Maryland's defense has come up strong in the red zone, and the offense came through at the end of the period to give the Terps a 7-6 lead over Virginia after one.
Virginia received the opening kickoff, and gave the ball to Kevin Parks early. The running back ran for five yards on his first carry and two on his second, and David Watford found Keeon Johnson over the middle for a first down. Parks ran for five yards on his next carry before Watford connected with Jake McGee for another first. Marcus Whitfield broke through for a big tackle of a loss of Khalek Shepherd, making it second-and-15. Watford found Kyle Dockins for a short gain, setting up third-and-long. The Cavaliers attempted a draw pitch, but Andre Monroe broke through into the backfield to force the punt. Will Likely fumbled the punt, giving the Cavaliers another possession.
The Terps stuffed two straight Virginia runs to make it third-and-nine from the eleven, and a Watford pass fell incomplete to the left side. Alec Vozenilek hit a 28-yard field goal, making it 3-0 Virginia.
After an incomplete pass from Caleb Rowe to start out the first drive, he found Stefon Diggs for a 12-yard gain. Kenneth Goins took the next play for a one-yard gain. Rowe was unable to find Ross on the next play, but connected with Amba Etta for a 13-yard gain. A play-action backwards pass to Diggs went out of bound for a one-yard loss, and a one-yard pass to Ross gained two yards to set up third-and-nine. Rowe threw the ball in the middle of nowhere on the next play, setting up a punt for Nate Renfro, which he booted 43 yards into the end zone for a touchback.
On Virginia's next drive, Marcus Whitfield tipped a Watford pass back into the quarterback's hands, who was tackled for a four-yard loss. On the next play, Watford ran up the middle for nine yards, and then found Jake McGee for a 16-yard gain and a first down. After two incomplete passes, Watford found McGee over the middle for a 39-yard gain (who beat A.J. Hendy quite easily over the middle), bringing the Cavaliers near the Terrapin red zone. Two plays later, Watford found Zachary Swanson for a 14-yard gain to the six-yard-line. After a five-yard gain by Parks, the Terrapin defense stuffed him for no gain two plays in a row, forcing an 18-yard field goal from Vozenilek.
After his nationally-recognized performance against West Virginia, Hendy has really struggled over the past two weeks. Maryland is hurting without Jeremiah Johnson, Dexter McDougle and Matt Robinson (especially Robinson, who would cover those middle routes that Virginia has been preying on), and Hendy has been exposed since his award-winning performance against the Mountaineers.
Maryland's offense came to life late in the first quarter, as Rowe found Ross on a screen pass for 77 yards to bring the Terps to the goal line. Two plays later, Ross jumped over the pile for the touchdown, giving Maryland the 7-6 lead.
Some quick stats:
Caleb Rowe - 4/8, 104 yards
Brandon Ross - Two rushes, two yards, one touchdown, two receptions, 79 yards
Anthony Nixon - Five tackles, one for a loss