Maryland football defeated Villanova, 38-20, on Sept. 21 to improve to 3-1 overall.
A strong first half helped Maryland cruise to victory and build momentum as the Terps head back into Big Ten play against Indiana in Bloomington on Sept. 28 at noon.
Maryland gave the Wildcats no chance to make the game interesting by quickly pouncing on the visiting team.
The Terps opened the game with an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, capped off by junior quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. finding junior Kaden Prather for an 18-yard score to take a lead 7-0.
“It was huge for us,” head coach Michael Locksley said of the quick start. “[Villanova likes] to shrink the game, play slow, and use the clock, which, when that happens for an offense like ours that thrives off of explosives, it puts pressure on you. We decided to [receive the ball] knowing and studying how they wanted to shrink the game. So, that first touchdown drive and then defensively, going three and out and then getting another score was huge.”
Edwards finished the game 28-for-32 with 328 yards, one touchdown and an interception. Edwards’ 87.5 percent completion rate is a new single-game school record previously held by Taulia Tagovailoa.
“We always talk about handling the ball,” Edwards said of balancing explosive and short plays. “I think the biggest thing is knowing how to handle the call. There’s going to be some times we want to be aggressive and there’s going to be times where it’s third-and-12 and they give us access underneath.”
“There’s definitely a gray line. It’s easy to push that gray line when you have receivers and skill players like I do. But I just try to stay on schedule and efficient as an offense,” Edwards added.
Maryland went on to score on its next three drives. Running backs senior Roman Hemby and Nolan Ray found the end zone for the Terrapins to extend the lead to 24-0. Junior kicker Jack Howes also added three points with a 46-yard field goal.
Hemby and Ray finished with 67 and 25 yards, respectively.
“I take a lot of pride in just being able to set the tone for the game,” Hemby said. “The first two drives, I did the best that I can to help lean on the defense and wear them down so that we can get our offense rolling.”
Maryland had a chance to go 4-for-4 to end the half after making it to the Villanova 9-yard line with 27 seconds remaining, but senior running back Colby McDonald fumbled. The Wildcats’ recovery meant they entered the locker room down 24.
Maryland’s defense was just as good as its offense in the first half, holding Villanova to 51 yards in the first half compared to Maryland’s 326. Terps sophomore defensive lineman Dillan Fontus also blocked a 33-yard field goal to keep the Wildcats scoreless in the first half.
Maryland began the second half unlike how they started the game.
The Terps’ defense stopped the Wildcats on fourth-and-4 to open the half, but Edwards’ pass tipped off of the fingers of sophomore tight end Dylan Wade and into the hands of Villanova senior defensive back Ty Trinh.
The Wildcats capitalized with their first points of the game off the leg of graduate kicker Ethan Gettman, who made a 33-yard field goal to make the score 24-3.
But Villanova was not done. The Wildcats recovered an onside kick and again put points on the board, this time on a 17-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Connor Watkins to senior receiver Devin Smith to cut the lead to 24-10.
“It’s all about staying poised,” senior defensive lineman Tommy Akingbesote said of Villanova’s third-quarter stretch. “Something is going to go bad and it’s all about how you react to adversity.”
“We have a couple of guys that set the tone, set the standard and I feel like the team just abides by them because they understand they’ve been here,” Akingbesote added, regarding who rallied the team in the third quarter.
However, Maryland responded with an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive of its own. Edwards found none other than senior Tai Felton for a 9-yard touchdown pass.
Felton finished with 157 yards and 14 receptions. Eight of those receptions came in the first quarter.
“It was just my turn to get the ball as much as I did in the first quarter, so I was just trying to make something happen,” Felton said. “Throughout the game, I started getting more involved in the second half and started turning up a little bit.”
This marks the first time a Terp has 100-plus receiving yards in four consecutive games at any point of a season since Jermaine Lewis in 1995.
“I’m just all about the win,” Felton said of tying the record. “So as long as we win and I’m doing my job whether it’s zero catches or 15 it’s all good.”
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Maryland Athletics
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Publish date : 2024-09-21 10:36:00
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