Maryland 38, Villanova 20
When: 12:00 PM ET, Saturday, September 21, 2024
Where: SECU Stadium, College Park, Maryland
Temperature:
77°
Head Official:
Greg Sujack
Attendance:
38006
By Field Level Media
Billy Edwards Jr. threw for 328 yards and two touchdowns, guiding Maryland to a 38-20 win over Villanova, Saturday afternoon in College Park, Md.
Tai Felton had a career-high 14 receptions for 157 yards and a touchdown to become the first player in Terrapins history to open a season with four straight games with at least 100 receiving yards.
Roman Hemby ran for 67 yards and a touchdown run as Maryland (3-1) extended its winning streak over nonconference teams to 15, which is second-longest in the Football Bowl Subdivision trailing only Georgia's run of 24 straight.
Kaden Prather had six receptions for 57 yards and a touchdown. Nolan Ray and backup quarterback MJ Morris added touchdown runs for Maryland.
Edwards completed 28 of 32 passes with one interception on a tipped pass as Maryland outgained Villanova (3-1) of the Football Championship Subdivision 497-231.
Tommy Akingbesote led the Maryland defense, helping derail one Villanova drive with a tackle for a loss and stopping another march with a third-down sack, forcing the Wildcats to settle for a field goal.
Connor Watkins completed 12 of 29 passes for 106 yards and a touchdown for Villanova. In a backup role for the Wildcats, Tanner Maddocks completed 4 of 4 passes for 50 yards and ran for a touchdown.
The Terrapins dominated the first half, scoring on their first four possessions to take a 24-0 lead.
On their lone drive into Maryland territory in the first half, the Wildcats came up empty as Dillan Fontus blocked a 33-yard field goal attempt by Ethan Gettman.
Villanova's best stretch came in the first 11 minutes of the second half. After Gettman booted a 33-yard field goal, he followed with an onside kick that he recovered at the Wildcats 47.
Seven plays later, Watkins found Devin Smith open across the middle for a 17-yard touchdown pass that cut the Terrapins' lead to 24-10.
The lead would have been whittled further were it not for a replay reversal of a fourth-down, 26-yard pass from Watkins to Jaylan Sanchez which was initially ruled a touchdown on the Wildcats' opening drive of the second half.
After Villanova cut the deficit, Maryland resumed control on the ensuing series as Edwards completed five straight passes, including a 9-yard scoring toss to Felton which boosted the lead to 31-10.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
Rushing
Villanova |
|
Maryland |
Ja'briel Mace |
Player |
Roman Hemby
|
2 |
Attempts |
14 |
24 |
Yards |
67 |
12.0 |
Avg Yards |
4.8 |
0 |
Touchdowns |
1 |
0 |
Long |
0 |
Receiving
Villanova |
|
Maryland |
Devin Smith |
Player |
Tai Felton
|
5 |
Receptions |
14 |
62 |
Yards |
157 |
12.4 |
Avg Yards |
11.2 |
1 |
Touchdowns |
1 |
0 |
Long |
0 |
Team Stats Summary
|
Yards |
Scoring |
Defense |
Team |
Tot |
Rus |
Pas |
TD |
FG |
INT |
Sck |
FF |
Villanova |
231 |
75 |
156 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Maryland
|
497 |
159 |
338 |
5 |
1 |
0 |
3.0 |
0 |