Instant Analysis: Maryland 42, Virginia 14
Friday night's game seemed almost like a replay of last weekend's win over Charlotte. Virginia scored the game's first two touchdowns to take a 14-0 lead in the first quarter before the Terps reeled off 42 straight points of their own en route to a 42-14 win.
With the win, the Terps moved to 3-0 and finished undefeated in the non-conference as they get set to travel to East Lansing, Michigan to play Sparty next week in their Big Ten opener.
Below are several key takeaways from Maryland's season-opening win.
RELATED: Watch Mike Locksley Virginia postgame press conference | Terps blow out border rival Virginia, 42-14
Freshman Wisloski sparks Terps early on special teams
Trailing by two touchdowns late in the 1st quarter, it wasn't Taulia Tagovailoa or Roman Hemby and the Terps offense that got Maryland on the board first. Instead, it was electric true freshman Braeden Wisloski, who took the Cavaliers' third and final kickoff of the game 98 yards for a touchdown.
Wisloski arrived in College Park with a reputation as a speedster capable of returning kicks for touchdowns. He ran a 4.4 second 40-yard dash while camping at Maryland and was a Pennsylvania state champion in the 100 meters. He also returned both a kickoff and punt for touchdowns as a senior at Southern Columbia.
For the game Friday night, Wisloski finished with three kickoff returns for 129 yards and a touchdown, all coming in the first quarter.
Tagovailoa puts up big numbers, plays mostly mistake-free football
While it took Taulia Tagovailoa a while to really get it going Friday night, the fifth-year senior had a productive evening, finishing with 342 yards and a touchdown through the air. It marked the 13th time in his Terps career that he has thrown for over 300 yards in a game and the first time he has done so this season.
Tagovailoa seemed to get better as the game went on versus Virginia, going 9-of-14 for 197 yards and a touchdown through the air in the second half, as the Terps outscored the Cavailiers 28-0 in the final two frames.
But perhaps equally as important as Tagovailoa's big passing numbers Friday night were two very small numbers, as in 0 interceptions and just one sack taken. After throwing two interceptions last week versus Charlotte, including a pick six on the first offensive play of the game, Tagovailoa committed zero turnovers for the second time in three games so far this season.
Tagovailoa did take one sack for a 16-yard loss in the 3rd quarter, but for the most part played mistake-free football versus the Cavaliers.
Defense creates late takeaways for Terps
After forcing just two turnovers in their first two games of the season, the Terps' defense went off in the 4th quarter Friday night versus Virginia, as starting cornerback Tarheeb Still picked off Cavs freshman quarterback Anthony Colandrea twice and reserve defensive lineman Donnell Brown had his second interception in as many games.
Maryland's fourth and final turnover came in the final minutes as backup defensive tackle Tre Colbert recovered his own strip sack of Colandrea.
The Terps entered the 4th quarter Friday night with just a seven point lead, but were able to turn three of those Virginia turnovers into touchdowns, as they cruised to another big win late.
McDonald leads ground attack
After playing sparingly in the Terps' season opener versus Towson, junior running back Colby McDonald took advantage of some unexpected opportunities late versus Charlotte after Antwain Littleton was benched following a turnover, rushing eight times for 73 yards and a touchdown versus the 49ers last week.
With both Hemby and Littleton struggling to get much going Friday night versus Virginia, it was McDonald who once again took advantage of his given opportunities, rushing 10 times for a game-high 75 yards and a touchdown.
While Hemby is still likely to be the Terps' workhorse this season, McDonald has proven his worth, averaging 4.3 yards per carry through three games and has shown big-play ability with runs of 35 yards and 23 yards.
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