Maryland storms back for 42-14 win, dropping Hoos to 0-3

By Scott Ratcliffe

After coming up short on a long drive that could’ve tied the game early in the fourth quarter, Virginia fell apart over the final 15 minutes of a 42-14 loss at Maryland on Friday night at SECU Stadium in College Park.

Freshman quarterback Anthony Colandrea got the start and led the Cavaliers to a quick 14-0 advantage, but late miscues spoiled his final numbers — 23 for 39 for 263 yards, one touchdown, three interceptions and a lost fumble.

With the loss, the UVA losing streak now stands at eight games dating back to last season. The Wahoos gave up 461 total yards, committed those four crucial turnovers — all in the fourth quarter — and ultimately dropped to 0-3 to start the season for the first time in seven years.

The Terrapins (3-0) overcame the slow start, knotting it up at 14-all by halftime, and wound up scoring 42 unanswered points to close the contest. Taulia Tagovailoa threw for 342 yards as the Terps extended their nonconference win streak to 11 games and defeated Virginia for the third time in the last four meetings.

FIRST QUARTER

Virginia’s defense forced a quick three-and-out to start the contest, setting the stage for some early offensive fireworks.

On the Wahoos’ first play from scrimmage, Colandrea connected with Malik Washington on a flea-flicker for 49 yards down to the Maryland 16-yard line. Perris Jones scored from 13 yards out on the second of his ensuing back-to-back carries, and the Hoos grabbed a 7-0 lead with 12:25 on the clock.

Jack Howes misfired on a 55-yard field goal, giving the ball back to Colandrea and the UVA offense, and the true freshman engineered a 7-play, 63-yard scoring drive. He capped it off with a 19-yard touchdown toss off of his back leg to a wide-open Kobe Pace, silencing the crowd and putting the Hoos ahead 14-0 with still 4:16 left in the opening period.

The Terps answered right back on Matt Ganyard’s kickoff, however, as Braeden Wisloski took it 98 yards to the house just 13 seconds later, and the home crowd finally had something to cheer about.

The two teams then traded punts, with Virginia getting the ball back at its own 6 with 16 seconds left. Colandrea punctuated the quarter with a first-down run on the final play.

SECOND QUARTER

As the drive continued, a Maryland personal-foul penalty on third down kept the chains moving. On another crucial third-down conversion a few plays later near midfield, Colandrea slung one to Washington for six yards and another first down inside Maryland territory.

A Cavalier holding penalty backed things up and the Maryland defense held, as Daniel Sparks ended up pinning the Terps at their own 3-yard line midway through the quarter, ending a 7-and-a-half-minute possession.

Tagovailoa put together a 14-play, 97-yard march over the next 6:23, resulting in a 3-yard Roman Hemby touchdown run to tie the contest with 1:23 until halftime. On fourth-and-2 from the Hoos’ 8-yard line, Tagovailoa kept the drive alive with a critical 6-yard toss to Jeshaun Jones.

Knowing that the second-half kickoff was coming their way, the Hoos headed to the locker room as Colandrea had another solid first half, completing 13 of his 16 attempts for 144 yards and a score. Washington hauled in five of those tosses for 80 yards.

THIRD QUARTER

Colandrea and Washington picked up where they left off, connecting on a 22-yard gain on the second play from scrimmage out of the break, but the freshman was sacked for 16 yards on the next snap and the drive eventually stalled to begin the second half.

It only took six plays for the Terps to grab their first lead of the night, as Tagovailoa hit Jones on a 64-yard strike to make it 21-14 with 9:47 to play in the third, and the home team got it back two minutes later as Colandrea’s pass fell incomplete for Malachi Fields on a third-and-10.

The Terps couldn’t do anything with their ensuing possession, and the Hoos started the next drive from their own 14 with 5:01 left in the quarter. An unnecessary-roughness penalty on Maryland’s Lionel Whitaker on third-and-12 allowed Virginia to move the ball into Terps territory before Colandrea picked up another first down with his feet inside the UMD 40, then connected with classmate Suderian Harrison for 15 more yards.

On the next snap, Colandrea was whistled for intentional grounding, backing it up to the 37-yard line, but found Washington for a huge 25-yard gain to the Maryland 12 on third-and-23 to keep the drive alive and put the Hoos in scoring range with a ton of momentum as the period came to an end.

FOURTH QUARTER

After a pair of incompletions to start the final 15 minutes, Colandrea was picked off in the end zone on a third-down throw intended for Washington, giving the Hoos nothing to show for on a 15-play, 74-yard drive, and Maryland took over with 14:44 left.

Tagovailoa’s 33-yard pass to Preston Howard put the Terps back in the red zone, and then UVA linebacker James Jackson was flagged for pass interference to move the ball to the Cavaliers’ 2-yard line. Three plays later, Hemby took it in from three yards out to push the lead to 14 with 11:10 to go, as the Terrapins went 80 yards in 3:34.

As if that weren’t deflating enough, Colandrea was intercepted again on Virginia’s very next snap. Tagovailoa wasted no time adding to the tally, finding Corey Dyches for 28 yards, and Maryland was right back on the doorstep at the UVA 2. Two plays later, Antwain Littleton II capped the short drive with a 2-yard touchdown trot with 10:25 to play.

Colandrea’s third pick of the quarter gave it back to the Terps just over a minute (and three plays) later, as Colby McDonald delivered the final blow with a 1-yard plunge with 5:58 remaining.

Colandrea was sacked on the ensuing drive and coughed up the football with 3:19 on the clock, marking UVA’s fourth-consecutive turnover of the period on four-straight possessions. It was Maryland’s biggest margin of victory over the Cavaliers since a 42-10 win in 1986.

Game Stats

Scoring Summary

Virginia    14  0  0   0 — 14

Maryland   7  7  7  21 — 42

First Quarter

UVA (12:25) — Jones 13-yd run (Bettridge kick). UVA 7, UMD 0.

UVA (4:16) — Pace 19-yd pass from Colandrea (Bettridge kick). UVA 14, UMD 0.

UMD (4:03) — Wisloski 98-yd kickoff return (Howes kick). UVA 14, UMD 7.

Second Quarter

UMD (1:23) — Hemby 3-yd rush (Howes kick). UVA 14, UMD 14.

Third Quarter

UMD (9:47) — Jones 64-yd pass from Tagovailoa (Howes kick). UMD 21, UVA 14.

Fourth Quarter

UMD (11:10) — Hemby 3-yd rush (Howes kick). UMD 28, UVA 14.

UMD (10:25) — Littleton II 2-yd rush (Howes kick). UMD 35, UVA 14.

UMD (5:58) — McDonald 1-yd rush (Howes kick). UMD 42, UVA 14.

UP NEXT

The Cavaliers kick off ACC competition next Friday night when they host NC State (7:30 p.m., ESPN).