Inching closer to a bowl comes at a cost for Terps
Maryland QB Tagovailoa gets carted off in win over Indiana
Maryland football moved within one win of bowl eligibility on Saturday by defeating Indiana, 38-33. However, the Terps’ fifth victory of the season came at a cost, as redshirt junior Taulia Tagovailoa was carted off the field in the fourth quarter after suffering a lower leg injury.
With redshirt freshman Billy Edwards Jr. under center, the Terps relied on redshirt freshman running back Roman Hemby (17 carries, 107 yards, touchdown) and their running game to improve to 2-2 in Big Ten Conference play.
Here are three takeaways from their victory in Bloomington, Indiana.
Indiana brought the heat
With left tackle Jaelyn Duncan out because of personal reasons, the Hoosiers’ defense brought the heat. Tagovailoa was pressured on 48.9% of his drop-backs, the highest rate of the season according to Pro Football Focus. Indiana linebacker Aaron Casey wreaked havoc, totaling 10 tackles (two for loss), a sack and two forced fumbles.
Still, Tagovailoa held his own against Indiana’s aggressive defense, completing 10 of 16 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown while averaging 7.7 yards per attempt.
Late in the first quarter, Tagovailoa spun away from Casey before throwing a 26-yard pass to wide receiver Tai Felton as part of Maryland’s eight-play, 71-yard scoring drive that carried over into the second and ended when Tagovailoa found sophomore tight end CJ Dippre for an 18-yard touchdown and a 14-3 lead.
Locksley said Saturday was the most pressure the Terps faced so far. “We knew that going in,” he said, “so the game plan, initially, was to get the ball out on the perimeter, which we were able to do, scoring 14 points.”
Locksley said Maryland had a good feel for Indiana’s blitzes going into halftime, allowing the Terps to make the necessary adjustments to get the running game going. After the Terps were held to 13 rushing yards in the first half, they totaled 127 yards in the fourth quarter.
Points off turnovers
Maryland failed to score after the defense forced three straight turnovers in the third quarter last week against Purdue, but Saturday was a different story as the Terps turned all three turnovers into points.
It didn’t take long, either. On Indiana’s opening play, quarterback Connor Bazelak watched his pass tip off tight end Aaron Steinfeldt’s hand and get intercepted by junior cornerback Tarheeb Still at the Hoosiers’ 25. Four plays later, Tagovailoa scored on a 3-yard keeper to give Maryland a 7-0 lead.
“It was a really big play,” Still said. “It was kind of unexpected. [The ball] came right to me, and then the offense turned around and scored off it. A lot of momentum was taken
from that play.”
With 13:23 to go in the third quarter, Bazelak’s deep ball down the left sideline was intercepted by Maryland senior cornerback Deonte Banks before kicker Chad
Ryland converted a 36-yard field goal for a 24-17 lead.
The biggest turnover came late in the game. Edwards scored on a 3-yard keeper with 2:11 left, extending Maryland’s lead to two scores at 38-27. The drive was set up by defensive lineman Mosiah Nasili-Kite’s fumble recovery three minutes earlier and Hemby’s 46-yard run into the red zone.
Another fast start
No team in the country starts faster than the Terps. Their touchdown less than two minutes in continued Maryland’s FBS-leading streak of seven consecutive games with a score on the opening drive.
Maryland has scored a touchdown on five opening drives while settling for field goals against SMU and Michigan. Tagovailoa especially has excelled on opening drives, throwing for 286 yards and a touchdown and rushing for two scores. He threw for 67 yards and a touchdown in their first drive in a victory over Charlotte last month, and Hemby has rushed for 111 yards in those possessions, including a 33-yard touchdown in Week 1 against Buffalo and a 50-yard run against the Mustangs that set up a Ryland field goal.