Maryland football routs Towson behind Taulia Tagovailoas big day
Michael Locksley first issued the edict back in July, telling those gathered at Big Ten media day that now was the time for his Maryland football team to start competing for the conference title. He reiterated the idea as the season approached, boosting optimism about his fifth year at the helm.
If Locksley and the Terrapins are going to post landmark victories or create seismic change in College Park, the opportunities to do so remain a ways off. The season opener against Towson gave the program and its fans a chance to enjoy a Saturday of college football without anxiety about the game’s outcome or the team’s future.
The hopeful Terps made a fine first impression, overpowering their Football Championship Subdivision foes, 38-6, to kick off a new season with a home win over their coach’s alma mater.
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“It’s always great to start 1-0,” Locksley said. “I thought our team came in prepared to play and got off to the kind of fast start we like to get off to. … There’s always things we need to get cleaned up, which we’ll do, but it’s good to be able to do that after a win.”
Coming off back-to-back bowl victories for the first time in two decades, Maryland looked confident and competent from the opening drive. Senior quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa, whose decision to return was one of the driving forces behind the offseason buzz, fittingly was the first to reach the end zone. On the seventh play from scrimmage, he dropped back to pass, spotted a gaping hole on the right side and cruised to an easy 23-yard touchdown run. He sprinted through the end zone to a well-stocked student section, where joyous, sun-soaked fans were waiting to celebrate in the front row.
By the time those students were draped by the traditional unfurling of the Maryland flag between the first and second quarters, the home team led 21-0.
Tagovailoa has a few new weapons this season after the departures of wideouts Rakim Jarrett and Dontay Demus Jr., but he leaned on his veteran playmakers early Saturday. His first passing touchdown went to junior tight end Corey Dyches (from 23 yards), and his second went to sixth-year wide receiver Jeshaun Jones (from 24). Jones finished with 57 receiving yards; Dyches set a career high with 108.
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“This one is always a little more exciting, just because it’s the first one and you haven’t had that feeling in a while,” Dyches said. “But once you get out there and take a couple of hits, it’s all the same.”
The first major play by a newcomer came from wide receiver Kaden Prather, a Northwest High product who transferred in after two seasons at West Virginia. Just before halftime, Tagovailoa threw a 13-yard fade to the corner of the end zone, and the 6-foot-4 Prather went up and nabbed it to make it 28-3.
“Our connection is getting better and better every day,” Prather said. “I got thrown into the fire when I got here, so [Tagovailoa] and I didn’t have too much time to get together and work on certain things. But it’s getting better by the day. … He’s a confident quarterback, both in himself and his team. It’s really easy to play for someone that confident and give them your all.”
Tagovailoa finished 22 for 33 for 260 yards and three passing touchdowns to go with his rushing score. He became the first Maryland quarterback to reach 8,000 career passing yards. Second-stringer Billy Edwards Jr. replaced him with the Terps ahead 35-6 late in the third quarter.
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“It feels good to see the work we put in all offseason out there,” Tagovailoa said. “A performance like that gives us a lot of confidence going forward, and I’m happy we got it going in our first game.”
A reworked Maryland secondary had no issues with Towson’s passing attack. After the loss of cornerbacks Deonte Banks (a first-round draft pick by the New York Giants) and Jakorian Bennett (a fourth-rounder now with the Las Vegas Raiders), the Terps added Ja’Quan Sheppard, an all-conference cornerback from Cincinnati, and Avantae Williams, a safety from Miami. Towson did not complete a pass until the second quarter, and quarterback Nathan Kent finished 16 for 31 for 128 yards. In their first game under Coach Pete Shinnick, the Tigers struggled mightily with the Terps’ speed and physicality.
Maryland slowed in the second half as it cycled in new players, but Towson was powerless to alter its fate. Terps running back Roman Hemby, coming off a breakout freshman campaign, scored from nine yards in the third quarter, and Edwards led a 17-play drive to a field goal in the fourth.
The Terps hope a similar, stress-free experience awaits when they host Charlotte next Saturday night.
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