Maryland senior quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa opened the season in dominant fashion. Tagovailoa threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns in a little over two quarters of work, leading Maryland to a 38-6 victory over Towson.
Tagovailoa also added to his mantle of Maryland milestone, becoming the first player in school history to throw for over 8,000 yards in a Terp career.
Tagovailoa had great ball placement this game, zipping a host of his passes into his receivers’ hands. His passes put his receivers in a great position to make big plays. Tagovailoa also showed off his mobility, rushing for 28 yards and a touchdown.
Tagovailoa started the game hot, completing three of his first four passes for 52 yards. However, he took a brutal hit from Towson sophomore linebacker Mason Woods. The hit from Woods shook Tagovailoa as he favored his non-throwing arm.
Yet, on the ensuing play, he looked to his right before seeing open field. Then, he scrambled 23-yard into the end zone for Maryland’s first touchdown for an early 7-0 lead.
Tagovailoa went into the medical tent after the drive. But he returned to the game.
Later in the first quarter, Tagovailoa would lead another scoring drive. This time, he dropped back and zipped it to junior tight end Corey Dyches in the middle of the field, who powered his way into the end zone for a 23-yard touchdown.
With 22 seconds left in the first quarter, Tagovailoa rolled to his right and threw an absolute bullet to senior wide receiver Jeshaun Jones on an out route. Jones made a defender miss before running along the sideline for a 24-yard touchdown, extending Maryland’s lead to 21-0.
Maryland’s offense went silent in the second quarter. That is until Tagovailoa and the offense found themselves at the Tigers’ 13-yard line with 13 seconds left in the half. Tagovailoa saw his junior receiver Kaden Prather had a great matchup and wasted no time, floating the ball to the perfect spot for Prather, who went over the defender to make the touchdown grab.
Tagovailoa ended the half with 246 yards and three touchdown passes while adding a TD on the ground.
Tagovailoa’s day was over after a touchdown by sophomore running back Roman Hemby to start the third quarter.
A quick start allowed Maryland backup quarterbacks sophomore Billy Edwards Jr. and freshman Cameron Edge to get snaps under center to close out the Terps’ win.
“I thought he started out really well,” Maryland head coach Michael Locksley said of Taulia Tagovailoa after the game. “He had some big plays. We missed a couple. But you know, we worked really hard on the deep ball. He had a couple early on that should’ve been catches. But I liked the way he played for us. [We] just gotta clean up some of the stuff.”
Maryland has high expectations this season. In August, Locksley proclaimed the Terps are ready to compete for a Big Ten championship. Locksley’s confidence in the team starts with his quarterback.
Tagovailoa will look to continue his dominance next Saturday against UNC-Charlotte at SECU Stadium. The game will be NBC’s “Big Ten Saturday Night” in primetime.
