Maryland downs Virginia 27-13 after stellar second half

Photo courtesy of Maryland Athletics

Mike Locksley said on Tuesday that he wants to contain Anthony Colandrea and limit his ability to extend plays. The defense did that and more, shutting out Virginia in the second half and forcing four turnovers.

Aside from a second-quarter touchdown run, Colandrea was held to 247 yards passing with two interceptions and a 57% completion rate. However, most of those yards came in the first half, as the Maryland defense held Virginia to 82 total yards in the second half.

Maryland football (2-1) took down Virginia (2-1) 27-13 at Scott Stadium on Saturday in the 80th meeting between the two programs.

The run game improvement from Locksley’s squad also played a major role in the win. Against Michigan State, the offense only got one run for over 10 yards and averaged just 2.8 yards per carry. This week, the Terps averaged 3.5 yards per carry with 128 total rushing yards.

Penalties plagued the Terps in the first half. The offense saw three third downs moved backward after penalties including two false starts. Maryland committed seven penalties for 51 yards but faced only a six-point deficit at halftime.

The defense forced two turnovers – an interception and a fumble to thwart Virginia’s momentum to keep it close early.

However, Maryland couldn’t capitalize on these opportunities until the half’s final drive. Billy Edwards Jr. completed four of five passes for 43 yards, capped off by a 19-yard touchdown to Tai Felton.

With just 50 seconds in the half, the Cavaliers put together a touchdown drive of their own to take a 13-7 lead. Colandrea broke two tackles at his feet and ran ten yards up the middle for the touchdown.

In the second half, the Virginia offense could not find a way to gain yards on the Maryland defense. Three of the Cavalier’s first four drives were three and outs and the other was an interception by Jalen Huskey.

Maryland regained the one-point lead to start the third quarter. Edwards connected with Kaden Prather for a 29-yard touchdown. The throw was to Prather’s left shoulder but the receiver was facing right. Prather jumped and turned his body mid-air to find the ball and score.

The Terps had an opportunity to extend the lead to two possessions with the ball at the Virginia eight-yard line. For the next five plays, Maryland ran QB dives up the middle until Edwards was finally pushed into the endzone.

The quarterback finished the night completing 28-of-43 passes for 263 yards and two touchdowns.

Maryland returns home next Saturday to face Villanova at noon as the Terps look to put together their first win streak of the season.