Takeaways from Maryland football’s win over Villanova

The Terps never trailed in the contest.

In its final nonconference game of the regular season, Maryland football got off to its strongest start yet, rolling to a 24-0 first-half lead. The Terps rode this lead and coasted to victory, defeating Villanova, 38-20, at SECU Stadium.

With the win, Maryland extended its nonconference winning streak to 15 games and improved its all-time record against the Wildcats to 10-2.

Here are three takeaways from Saturday’s game.

An expected result

While Villanova entered the contest as the No. 5-ranked team in the FCS (Football Championship Subdivision) with a 3-0 record, it was still no match for a Big Ten program. Maryland’s football program outclasses Villanova in just about every aspect, and that was on full display Saturday.

In their last contest, the Terps outscored Virginia 20-0 in the second half, and they carried that momentum straight into Saturday. On the first drive of the game, the offense, led by Billy Edwards Jr., marched down the field easily on a 11-play drive capped off by an 18-yard touchdown pass to Kaden Prather, his second in as many games.

This trend continued throughout the rest of the first half. The Terps scored on each of their first four drives — three touchdowns and a field goal — while Villanova punted on three of its possessions and had their lone field goal attempt in the first half blocked by the Terps.

The only adversity Maryland faced in the first half came in the final seconds, when Colby McDonald fumbled at Villanova’s 9-yard line as the Terps attempted to tack on another touchdown before the break.

Maryland dominated in the first half, but did face some trouble in the third quarter, as Villanova scored 10 unanswered points, including a touchdown following a surprise onside kick recovery. Still, the Terps responded well and pushed the game beyond the Wildcats’ reach by the middle of the fourth quarter.

While a positive showing, the Terps entered the day as 18.5-point favorites, according to DraftKings, and with history on their side. Since 2017, FCS and Big Ten teams have met 44 times. An FCS team won just one of those games, according to Fear The FCS. Additionally, Maryland entered the day with a 9-2 record against the Wildcats, winning each of the last nine games.

“For me, it’s frustrating because we want to develop some of the younger players,” head coach Michael Locksley said, “and when you lose that third quarter the way we lost it, we lose opportunities to develop the rest of our roster.”

Tai Felton’s excellence continued

Through an up-and-down game and season for Maryland, there has been one constant: Tai Felton.

Through the first three games of the season, Felton ranked top five in the nation in both receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. He added to that total Saturday, catching 14 of 15 targets for 157 yards and a touchdown.

Felton’s performance Saturday was historic in more ways than one. He raked in the second-most receptions in a single game in program history and recorded at least 100 receiving yards for the fourth consecutive game, tying the program record.

While Felton caught a lot of underneath balls, he highlighted multiple times in the second half that his production does not purely come from the volume he receives. On his touchdown catch, he high-pointed the ball over a defender in the back of the end zone, and on the following drive, Felton attacked a deep ball and took it 61 yards to Villanova’s 17-yard line.

“You’ve seen multiple times throughout the first four games, but I’ll throw him a 5-yard hitch, and he’ll take it for 35 [yards], or first week he took it 75 [yards],” Edwards said.

Felton has made Edwards’ job much easier this season. If you throw him the ball, good things usually happen. Edwards was impressive in his own right Saturday, though. He completed 28-of-32 pass attempts for 328 yards and two touchdowns. His 87.5% completion percentage broke the single-game school record previously held by Taulia Tagovailoa, who completed 87.1% (27-of-31) of his passes at Charlotte in 2022.

“Billy was really efficient,” Locksley said. “Man, Billy’s playing clean, clean football for us, and Tai continues to be Tai and make plays that he’s capable of.”

Edwards and Felton have been Maryland’s brightest stars in nonconference play, and hope to continue that success throughout the rest of the season.

Maryland lost the turnover battle

For the first time this season, Maryland lost the turnover battle.

Through the first three games of the season, the Terps led the nation with a plus-9 turnover margin. They generated six interceptions and four fumble recoveries, while only turning the ball over once themselves.

However, the Terps did not record a turnover against Villanova and surrendered two of their own. The first was the aforementioned McDonald fumble that resulted in minimal harm, while the second came at an inopportune time.

After Villanova failed to pick up a first down on fourth-and-4, Maryland’s offense received the ball for the first time in the second half with 8:47 on the third-quarter clock. But on the first play of the drive, Edwards delivered a strike that slipped right through the hands of Octavian Smith Jr. and into Villanova defensive back Ty Trinh’s lap. The interception set Villanova up at Maryland’s 8-yard line, as the Wildcats eventually settled for a field goal — their first points of the day.

While Villanova only scored three points off the two turnovers, they both occurred at costly points on the field and are mistakes that need to be addressed.

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