Maryland walked into a big night at SECU Stadium needing a statement and got a sobering reminder instead: Virginia Tech had the answers, the cleaner operation and the better quarterback in a 35-26 win that left the Terps chasing all game.
The opening stretch told the story fast. Virginia Tech rolled up 143 yards to Maryland’s 12 in the first quarter and nearly punched in a second touchdown before a string of false starts, replay delays and a Nahsir Taylor sack slowed things down.
That briefly gave the crowd life. Then Ethan Grunkemeyer took over.
Facing a third-and-goal from the 18, Grunkemeyer slipped through a collapsing pocket, powered through the middle and shrugged off two tackle attempts before tumbling into the end zone for a touchdown. Virginia Tech missed the extra point, but Maryland never got closer than six after that. The Hokies controlled the night from there and Maryland spent the rest of it trying to keep up.
Grunkemeyer was the difference-maker all evening, finishing 31-of-39 for 314 yards and three touchdowns. He did most of his work in the intermediate game, and Virginia Tech head coach James Franklin kept feeding him spreads and curls that left Maryland chasing shadows.
Maryland tried to answer by pushing the pace. Sometimes that meant quick-strike football, like the 75-yard touchdown drive that took just 2:20. Other times it meant the offense was forced off the field early, which only made life harder on a defense that never seemed to catch its breath.
The Terps’ only first-half possession that lasted more than three minutes ended with Malik Washington choosing a pooch punt on fourth-and-13 from the 34-yard line. Even that didn’t go their way, bouncing into the end zone for a 14-yard result.
The tackling issues piled up too. Daniel Wingate was a step late on Jeffrey Overton Jr.’s route into the flat, and after a missed tackle there, three more Maryland defenders failed to finish the play as a short completion turned into a 49-yard touchdown.
On offense, the burden stayed squarely on Washington. Maryland finished with just 64 rushing yards, and Washington accounted for a quarter of them. Still, he kept giving the Terps a chance, including a touchdown pass to Chris Durr Jr. that made it 20-14 with just under two minutes left in the first half.
That hope didn’t last. Virginia Tech kept landing punches before and after halftime, and a two-point conversion stretched the lead to 35-14 midway through the third quarter. At that point, fans started heading for the exits.
Maryland made one late push in garbage time. Washington found Dorian Fleming and Chris Durr for fourth-quarter touchdowns, trimming the margin to nine and briefly making things interesting again. But the Terps needed stops to finish the comeback, and Virginia Tech got just enough when it barely converted a fourth-and-1 with three minutes left to put it away.
Three things to know
- Non-conference streak resets.
Maryland’s 20-game non-conference winning streak, the longest in the nation entering the game, is over. The Terps will start over for the first time since 2019 ahead of the 2027 non-conference schedule or a potential bowl game this year.
- Jekyll-and-Hyde night from Durr and Gladding.
After combining for 233 yards and two touchdowns against UConn, Maryland’s top two wideouts had very different nights. Durr caught 12 passes for 109 yards and two touchdowns, while Gladding managed three catches on six targets for 52 yards.
- Missed tackles, missed opportunities.
Maryland had chances to swing the game, but too many plays were extended because the Hokies weren’t brought down cleanly. Penalties also wiped away some promising moments and spotted Virginia Tech extra ground.
Both issues showed up again in 2025.
In Other News...
Marylands Big Nonconference Test Exposed A Frustrating Early Problem
Marylands nonconference test against Virginia Tech at SECU Stadium did more than put a mark in the loss column. It exposed an early-season issue the Terrapins cannot afford to carry much longer, as the Hokies controlled the game and made the home defense chase from start to finish. Virginia Tech quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer had the kind of steady afternoon that forces a defense to stay honest, and receivers Luke Reynolds and Ayden Greene found enough room to keep Maryland on its heels.
For Maryland, the frustration went beyond one side of the ball. Missed tackles and coverage breakdowns repeatedly showed up on defense, while the offense spent too much time watching Virginia Tech hold the ball and too little time finding a rhythm of its own. The running game never really got going, and the absence of DeJuan Williams was part of the reason the Terrapins could not lean on that phase the way they needed to in a game that slipped away in a 35-26 defeat. [Read more 🡒]
Maryland Just Got A Harsh Wake-Up Call Before Big Ten Play
Marylands season opener delivered a jolt, and not the kind the Terrapins wanted heading into Big Ten play. The 35-26 loss to Virginia Tech snapped a 20-game winning streak against non-conference opponents, even as quarterback Malik Washington put together a strong passing night with 359 yards and three touchdowns.
The problem was that Maryland never quite found enough balance to match it. The rushing attack never got on track, the defense gave up too many clean moments in the secondary and the late comeback bid ran into missed two-point tries, leaving the Terps with a result that exposed some early-season issues before the league schedule tightens. [Read more 🡒]
Mike Locksley Faces A Familiar Rivalry Maryland Fans Havent Forgotten
Mike Locksley and James Franklin have been linked for a long time, long before the current Big Ten backdrop made every meeting feel bigger. Their coaching connection goes back to when they were both at Maryland from 2000 to 2002, a shared history that still gives their games a little extra edge whenever Franklins Penn State squad lines up across from Locksleys Terrapins.
Fans here have not forgotten what happened in their 2024 meeting, when Penn State rolled to a 44-7 win and the matchup included a tense midfield exchange between the two coaches. Both men have talked since then about those earlier Maryland years and the experiences that shaped them, with Franklin reflecting positively on his time in College Park, which only adds another layer to a rivalry that already carries plenty of baggage. [Read more 🡒]