The Terps looked to rebound after a disappointing showing the previous week at home against a middle of the pack Big 10 team in Michigan State. The outcome was not what many Maryland fans expected, and that was a crushing 27-24 loss. This this past weekend the Terps traveled to face a middle of the pack ACC team, and former rival, in Virginia. The first half started to look like a continuation of the previous week as Maryland was down 13-7 at halftime, and when things were looking pretty bad BAM! I am not sure what Maryland Head Coach Mike Locksley said to the troops, but it turned out to be a dominant second half showing as the Terps (2-1) defeated Virginia (2-1) 27-13.

In that second half the Terps were cooking on both sides of the ball as the offense side of the ball the Terps outgained Virginia in the second half 250-82 yards. Maryland QB Billy Edwards completed 28 of 43 passes and threw for 2 touchdowns and all-American candidate Tai Felton continued to put up impressive numbers as he hauled in 9 passes for 117 yards and leads the Big 10 in receiving yards.

Maryland’s Tai Felton holds the top spot after three weeks. 💪 pic.twitter.com/YKi3tsHiXE

— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) September 17, 2024

It was on the defensive side of the ball in that 2nd half where the Terps locked down Virginia as the defense held the Cavaliers to just 51 passing yards and just 31 yards rushing. The defense also forced 4 turnovers which included 2 interceptions and 2 fumble recoveries. Dante Trader led the Terps in tackles with a career high 11 tackles and one interception which earned him Big10 defensive player of the week. With the 4 takeaways the Terps now lead the nation in turnovers margin with +9.

Our guys are making plays on Defense 💪🔥 pic.twitter.com/iDJGx8t3fd

— Maryland Football (@TerpsFootball) September 18, 2024

This week the Terps come home to College Park for a Saturday showdown with Villanova (3-0). I will be interested to see how the Terps come out against a Villanova team that is ranked #5 in the FCS and should not be taken lightly. The Terps need to continue where they left off against Virginia and come our firing on all cylinders and not to have a major letdown after a huge win.

Some of the question marks I had entering the season have been answered in Maryland seems to have found their QB. The defense seems to be Maryland’s calling card, although they give up 388 yards per game, which is 94th in the nation and most in the Big10, they still make plays and give the offense a chance.

But there are still some major concerns.

I want to see the offensive line start coming together and get the running game going as the Terps rushing attack averages a dismal 154.0 yards per game which is #72 in the nation and 13th in the Big 10. Hemby and Ray are due for a huge game, they just need some holes to run through.

The defense needs to get after the quarterback with some pressure, as they do well against the run, but excluding that 2nd half against UVA, the Terps secondary gives up a lot of yards and to many big plays.

The penalties still need to come down as they average 63 penalty yards per game and have a total of 19 for the season which through 3 games has determined the outcome or played a role how the game played out.

Prediction:

Terps: 34
Villanova: 10