Ad Disclosure
Rapid reaction: Maryland dominates every facet of Pinstripe Bowl, pummels Virginia Tech
Published:
Maryland left no doubt and showed no mercy at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday afternoon. The result was a bowl victory for the first time since 2010.
Taulia Tagovailoa threw for 265 yards and 2 touchdowns while completing 20-of-24 pass attempts and Darryl Jones had 4 receptions for 111 yards and 2 touchdowns, leading Maryland to a 54-10 win over Virginia Tech in the Pinstripe Bowl. It’s the first time the Terrapins have been victorious in a bowl game since the 2010 Military Bowl.
Mike Locksley’s bunch was locked in and ready from the opening kickoff. After the defense forced Virginia Tech into a 3-and-out on the opening drive, Tarheeb Still returned a punt 92 yards for a touchdown to give the Terps an early 7-0 advantage.
It was the first punt return for a touchdown in the history of the Pinstripe Bowl and the longest in program history for Maryland.
Early in the second quarter, the Hokies were able to piece together a 10-play, 65-yard drive that resulted in a 36-yard field goal from John Parker Romo to cut the Maryland lead to 7-3. But that was really the last sign of hope Virginia Tech had in the game.
On the next possession, Tagovailoa needed just 1 play to hit Jones for a 70-yard touchdown strike to put Maryland ahead by two scores. The Terps piled on with a touchdown on the next possession, with Antwaine Littleton II scoring on a 4-yard run to cap a 60-yard drive.
Virginia Tech scored a touchdown on its final possession and Maryland was able to sneak in a field goal as time expired to close the half. The score heading into the locker room was 24-10.
Joseph Paterno added a field goal to Maryland’s total on the first possession of the second half and the Terrapins iced the game with a 32-yard touchdown pass from Tagovailoa to Jones on a 4th-and-4 play to make the score 34-10 in favor of the Terps.
Maryland also got fourth quarter touchdowns from Roman Hembry on a 2-yard run and a scoop-and-score from Greg Rose after Nick Cross delivered a vicious hit on Connor Blumrick to jar the ball loose.
Colby McDonald closed out the scoring for the Terps with a 20-yard touchdown run with just over a minute to play.
Entering the 2021 season, expectations weren’t particularly high for the Terrapins after back-to-back losing seasons. But the Terrapins got off to a hot start, defeating West Virginia, Howard, Illinois and Kent State to start the year 4-0. The also notched victories over Indiana and Rutgers to get to the all-important 6-win mark.
With the dominant performance in the Pinstripe Bowl, Maryland closes out the season with a 7-6 record, posting its first year with a winning record since 2014.
Closing out the year with back-to-back wins, Maryland is going to carry plenty of momentum into the offseason and into the 2022 campaign.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB