Miscues, Turnovers Plague WVU in Loss to Maryland

It was a rough day for West Virginia in the season opener.

COLLEGE PARK, MD - It was an eventful first half of football at Captial One Field as the West Virginia Mountaineers and Maryland Terrapins made up for the six-year hiatus of the rivalry with a bunch of explosive offensive plays out of the gate.

Taulia Tagovailoa tossed for 37 yards on the opening drive and led the Terps down the field setting them up for a 45-yard Joseph Petrino field goal to open up the scoring. 

The Mountaineers responded with a 7-play, 78-yard scoring drive that was capped off by a 20-yard touchdown catch out of the backfield by running back Leddie Brown.

WVU gave Maryland several opportunities to hang around in the game including a muffed kick return by Rakim Jarrett that trickled out of bounds. Had West Virginia hopped on top of the ball, it would have set them up with tremendous field position. On the third play of the series, Tagovailoa recognized that he had a mismatch downfield with redshirt freshman corner Daryl Porter Jr. in coverage on Dontay Demus. Tagovailoa hit Demus in stride for a 66-yard score.

After a West Virginia three and out, Maryland extended their lead to 17-7 thanks to a few big plays through the air including one to tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo that reached the end zone.

Just as Maryland began to gain a little separation, WVU got a huge shot in the arm as Winston Wright Jr. nearly took the kickoff to the house, returning it 98 yards. One play later, Leddie Brown rushed in for a 2-yard touchdown.

WVU's defense finally forced a Maryland punt in the early minutes of the 2nd quarter and it provided the offense with some momentum. QB Jarret Doege hit Leddie Brown for a 19-yard gain, then found an open Sean Ryan over the middle of the field for a gain of 34. A few moments later, Leddie Brown bounced to the outside and found the end zone for the third time on the day.

The Mountaineer defense came up with their 2nd straight stop when Maryland failed to move the chains on 4th and one in plus territory. However, Doege made a very bad decision throwing the ball into double coverage, off-balance on first down that resulted in a Maryland interception. 

Once again, WVU continued its theme of miscues. The Mountaineers forced a three and out following the interception but Winston Wright Jr. fumbled the punt and the Terps gobbled it up. Fortunately for Wright, WVU's defense backed him up and forced a long field goal attempt from Petrino, which he missed from 51.

Just before the end of the first half, Tagovailoa connected with Dontay Demus for a combined 53 yards to get inside the red zone. The Terps failed to find paydirt and had to settle for a field goal which brought the game within one, 21-20.

After a strong defensive showing by both teams in the third quarter, the Terps picked up the first points of the 2nd half a few minutes into the 4th on a 26-yard field goal by Petrino.

Following the field goal, Winston Wright provided another big return, getting the ball to near midfield. Jarret Doege hit Sam James deep down the sideline on a contested ball for 39 yards, pushing the Mountaineers into field goal range. However, Doege tossed his 2nd interception of the day in the back corner of the end zone putting an end to the scoring threat.

Maryland took full advantage of this Mountaineer miscue and extended their lead to 30-21 on a 60-yard touchdown pass from Tagovailoa to Rakim Jarrett. 

West Virginia quickly made their way down the field but couldn't reach the end zone and instead of going for it on 4th down, elected to kick the field goal to make it a one-score game. 

Maryland kept the ball on the ground to run the clock and put the dagger in WVU with a 53-yard gain on the ground from Tayon Fleet-Davis. 

West Virginia will return home next Saturday for their home opener against Long Island.

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