Maryland vs. West Virginia final score, with 3 things to know from the Terps' 45-6 loss

The Maryland football program has been blown out enough times in recent seasons that it is dangerous to call any one loss a "low point." Because there are so many candidates (63-0 to Florida State in 2013, 52-7 to Wisconsin in 2014, 48-27 to Bowling Green earlier this month), it's challenging to single out any Terrapins loss as the worst of the bunch.

But this was probably it, at least until the next one. In Morgantown, West Virginia undressed Maryland, 45-6, in front of the kind of raucous crowd Maryland shouldn't expect to see at any home games for the rest of the season. The Mountaineers stopped Maryland on downs on the game's first series, countered quickly for a touchdown and never looked back. Maryland was down by three touchdowns after all of 10 minutes and never mounted anything that smelled like a comeback.

Backup Daxx Garman replaced Caleb Rowe at quarterback after Rowe went 10 of 27 for 67 yards and four interceptions. In relief, Garman was 4 of 9 for 86 yards. He threw a 46-yard, shutout-preventing touchdown to freshman Jahrvis Davenport in the fourth quarter. He threw his first interception as time expired, which felt fitting for this game.

Even Maryland's strengths eluded it. Will Likely was beaten for a couple of big plays on defense and couldn't find his customary magic in the return game. Maryland's offensive line, which hadn't given up a sack all year, let up three but could have surrendered several more. Brandon Ross ran for 130 yards on 15 carries, but his best play of the day ended in a touchback fumble. The Terps did nothing well, and the only positive thing to say for them is that they kept their heads up and played through it. Not well, but they played.

The Terps are 2-2 heading into Big Ten play, with their wins coming over an FCS team and bad South Florida. Next week's opponent is Michigan, which is 3-1 after beating No. 22 BYU, 31-0, on Saturday.

There's little sense in cobbling together a blow-by-blow of this over-before-it-really-began game. The essentials are these: Maryland's defense gave up three touchdown drives on its first three abominable series, which took up just more than five minutes. The team took seven penalties for 65 yards in the half – six in the first quarter! – after taking 12 for 120 in last weekend's game, then got back into double-digits in the second half. So, at least everyone learned from past mistakes.

It wouldn't have mattered anyway, but Randy Edsall managed to snuff out whatever offensive life Maryland did find on a few occasions with meaningless punts. At one stretch in the first half, Maryland punted four times in a row (twice from inside West Virginia territory), and three led to Mountaineer scores in a total of not even five minutes.

The game was over after about long, and Maryland was more than dead by halftime. But the second half brought more folly. After Maryland recovered a fumble on the half's opening kickoff, Maryland's coaches somehow reasoned to have Rowe throw a deep pass to Wes Brown, who was in single coverage against West Virginia's Karl Joseph, an All-American-caliber safety and future NFL draft pick. It wasn't fair to Brown or Rowe, and it inevitably led to another interception. Shame on Maryland's coaches for making their players try something that outrageous.

Additionally, West Virginia tried and succeeded on a fake punt with a 38-point lead in the third quarter.

Three things to know

1. For Maryland, it was another humiliation. When the Terrapins lose, they lose in style. Last year, they six games, and four were by more than 24 points. This year, they've now lost two games by 21 and 39 points. The Terps have demonstrated repeatedly that they aren't in the same stratosphere as anyone who inhabits the upper reaches of college football. Shown a chance to turn that tide on Saturday, they failed spectacularly.

2. Maryland still has quarterback problems. Rowe seemed to seize the starting job even with an up-and-down showing against South Florida, but this game has to throw things into a bit of flux. The offense couldn't move at all under Perry Hills, and Rowe has now thrown an outrageous nine interceptions (the most in FBS this season, at last check) in his last three appearances. So long as Dwayne Haskins remains in the 12th grade, there are no easy answers here.

3. This isn't a rivalry anymore. The Terps have now lost nine of 10 to the Mountaineers, who they won't play again for another five years. These teams play in neighboring states, but they aren't in the same class. Dana Holgorsen's program is more talented, better on the recruiting trail and better-positioned for success. Until Maryland is good enough to do something other than be beaten like a drum against this team, there can be no substantial rivalry here. There can only be one team that's a lot better than another team with similar geography.

Maryland's crowd at kickoff last week compared to West Virginia's today pic.twitter.com/EtrqJUvSmD

— Ryan Baillargeon (@RyanBaillargeon) September 26, 2015

Also, that.