The Virginia Cavaliers (2-1) suffered their first defeat of the season with a 27-13 loss to the Maryland Terrapins (2-1) on Saturday night at Scott Stadium. 

Both defenses had the upper hand through the first two quarters. UVA was forced to settle for two early field goals inside the 10-yard line, which is not a recipe to win against quality football teams. In the postgame presser, Coach Tony Elliott spoke about how important it is to “come away with touchdowns” when in the red zone, but mentioned he was still happy to walk away with early field goals as the Hoos built a lead. 

The Virginia defense kept Virginia in the game early, applying strong pocket pressure on Maryland quarterback Billy Edwards, who couldn’t quite seem to find a rhythm out of the gate. Notably, the Maryland offense was also quite erratic with penalties. The Terrapins totaled seven penalties for 51 yards in the first half of the contest.  

The Virginia offense was quite lackluster themselves, despite amassing 288 total first half yards. Colandrea and Co. went just 2 of 8 on third down conversions through the first two quarters, and coupled with two bad turnovers from Colandrea (1 fumble, 1 interception) the Virginia offense was far from spectacular. 

The first sign of life from both offenses came at the very end of the half. The Billy Edwards – Tai Felton connection came to life, with Edwards finding Felton on consecutive 15+ yard passes, with the second being a 19-yard TD for Maryland’s first score of the contest.  

The Virginia offense responded with their most exciting drive of the game.  With less than a minute left in the half, Colandrea found tight end Tyler Neville for a 41-yard gain to set the Hoos up in the red zone with just nine seconds left in the half. Colandrea danced his way around the Maryland defense and rushed in for the Cavaliers’ first score of the game, giving the Hoos a 13-7 halftime lead.

The Terrapins took over from the jump in the second half. After a Virginia three-and-out, Edwards and the Maryland offense orchestrated one of the stronger drives of the game, finding the endzone on a 8-play, 68-yard drive capped off by a 26-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Kaden Prather.  

Poor offensive play compounded for the Hoos. On the next drive, Colandrea turned the ball over for the third time on the day, floating a weak pass down the sideline that was intercepted by Maryland’s Jalen Huskey. 

Fortunately for the Hoos, the Virginia defense continued to step up where the offense faltered. The Terrapins didn’t turn any of their first three turnovers into points on the other end, and the defense deserves to be recognized for said efforts. Chico Bennett Jr. led the charge, with 8 total tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss; including a huge third down tackle to stuff the Maryland offense after Colandrea’s second interception. Antonio Clary, James Jackson, and Jonas Sanker were all elite tonight as well, totaling 14, 12, and 11 tackles respectively. 

Elliot spoke in the postgame on Virginia’s inability to “establish a rhythm” offensively in the second half. The Hoos’ next three drives went three & out, three & out, fumble; after the Cavaliers fourth turnover of the game, the Terrapins found the endzone to extend their lead to 27-13 late in the fourth quarter, a lead that would hold as Saturday’s final. 

Up next, the Cavaliers (2-1) travel to take on the undefeated Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (3-0) next Saturday, September 21 in Conway, South Carolina.