By Brandon Walker for Urban Media Today
College Park, MD–Third down, a.k.a. the money down, a.k.a. that weighty down that makes the difference in most ball games, and the away team connected on them at a greater pace on Saturday than the home team.
Virginia Tech, led by Ethan Grunkemeyer, accounted for four touchdowns, converted on a high clip of third downs, and delivered a balanced effort in a victory over Maryland in front of 46,185 at SECU Stadium on Saturday.
After Virginia Tech took the ball to start the game, Grunkemeyer connected with Luke Reynolds for a 14-yard touchdown pass to cap a 13-play, 75-yard drive.
On the next VT drive, Grunkemeyer scrambled for an 18-yard touchdown run on a 3rd-and-goal to cap an 11-play, 74-yard drive and put the Hokies up 13-0 after the blocked PAT.
Maryland got on the board when Malik Washington connected with Kaleb Webb on a 44-yard pass to the one-yard line, setting up a touchdown by Iverson Howard to cut the lead to 13-7 and cap off a 7-play, 75-yard drive.
Virginia Tech went back on the board when Jeffery Overton Jr. scored on a 49-yard catch-and-run to cap off a 7-play, 75-yard drive. Overton took a swing pass, broke several tackles, and raced to the end zone.
Maryland answered right before the half as Chris Durr Jr. scored on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Washington with two minutes left to make it 20-14 in favor of VT.
Virginia Tech answered again with a two-yard touchdown connection from Grunkemeyer to Ja’Ricous Hairston to extend the Hokie lead from 27-14 going into halftime.
Virginia Tech scored four touchdowns on its five first-half drives by connecting on 8 of 9 third-down opportunities.
After forcing a Maryland three-and-out, Overton scored his second touchdown of the game as Virginia Tech extended its lead to 35-14 after a successful two-point conversion on a catch by Que’Sean Brown.
That drive effectively sealed the game, as they scored right before the half, got a stop, and the Hokies scored on the first possession of the third quarter. Virginia Coach James Franklin emphasized coming out of the blocks early for each half following the win.
“One thing that has been significant is the opening drives of halves.” Franklin said in his postgame presser.
“For the season we have four touchdowns and two field goals, and our opponents have six punts. I think that drive coming out to start the half that we got them off the field and then our offense came out and scored the touchdown was the difference in the game because they were gaining momentum.”
In the fourth quarter, Washington connected on a 2-touchdown pass to Dorian Fleming to make the score 35-20. Maryland scored on a touchdown to Durr, and the two-point conversion failed, leaving the score 35-26.
Game Notables
- Virginia Tech won its first non-conference game against a Power Four team since 2017.
- Virginia Tech snapped Maryland’s 20-game non-conference winning streak.
- Chris Durr is the first Maryland player in the 21st century to record back-to-back 10-reception games.
- Durr has also been the 3rd Terrapin since 2000 to record 12 catches, 100 yards, and two touchdowns, joining Torry Smith (2010) and DJ Moore (2017).
- Washington is the first Maryland quarterback since Tailia Tagoviola to throw for 300 yards in back-to-back games.
Quick Thoughts
Virginia Tech was more efficient, especially on third down, especially in the first half. Maryland had a porous performance, missing multiple tackles, especially on Overton’s catch-and-run touchdown. Maryland moved the ball through the air but has to move away from the running game to keep up with the Hokie offense. DeJuan Williams (hamstring) missed Saturday’s game and should be healthy for next week. Maryland also cost itself analytically to get back into the game by going for two-point conversions when it didn’t need to.
Maryland will remain at home for its conference opener next Saturday, when it hosts UCLA. At the same time, Virginia Tech will travel to Chestnut Hill to take on Boston College in its conference opener.
You can follow Brandon on all social media platforms: @bwalkerdadon
