Each week, umterps.com reviews the numbers and notes from Maryland football.
Tai Felton's record-setting start to the season, Maryland's innate ability to win the turnover battle, its dominant second-half performance, and a look ahead to its matchup next weekend against Villanova highlight this week's reading.
First Down: Trailblazer Tai
- Tai Felton corralled nine catches for 117 receiving yards and a touchdown against Virginia. After posting stat lines of 7-178-2 vs. UConn and 11-152-1 vs. Michigan State, Felton became the first Terp in Maryland history to have 100+ receiving yards in each of the first three games of a season. He's the eighth Big Ten player since 1996 to accomplish the feat and the first since Purdue's Charlie Jones in 2022. He's one of three nationally to achieve the feat this season.
- Felton has 27 catches for 447 yards and four touchdowns through three games this season. Those totals rank fourth in the nation and fourth in the Big Ten, third in the country and first in the Big Ten, and tied for fourth in the nation and tied for first in the Big Ten, respectively. Furthermore, his yards per game (149) rank third in the nation, and receptions per game (nine) rank fourth.
- His 447 yards are the fourth most for a Big Ten player through the first three games since 1996 and the most since Jones had 474 yards in 2022. Felton also has the most for a Terp since Jermaine Lewis had 489 in the 1993 season.
- Felton scored his fourth touchdown of the season on a 19-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter against Virginia. With four touchdown receptions in three games, he has the most for a Terp since D.J. Moore also had four in 2017. With a touchdown reception in each of the first three games, Felton is the first Terp to achieve that since Tyler Mabry did it in 2019.
- The touchdown was the 12th of his career, tying him with Gary Collins for 10th on Maryland's receiving touchdown leaderboard. Felton eclipsed 1,500 career receiving yards in the contest. He has 1,530, placing him No. 17 in program history. Levern Jacobs (2012-16) is No. 16 with 1,544.
Second Down: Ball-Hawking Brilliance
- The Terps forced four turnovers against Virginia on Saturday. Dante Trader Jr. and Jalen Huskey picked off passes, and Donnell Brown and Quashon Fuller recovered fumbles. They won the turnover battle 4-0.
- Maryland has forced six interceptions and recovered four fumbles through three games. The Terps have only committed one turnover, giving them a +9 turnover margin. The margin is the largest in the nation and Maryland's largest through three games since 1995, when it had a +11 margin. The last Big Ten team to match the margin was Ohio State in 2016, with a +10 margin.
- The last FBS teams to have a +9 or better turnover margin through three games in a season were USC (+10), Louisiana (+9) and Nevada (+9) to begin 2022. Huskey (two), Glendon Miller (two), Dante Trader Jr. and Ruben Hyppolite II forced Maryland's six interceptions. The total ranks Maryland tied for third in the nation and tied for first in the Big Ten.
- The six INTs are also the most by a Maryland team since 2013, when they also had six.
- The Terps' six fumbles gained rank tied for third in the nation and tied for first in the Big Ten.
Third Down: Second Half Surge
- Maryland shut out Virginia in the second half and outscored the Cavaliers 20-0. The Terps also dominated time of possession in the second half, 21:39-8:21.
- Billy Edwards Jr. accounted for two touchdowns in the half. He threw one to Kaden Prather in the third quarter and rushed for one midway through the fourth. Jack Howes added two field goals from 37 and 33 yards.
- Jalen Huskey recorded an interception, and Quashon Fuller recovered a fumble during the half. The defense also forced a turnover on downs, resulting in Virginia's last possession.
- The Terps outgained the Cavaliers 250-82, outpassed them 168-58, and outrushed them 82-24.
- The Terrapins also recorded 15 first downs in the half, 10 more than the Cavaliers' five. The Terps converted 50% of their third downs and even went 2-for-2 on fourth down attempts. Virginia converted just 14% of its third downs and went 0-of-1 on fourth down.
Fourth Down: Villanova At Home
- Maryland has played Villanova 12 times and holds the series lead at 10-2. The Terps' last matchup against the Wildcats was on Sep. 1, 2007, and the Terps won convincingly, 31-14. Every matchup against Villanova has been played in College Park.
- The Terps have won 10 consecutive games against the Wildcats after dropping their first two matchups in 1970 and 1971. Maryland's latest margin of victory occurred on Sept. 6, 1975, where it won 41-0.
- Maryland has won 14 consecutive non-conference games, including every game since the 2021 season. That is the second-longest streak in the country. Only Georgia (24) has won more consecutive non-conference games than the Terps. This is also Maryland's longest such streak within the last 40 years.
- Overall, the Terps are 16-1 in non-conference games under Michael Locksley, with wins over Power Five teams such as Virginia Tech, West Virginia, No. 23 NC State, No. 21 Syracuse, Virginia (twice) and Auburn.
- Under Locksley, the Terps scored 30-plus points in 14 of 17 non-conference games. They have also committed no more than two turnovers in any of their last 23 non-conference games. LSU (29) and Ohio State (25) are the only FBS teams with longer active such streaks.
Keon Lattimore led the Terps with 100 yards rushing with three TDs vs. Villanova in 2007.
