Maryland defense struggles in 35-26 loss against Virginia Tech

Photo by Hana Kaufman/Maryland Terrapins. Photo courtesy of Maryland Athletics.

Run, pass, it didn’t matter; James Franklin and Virginia Tech found every possible way to exploit the Maryland defense on Saturday night.

Maryland head coach Mike Locksley and the Terps held the longest non-conference win streak in all of college football. But that would soon be over, as the Hokies embarrassed the Terps 35-26 at SECU Stadium. 

Virginia Tech quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer was the star of the night. Nearly every pass he threw was in a spot only his receivers could get it. He was dicing up a Maryland defense that had little to no answers to the Hokies’ attack. 

Last week against Old Dominion, Grunkemeyer threw for 327 yards and tallied two passing touchdowns. Tonight, he picked up right where he left off. He finished the game with 314 passing yards and four total touchdowns. 

Grunkemeyer’s favorite target was tight end Luke Reynolds, who’s 6 ‘4, 250 pounds, and runs and catches like a receiver. 

All in all, the Maryland defense had no answers for the Hokie offense. In the first half, Virginia Tech was a concerning 8-for-9 on third-down conversions, and they finished the game with a .625 success rate.

“The missed tackles part, to me, is what really jumped out. Again, we had DB’s in position, and they made some big plays in tight situations. Our guys gotta make those plays, especially on third down,” Locksley said.

Maryland’s defense got one stop throughout the entire first half. Other than one three-and-out in the closing minutes of the second quarter, the Hokies scored a touchdown on every single drive. 

In the first three weeks, Franklin and the Virginia Tech offense made their identity known. They were going to get the ball out fast, run the football, and take control of the game through time of possession. 

This, unfortunately, has been Maryland’s kryptonite. 

Despite the Terps’ wins in weeks one and two, they’ve come out slow in each of those two games. 

Against Hampton, the Maryland offense went three-and-out, and the Hampton offense even converted on a long pass on their first drive. 

Against UConn, this was a lot more evident. In the opening 10 minutes of the game, the Huskies were the better team on both sides of the ball. They started the game up 7-0. Even though the Terps settled in, Locksley made an effort to come out swinging — which they didn’t. 

Virginia Tech’s first drive of the game resulted in a touchdown, taking almost half of the first quarter. On Maryland’s first drive, they went three-and-out, and the Hokies had possession for the remainder of the quarter.

Virginia Tech had possession of the ball for 13 more minutes than the Maryland offense.

“Going into this game, there were no indications for me that we would play defense the way we played, in terms of not being able to get off the field,” Locksley said.

The slow starts might’ve been enough to come back from in the first two weeks, but against James Franklin and his track record, this ultimately wouldn’t be the case. 

The Terps’ run game really struggled tonight after driving them in the first couple of weeks. The running back room broke records in week one and tallied another three touchdowns in week two. 

Dejuan Williams was ruled out again for tonight’s matchup, leaving Iverson Howard and Harry Dalton III in charge of the bulk of the touches. 

Maryland only averaged three yards per carry on the ground throughout the game.

Although the run game wasn’t finding success against the Hokie defensive front in the first half, Malik Washington was. 

Last week against UConn, Washington threw for 347 yards and two touchdowns — throwing an extremely efficient 34-41. 

Virginia Tech cornerback Jaquez White had other thoughts about Washington’s ability to pass the ball, claiming the Maryland quarterback was “a little inaccurate.” 

In the first half, Washington threw for 187 passing yards and a touchdown on an efficient 13-of-18 passing. Unfortunately, he did have a few balls that he would’ve liked back, including an overthrown pass deep to Chris Durr Jr. in the end zone that fell just out of his reach. 

However, Washington is the sole reason why Maryland remained in the game throughout the first 30 minutes. That, and their ability to run the hurry-up offense. 

When the Terps got to the ball quickly, they found the bulk of their success in the air and on the ground. After totaling 12 yards in the first quarter, they followed by tallying 207 yards in the second.

Chris Durr Jr. and Kaleb Webb handled most of the receiving work. The two totalled 207 yards and two touchdowns. However, Na’eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding, Maryland’s leading receiver, only had three catches.

Washington finished the night throwing 30-43 for 359 yards and three touchdowns, and Chris Durr Jr. became the only Terp receiver in the last century to have back-to-back games with 10-plus catches.

“Chris is a really good player. He’s a matchup problem for a lot of people. He wins his battles; he wins one-on-ones. So, whenever we get a chance to get him a one-on-one, create space and separation for him, that’s what he does,” Washington said.

Maryland did make a little comeback late in the fourth quarter. Durr Jr. found the end zone for a second time with the potential to cut the lead to one possession. But after a failed two-point conversion — totaling two for the game — it was all said and done in College Park. 

Over 46,000 fans were in attendance for the sold-out game. Unfortunately, the only fans who remained by the end were wearing maroon and orange. 

The Terps will look to bounce back next week when they take on UCLA at home on Sept. 26.