Maryland has shown little trouble in the face of Old Dominion's vaunted passing attack, as the Terrapin defense has come up big early, while the offense has scored three times. Maryland has a 17-3 lead after one quarter.
Maryland's defense got off to a fast start, stopping Taylor Heinicke on Old Dominion's first drive. On the first play, A.J. Hendy made a tackle for a loss, and Marcus Whitfield followed up by blowing up a blocker and taking down Heinicke for no gain. On the next play, Isaac Goins picked off a deep Heinicke pass, drawing a facemask penalty and giving Maryland good field position on their first drive of the game.
Maryland started their first drive with a three-yard run by Brandon Ross, and C.J. Brown just missed Deon Long on a go route. On third down, Brown found Stefon Diggs over the middle on a tight ten-yard pass and a first down. On the next play, Brown pitched to Brandon Ross on an option play, and Ross kept it for a 12-yard gain. The drive ended in a 32-yard field goal for Brad Craddock.
The Monarchs got to work on their second drive, with their hurry-up in full effect. Heinicke completed three consecutive passes to Larry Pinkard for a combined 50 yards, culminating with a fantastic 18-yard strike in the corner of the end zone to Blair Roberts that was called incomplete on review by the officials. Old Dominion was forced to settle for a field goal, and Jarod Brown hit the 35-yarder to tie it up at 3-3.
On the next drive, Maryland ran the triple-option read that resulted in a big gain on a pitch to Diggs against FIU, but instead handed it off to Ross for a 23-yard gain up the middle. A few plays later, Kenneth Goins, Jr. ran for ten yards, and Brown completed a 12-yard pass to Stinebaugh on the next play. Ross capped off the drive with a five-yard touchdown run, giving the Terps a 10-3 lead. On the drive, he ran four times for 49 yards.
Marcus Whitfield opened up Old Dominion's next drive with a 16-yard sack of Heinicke. The quarterback responded by scrambling for 20 yards on the next play, leaving the Monarchs with third-and-six. Heinicke made a very poor throw over the middle, which Sean Davis intercepted easily, returning for a touchdown. The return was negated, as Will Likely made a freshman mistake with an illegal block.
On the first play of the ensuing drive, Brown found Stefon Diggs over the middle for a ridiculous 41-yard catch. On the following play, Brown ran to the left side, punching it in from five yards out. Craddock made the extra point, giving Maryland the 17-3 lead.
Some stats:
C.J. Brown - 4/6, 69 yards. One rush for five yards and a touchdown.
Brandon Ross - Seven rushes, 63 yards, one touchdown.
Stefon Diggs - Two receptions, 51 yards. One rush, six yards.
Matt Robinson - Four tackles.
Will Likely - Four tackles.
Marcus Whitfield - Three tackles, one sack.
Sean Davis - Two tackles, one interception.
Isaac Goins - One tackle, one interception.
Lorne Goree - One tackle, one sack.