Maryland redshirt junior quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa has handled a whirlwind of feelings over the previous 48 hours.
On Thursday evening, he watched his older brother Tua undergo a daunting head damage throughout the Miami Dolphins’ recreation towards the Cincinnati Bengals and be taken off the sphere on a stretcher. The indelible second in entrance of a nationwide viewers sparked fast debate concerning the NFL’s concussion protocols, which allowed the star quarterback to play simply 4 days after hitting his head within the earlier recreation.
As Maryland soccer coach Mike Locksley thought of the influence the scary scene had on his younger quarterback, a easy FaceTime name between the brothers modified every thing.
“Tua basically said, ‘Hey, I’m fine and go play. I’m looking forward to seeing you go play and win the game,’” Locksley stated.
The transient dialog along with his brother give Taulia the vitality he wanted to throw for 314 yards and a landing and transfer into third place on Maryland’s all-time passing listing within the Terps’ 27-13 win over Michigan State on Saturday at SECU Stadium.
“With my background with that family, those boys are warriors,” Locksley stated of the Tagovailoa brothers, who he coached when he was the offensive coordinator at Alabama. “Once he had the conversation with his brother, he was able to focus on doing his job and I thought the kid showed up and played well.”
Every week after struggling a knee damage in a loss to No. 4 Michigan, Tagovailoa was environment friendly Saturday, finishing 32 of 41 makes an attempt to change into the quickest quarterback at school historical past to eclipse 6,000 profession passing yards and transfer above Boomer Esiason within the report ebook. The Alabama switch linked with 10 completely different receivers, as redshirt senior receiver Jeshaun Jones had six catches for 60 yards and junior Rakim Jarrett, who injured his head towards the Wolverines, totaled 41 yards and a landing on 5 receptions.
Tagovailoa had the new hand from the beginning. During the primary drive of the afternoon, he accomplished a 16-yard move to senior Dontay Demus Jr. earlier than discovering operating again Roman Hemby for a 20-yard catch-and-run. With the Terps dealing with a third-and-8, Tagovailoa threw a 21-yard move over the center to Florida switch Jacob Copeland, placing Maryland (4-1, 1-1 Big Ten) on the Spartans’ 28-yard line. A couple of performs later, redshirt freshman operating again Antwain Littleton II broke left for a 15-yard landing run, capping a 12-play, 93-yard scoring drive.
Littleton, who rushed for 120 yards on 19 carries, together with a 68-yard run within the fourth quarter, has scored a landing in six straight video games, the longest streak by a Terp in 17 years.
“He knows we’re his brothers [and] we got him at the end of the day,” Littleton stated of Tagovailoa.
After Littleton’s opening rating, Michigan State (2-3, 0-2 Big Ten) responded. Quarterback Peyton Thorne (27-for-44 for 221 yards and a landing) accomplished 4 passes for greater than 10 yards, and operating again Elijah Collins slipped previous a number of Maryland defenders for a 12-yard landing to tie the sport at 7 with 9:15 left within the first quarter.
Still, the Spartans didn’t have a solution for Maryland’s offense. Tagovailoa stepped into the pocket and escaped three Michigan State defenders earlier than throwing a deep move to tight finish Corey Dyches for a 44-yard acquire. Three performs later, operating again Colby McDonald scored a 2-yard landing to present Maryland a 14-7 lead with underneath six minutes left.
In the second quarter, Michigan State missed a possibility to even the rating. After Thorne’s 8-yard landing move to receiver Jayden Reed with 4:24 to go, the Spartans didn’t convert a faux extra-point try, serving to Maryland keep a 14-13 lead.
On the next drive, Tagovailoa as soon as once more marched the offense down the sphere earlier than throwing a 5-yard landing move to Jarrett, extending the result in 21-13 with 42 seconds left.
“I’ll take my hat off to that kid,” Locksley stated. “We did a good job of surrounding him, but I liked the way he was able to kind of compartmentalize and lean on his brothers, and that’s the culture we try to create.”
Maryland had an opportunity to interrupt the sport open when Thorne’s move slipped off Reed’s outstretched hand earlier than being intercepted by sophomore security Dante Trader Jr., who ran 47 yards for a landing. However, Trader’s landing was negated as a consequence of a questionable private foul name on sophomore defensive again Corey Cooley Jr., who hit Reed within the shoulder simply after the ball arrived.
“We can’t control the referees [and] we can’t control the calls,” Locksley stated. “At some point, I think we’ll earn the respect to where we are able to take advantage of calls like that.”
Michigan State didn’t reap the benefits of the penalty, nonetheless, because the Spartans’ 45-yard field-goal try was blocked by senior defensive again Jakorian Bennett as time expired.
The Terps’ offense was held in test within the second half, however one among their rising stars made certain they got here away with factors. After an 11-play drive stalled on the Spartans’ 25 with 8:26 left within the third quarter, kicker Chad Ryland hit a 43-yard area purpose to tie the Big Ten Conference report along with his twenty fourth consecutive make. The Eastern Michigan switch simply missed breaking the report, lacking a 50-yard try with 1:22 to go, however bounced again to nail a 51-yard strive that gave Maryland a 27-13 lead with 7:54 to go within the fourth.
While Maryland failed to achieve the tip zone within the second half, the protection made certain the Spartans’ dropping streak prolonged to a few video games. Maryland held Michigan State to 76 complete yards within the second half as receivers struggled to hold on to the ball.
Locksley credited defensive coordinator Brian Williams for making much-needed changes, switching to Cover 2 and pressuring the quarterback just a few instances. Freshman linebacker Jaishawn Barham (St. Frances) had a robust recreation, totaling 5 tackles, together with one for loss.
“They went tempo a lot in the first drive, and they caught us off guard a bit,” stated junior cornerback Tarheeb Still, who had a team-high 9 tackles. “Once we settled down, we were pretty good.”
With the victory, Maryland is now two wins away from changing into bowl eligible for the second straight season, which this system hasn’t completed since 2013 and 2014. Five of Maryland’s final seven video games are towards winnable opponents, giving the Terps an opportunity to win 9 video games for the primary time in 22 years.
Locksley stated there’s nonetheless extra work to do, however he feels this system is the place he desires it to be in Year 4 on the helm.
“You are starting to see it come to fruition,” he stated.
PURDUE@MARYLAND
Saturday, midday
TV: Big Ten Network
Radio: 105.7 FM
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Source: www.bostonherald.com