On fourth and goal, down 10 to Ohio State, QB Taulia Tagovailoa scrambled right and delivered an incredible two-yard touchdown pass to WR Jeshaun Jones Jr. to bring the Terps within one score of the Buckeyes. This short pass was a huge play for the record books as it pushed Tagovailoa past Scott Milanovich for the most passing yards in Maryland football history.

Despite the loss, Tagovailoa’s 293-yard, two-touchdown performance would further cement the Terp in Maryland history.

Tagovailoa would continue his record-setting career a week later against Rutgers. On first down in Rutgers territory, he would again find Jones for a 27-yard touchdown to put the Terps up by 37. With this score, Tagovailoa would again surpass Milanovich for the most touchdown passes in Maryland history.

“It’s a blessing, having my name put up there with some great quarterbacks who came through here,” said Tagovailoa, “It’s just a testament to my teammates, the O-Line doing their job and the receivers being where they’re supposed to be at the right time… Yeah I gotta give that to my teammates.” 

Since transferring from Alabama, Tagovailoa is first in program history in passing yards (7,658), passing touchdowns (50), completion percentage (68%), passing efficiency (148.1), 300-yard passing games (12), and is four completions away from tying the school record (650).

“It was great to see Taulia continue to build on his legacy here, breaking records of some great quarterbacks who have come before him in a short period of time,” said head coach Mike Locksley, “He looked like the old three today… He went and worked his tail off this week. You saw the competitive nature in him. He made plays in the air, threw the ball really well, and made plays with his feet. He gave us a chance, and that’s all that you can really ask of your quarterback, and I’m proud of the way he fought.”

Playing just four games due to Covid-19 in his first season with Maryland, Tagovailoa threw for 1,011 yards and seven touchdowns. He would follow that up with an explosive record-setting season, throwing for 3,860 yards and 26 touchdowns which ranks first and tied for first, respectively, for a single season in school history. Currently, Tagovailoa has 2,787 yards and 17 touchdowns, leading the Terps to their first back-to-back bowl game appearances since 2014.