20 of their 27 points.
“It was just us keep fighting and all the work we put in throughout practice,” said wide receiver Tai Felton. “So, it was just us keep fighting and realizing that anything is possible.”
Felton’s nine receptions and 117 yards on Saturday night marked a Maryland milestone. With his performance, the senior became the first Terp to have 100 or more receiving yards in the first three games of the season.
The performance was the complete opposite of how Maryland played in the first half.
The undisciplined Terps tallied seven penalties for 51 yards before the break. Most of the fouls came on the offensive end, a big reason why the Terps only mustered 141 yards of total offense through the first two quarters.
Maryland only had one penalty in the second half, and it came on a roughing the passer call in the fourth quarter.
The disciplined play by the offense — in particular the offensive line — helped spark the dormant group, especially on the ground. Maryland ran the ball for 82 yards after having just 46 in the first half.
Big plays by the Virginia offense hurt Maryland’s defense throughout the first half. The Cavaliers made seven big plays — passes 15-yards or more, or runs of ten yards or more.
Two of those big plays came at the end of the half.
Anthony Colandrea led the Cavaliers on an excellently executed two minute drill, sending them into the break with a six point lead.
Colandrea and the Cavaliers traversed 51 yards in five plays, ending the drive with their first touchdown of the game.The biggest play of the drive was a 39-yard pass down the middle of the field to tight end Tyler Neville. The throw set up Colandrea’s ten-yard scramble to the endzone for the score.
Virginia’s half-ending drive took just 49 seconds.
Despite allowing big plays, the Maryland defense did manage to force two turnovers that helped keep them in the game. One was an interception and the other was a fumble, Virginia’s first this season.
“I’m really, really proud of our team that there was no flinch,” said head coach Michael Locksley. “We faced a lot of things, a lot of momentum plays during the course of the first half … our defense had two big stops in the first half which gave us a chance to stay in the game and stay in the fight.”
The Terps defense forced the same combination of takeaways in the second half, finishing the game with four total -– and Virginia’s season turnover ratio jumped from -1 to -5 as a result.
“I think it’s a lot about our coaches preparing us throughout the week and us just doing our jobs as a unit,” said Jalen Huskey. “So, we disguise well, we do our job, and the ball will find you when you do the right things.”
Maryland limited the big plays by Virginia in the second half as well. The Cavaliers only connected on two chunk plays that totaled just 29 yards.
The Terps will try to carry the momentum from their 14th consecutive non-conference victory into another non-conference matchup against Villanova next Saturday.
