CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Maryland football faced a third-and-short inside Virginia’s 10-yard line midway through the fourth quarter searching for a two-touchdown lead.
After not doing so last weekend, the Terps ran five straight quarterback sneaks — the final a Billy Edwards Jr. tush push that all-but sealed the win. Maryland, after a horrid offensive first half, surged after the break to a 27-13 victory over Virginia at Scott Stadium on Saturday.
“I felt last week we watched the scoreboard a little too much,” coach Michael Locksley said. “That scoreboard creates anxiety. The whole piece of this week was … we don’t really care about the scoreboard.”
When the schools played last year, Virginia (2-1) entered with an inexperienced quarterback while Maryland (2-1) had the veteran signal-caller in a 42-14 rout for the Terps. That was flipped, though the same result ensued.
Anthony Colandrea fired three interceptions and completed less than 60 percent of his passes in his second career start. The sophomore was inconsistent in the rematch.
Colandrea threw numerous highlight-worthy deep balls throughout the night to set the Cavaliers’ offense up in scoring positions, but also threw two interceptions and fumbled in the red zone.
Billy Edwards Jr., while older than Colandrea, made just the second road start of his career. He initially struggled in a hostile environment but fared well as the game progressed, leading scoring drives on five of Maryland’s final seven possessions.
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Edwards finished with 263 passing yards and two touchdowns along with a rushing score — his first of 2024 after posting seven a year ago.
“At some point you gotta line up and not get cute and say, ‘Hey, we’re bigger, let’s show and impose our will on people,’” Locksley said.
Maryland’s offense was sloppy in the first quarter. It was penalized four times, three coming on third down. The problem carried over from last weekend, when the Terps committed nine penalties against Michigan State.
A vital miscue came late in the second quarter
Maryland’s offense lined up to go for it on fourth-and-1 on the 41-yard line, breaking out of the huddle looking primed to run a quarterback sneak, but Andre Roye Jr. was penalized for encroachment — leading to a punt for the fifth time in six drives.
The Terps eventually struck on their final drive of the first half.
Edwards had command of the offense in a two-minute situation. The quarterback capped off a seven-play drive with a 19-yard strike to Tai Felton in the end zone on Edwards’ finest throw of the half.
The reception marked Felton’s third straight game with more than 100 yards and at least one touchdown.
“The biggest thing for him is he just kept pushing,” Edwards said. “Now the golden opportunity is in front of him.”
But Maryland’s defense couldn’t stop the Cavaliers with 50 seconds remaining in the half. Colandrea scrambled for a 10-yard touchdown to push Virginia back in front 13-7.
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The play was what Locksley worried about during the week — he said one of the scariest runs for his defense to face was a quarterback scramble.
A 39-yard completion to Tyler Neville set up Colandrea’s score. Big plays, which significantly hurt Maryland in its loss to Michigan State last weekend, wounded the Terps again in the first half.
The Cavaliers registered five big plays through the air and three on the ground entering halftime. Both of Virginia’s first-half field-goal possessions included explosive passes.
Locksley felt Maryland was out-efforted over the first two quarters. That changed after the break.
The Terps’ offense carried over their strong end of the first half into the second. Edwards engineered an eight-play, 68-yard drive, which was then their longest in both metrics. He connected with Kaden Prather in the end zone on a back-shoulder throw for a 26-yard touchdown.
Maryland’s efficiency increased in the third quarter. It averaged six yards a play, didn’t commit a penalty and a Jack Howes 37-yard field goal resulted in a pair of scoring drives for a 17-13 lead.
An increase in intensity from Maryland’s defense worked in unison with the offense. Virginia’s second-half possessions resulted in three punts, two turnovers and a turnover-on-downs.
The unit shutout Virginia in the second half. Maryland scored 20 unanswered points to close out the game.
“This whole week our mentality has been don’t flinch,” defensive back Jalen Huskey said.