Terps defenseless against balance of Cavaliers, 31-13
At halftime of a Maryland-Virginia basketball game, newly-hired Terrapins football coach Randy Edsall was introduced at Comcast Center. Grabbing a microphone, Edsall announced: “At Maryland, we don’t lose to Virginia.”
Oops.
Edsall was wrong that night in March as Virginia dealt Maryland a hoops defeat. Saturday afternoon when the football teams met, he was loud wrong. With Virginia rolling up 527 yards in its most complete offensive game under coach Mike London, the Cavaliers clinched a bowl berth and ended the bowl hopes of the Terrapins, winning 31-13 before 37,401 at Byrd Stadium.
With the depleted Maryland defense missing starters and tackles, Virginia quarterback Michael Rocco completed 23 of 35 passes for 307 yards and two touchdowns, distributing to a wealth of weapons. The Terps had no answer for running backs Perry Jones (22 carries, 139 yards, two touchdowns) and Kevin Parks (106 yards rushing and receiving) and wide receivers Kris Burd (nine receptions, 112 yards) and Tim Smith (five receptions, 101 yards).
The loss was the fifth straight for Maryland (2-7, 1-5) in a season that is looking like 2009, when the Terps went 2-10. Late in the game, a small group of fans chanted “Fire Edsall.”
“I feel bad for the seniors not being able to go out with a win,” Edsall said. “We aren’t going to slog through [the last three games]. We are going to go out there, play hard, and work to get better.”
Maryland quarterbacks Danny O’Brien (16 of 36, 241 yards) and C.J. Brown (4 of 7, 28 yards) had their moments in the first half, helping stake the Terps to a 13-7 lead. But Virginia (6-3, 3-2) took the lead for good late in the second period with a four-play, 65-yard drive, then extended it with scoring drives on their first three possessions of the second half.
Before the season started, O’Brien declared the season “ACC title or bust.”
“[Being bowl ineligible] is very frustrating and it’s something we never imagined,” O’Brien said. “I think the worst thing about it was losing this game for the seniors, being their last game at Byrd Stadium. It was really emotional, and on top of that, losing to Virginia. That’s the last team you want to lose to.”
Virginia senior safety Rodney McLeod, playing minutes from where he attended high school (DeMatha), had three interceptions, all in the second half, doubling his career total to keep the Cavaliers in command.
“I just had a magnet today,” McLeod said.
All of McLeod’s interceptions had consequences, but the first was the most critical. It came after O’Brien had hit Quintin McCree (seven receptions, 117 yards) for 39 yards with the Terps down 21-13. Two plays later, McLeod read O’Brien’s sideline toss.
Virginia took advantage, following with a 66-yard march, capped by Rocco’s 17-yard touchdown completion to Max Millien for a 28-13 lead. When Maryland took possession, Brown replaced O’Brien.
Brown was ineffective in the second half. In his lone series in the first half, he directed a four-play, 83-yard touchdown burst. After running for 25 yards, Brown hit tight end Devonte Campbell for a 17-yard touchdown and a 10-7 lead.
“I don’t think switching quarterbacks adversely affected us,” Edsall said. “It was our plan to put C.J. in the second quarter.”
In breaking its 13-game losing streak in games played in November, Virginia is bowl eligible for the first time since 2007.
“We didn’t want to let the past two or three years effect now,” said Jones, a junior. “It’s good that we are bowl eligible, but we are trying to look for more wins.”
What a difference a year makes. Last November it was Maryland enjoying a raucous celebration after a 42-23 victory on Senior Day in Charlottesville. This time it was the Cavaliers who rained on Maryland’s final home game.
One of the Terrapins heroes a year ago was short-yardage weapon D.J. Adams, who scored three touchdowns. On Saturday, the sophomore remained on the sideline as the Terps failed to score from first and goal at the 2.
“We just feel that the young men that are in front of him are doing the things in those situations that are the best for us,” Edsall said.
In each of the losses in their current streak, Maryland has yielded a scoring drove on the opponents opening possession. Virginia needed only 20 seconds to score on Saturday as freshman Khalek Shepherd (Gwynn Park) took the opening kickoff 48 yards and Jones followed with a 47-yard touchdown scamper when it appeared the Terps’ defense had him corralled.
“It’s like here we go again,” Edsall said. “It does get frustrating. But what you’ve got to keep doing is keep moving forward, keep moving ahead.”
Notes: Maryland committed five turnovers and converted just three of 13 third downs … Maryland senior Kerry Boykins had a career-high 101 yards on six receptions … Linebacker Darin Drakeford had 11 tackles, his first career interception, and forced a fumble … The last Cavalier to intercept three passes in a game was Anthony Poindexter, versus North Carolina in 1996. Poindexter is now Virginia’s special teams coordinator. Burd now has 142 career receptions and needs three to pass No. 2 Heath Miller on the Virginia all-time receptions list.
