Another inflection point for Mike Locksley to try and change the narrative surrounding his eight years as Maryland coach arrived in front of a sold-out home crowd Saturday night. Once again, he and his team failed to meet the moment.
Virginia Tech quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer threw three touchdowns, and Maryland, beset by poor coverage and even worse tackling, had no way to stop the Hokies in a 35-26 loss.
“Going into this game, there were no indications for me that we would play defense the way we played in terms of not being able to get off the field or stop the run,” Locksley said.
The win improves Virginia Tech to 3-0 in coach James Franklin’s first season, the first time the Hokies have reached that mark in nine years. Franklin improves to 7-1 against his friend and rival Locksley and 10-2 overall against the Terrapins.
Penn State transfer Grunkemeyer picked apart Maryland’s defense with precision, completing 31-of-39 passes for 314 yards. Tight end Luke Reynolds was his favorite target — and a killer in converting third downs in crucial spots — catching 12 balls for 107 yards and a score.
UMD quarterback Malik Washington threw for 359 yards, his second-straight 300-yard effort, along with three touchdowns. Receiver Chris Durr Jr. caught two of those scores, notching 10 or more receptions in back-to-back games along with a career-high 109 yards receiving.
Maryland’s 20-game non-conference winning streak, the nation’s longest, was snapped by the loss. The latest in a long line of squandered big-game opportunities in his tenure, it will likely increase the questions about Locksley’s long-term ability to turn the Terrapins around, especially in front of another sell-out crowd of more than 46,000.
“You’ve got to give a ton of credit to our fan base, the student section. I mean, it’s the type of environment that that you want to have for your football team. And the fans did their part. We’ve got to do ours,” Locksley said.
“We just really appreciate the support,” Washington said, “And as far them coming back, of course, we have to to win games in order to make people want to come to games.”
Maryland surrendered touchdowns on four of VT’s five first-half possessions, as the Hokies took advantage of a defense that was unable to pressure the quarterback and prone to breakdowns at the second and third levels.
“Just bad angles, you know. Just missing tackles. We got to be able to get the ball on the ground on third down and just get off the field, and that was a problem for us tonight,” linebacker Daniel Wingate said.
Virginia Tech converted three third downs on its opening drive, an authoritative march down the field culminating in a 14-yard screen pass touchdown to tight end Reynolds. Grunkemeyer was a perfect 6-for-6 on the drive, and Tech overcame a nullified 29-yard touchdown by running back Marcellous Hawkins Jr. that was overturned by a holding call to finish with a score anyway.
After a Maryland three-and-out, another lengthy Hokies drive ended with a Grunkemeyer 18-yard rushing touchdown, with the quarterback evading multiple Maryland defenders, including Wingate, on his way to the end zone. The early second quarter score gave VT a 13-0 lead after a blocked extra point.
Maryland’s second drive came out with more tempo, and was rewarded with points. Washington initially found receiver Kaleb Webb down the far sideline for a 45-yard TD, but Webb was ruled out at the 1 after review. RB Iverson Howard punched it in three plays later to cut the Tech lead to 13-7.
But Maryland’s coverage, specifically in the secondary, could not find an answer for Grunkemeyer’s precision. After their sixth consecutive third down conversion of the first half, a simple swing pass to RB Jeffrey Overton Jr. went down the left sideline for a 49-yard touchdown. Sidney Stewart — a defensive end — was forced from his position at the line of scrimmage to try and pursue Overton. It was a fruitless endeavor, as Overton made him as well as Wingate and defensive back Jamare Glasker miss on the way to the end zone.
“It’s very few times when missed tackles are a preparation thing,” Locksley said. “Usually, when we miss tackles, it’s closing the distance, it’s making sure we got our eyes up, it’s wrapping. But also, it’s running to the football and having a bunch of guys there, so if you do miss, you have the ability to get it on the ground. Today was just one of those days where we did not tackle the ball very well.”
Maryland found an answer late in the second via a five play, 67 yard drive that culminated in receiver Chris Durr Jr.’s first TD of the season, a 12-yard dart from Washington off of his back foot under pressure.
The deficit was again six, 20-14, before Virginia Tech executed a 2-minute drill to perfection to close the half with another touchdown, a 2-yard pass to a wide-open Ja’Ricous Hairston, and a 27-14 lead at the break
After a UMD three-and-out to open the second half, Overton scored for the second time on Tech’s next drive to extend the lead to 35-14.
Maryland used a drive that spanned the end of the third and beginning of the fourth quarter takes 2:24 of the fourth quarter, finally getting into the end zone via a 2-yd TD pass to Dorian Fleming. Inexplicably, the Terrapins tried a 2-point conversion, which was unsuccessful and left them down 35-20.
“I’m not going to sit up here and say it’s just analytics because I also make the decision. We were playing to win, and when you’re down 15 and you have a chance to score two, I felt really good about our two-point plan that we had all week long, and we didn’t get it executed,” Locksley said.
Another Terrapins score via a 13-yard Durr reception cut the margin to 9 after another failed attempt at two, allowing Tech to control the clock and seal the win.
The Big Ten schedule begins next Saturday at home against UCLA. Maryland has lost its last eight conference games.
Contact the author
Please read our comment policy before commenting.