Taulia Tagovailoa threw for 342 yards and Maryland intercepted three consecutive passes in a dominant fourth quarter to overcome another slow start en route to a 42-14 thrashing of Virginia on Friday in College Park, Md.
Maryland (3-0) fell behind 14-0 for the second straight week before it cranked out 42 straight points, including 21 in the game’s final 12 minutes, to capture its 11th straight nonconference victory.
Tarheeb Still provided the game’s first turnover when he intercepted Cavaliers freshman quarterback Anthony Colandrea in the end zone on the third play of the fourth quarter with Maryland ahead 21-14. The Terps capitalized by moving 80 yards on nine plays to build a 28-14 cushion on Roman Hemby’s 3-yard plunge with 11:10 to play.
Donnell Brown’s juggling pick on Virginia’s next snap set up Antwain Littleton II’s 2-yard touchdown run before Still struck again with his second pick on the Cavaliers’ ensuing drive. Colby McDonald’s 1-yard dive capped the scoring with 5:58 to play.
Tagovailoa completed 19 of 30 passes and put Maryland in front for good when he connected with Jeshaun Jones for a 64-yard touchdown that made it 21-14 with 9:47 remaining in the third quarter.
Jones hauled in five passes for 96 yards to lead the Terps, while McDonald paced Maryland with 75 yards on the ground. Hemby found paydirt twice on nine carries.
Colandrea went 23 of 39 for 263 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions in his second straight start for Virginia (0-3). The Cavaliers were expected to start Tony Muskett after the senior missed last week’s game with a shoulder injury.
Colandrea hit Malik Washington down the left sideline on a flea flicker for 49 yards on the Cavaliers’ first offensive snap, and Perris Jones dashed to the left pylon two plays later for a 13-yard touchdown that put Virginia ahead 7-0. Washington caught nine passes for 141 yards.
The Cavaliers kept cooking after Maryland missed a 55-yard field goal, marching 63 yards on seven plays to double their lead after Colandrea found Kobe Pace in the end zone for a 19-yard score.
Maryland responded immediately when Braeden Wisloski raced down the left sideline untouched for a 98-yard kickoff return touchdown that trimmed the Cavaliers’ lead in half with 4:03 left in the first quarter.
The Terps’ defense dug in and forced consecutive punts before Tagovailoa connected with five different receivers throughout a 97-yard drive that Hemby capped with a 3-yard run to even the game at 14-14 entering halftime.
–Field Level Media
