COLLEGE PARK, Md. — The curtain call wasn’t as natural without a dugout, but Jeshaun Jones still made sure his quarterback would be the center of attention. As the camera found them sitting on the bench after Taulia Tagovailoa’s 50th career passing touchdown — a mark that set a Maryland football record — Jones grabbed Tagovailoa’s arm and raised it.
He then pointed to his quarterback, pulling him to his feet, urging the crowd at SECU Stadium to praise Tagovailoa while they still can. The immediate future for Tagovailoa likely still involves the Terps next season, despite being draft-eligible. But for Maryland, a school that has been devoid of a quarterback of Tagovailoa’s dependability for the last decade or more, it’s never too soon to heap on appreciation.
Moments earlier, Tagovailoa found Jones over the middle for that 50th career touchdown pass — a pass that propelled Maryland far out of reach of Rutgers. The Terps wound up earning their seventh win of the season, 37-0, behind that quarterback and a defense that shut out a conference opponent for the first time since 2008.
Earlier in the afternoon, there was more apprehension than appreciation toward Tagovailoa. He left the field hobbled, heading to the locker room shortly before halftime with what appeared to be an aggravation of a right knee sprain he has dealt with since Sept. 24.
But Tagovailoa returned, and even though the score widened, he still led the Terps (7-5, 4-5 Big Ten) down the field en route to his record-breaking touchdown pass. Joined by running back Roman Hemby’s three-touchdown performance and Jones’ career-high 152 yards in his final game in College Park, the offense left Rutgers far in the rearview.
The victory marked the end of a regular season that began with ample promise, with Maryland vaulting to six wins by October. But three straight losses to Wisconsin, Penn State and Ohio State dampened the mood until Saturday, when Tagovailoa compiled his 12th 300-yard passing performance of his career.
With that result, Maryland secured its seventh win — the most regular-season victories under coach Mike Locksley at the end of his fourth year, with a bowl game still on the horizon. Securing a seventh win also triggers a one-year contract extension for Locksley through 2027.
The win might’ve had a dingier hue had Tagovailoa’s knee injury been more serious. The junior walked slowly from the field with a noticeable limp late in the second quarter, then made his way from the medical tent along the Maryland sideline toward Gossett Hall beyond the south end zone shortly before halftime, a development that overshadowed the 17-point advantage at the interval.
Tagovailoa has dealt with a right knee sprain since Sept. 24. He aggravated the sprain and needed to be carted off the field against Indiana a few weeks later, then missed a game against Northwestern. Since his return, Maryland has lost three straight games, although Tagovailoa put together one of his best performances of the year in a close loss to No. 2 Ohio State last weekend.
But after halftime, Tagovailoa orchestrated a touchdown drive to begin the third quarter, with Hemby punching in his third score of the afternoon. And Tagovailoa remained in the game until the fourth quarter, even as he looked to avoid most collisions and appeared to move gingerly.
The lead might’ve been larger entering halftime had Maryland not fumbled on both of its first two possessions into Rutgers territory. Those missed chances didn’t cost the Terps, however. The Scarlet Knights’ offense was incapable of moving the ball, with eight first-half drives resulting in two first downs and six punts. They managed 59 yards, punted six times and went — and failed — on a fourth-down attempt.
That ineptitude continued throughout, with Rutgers (4-8, 1-8) changing from Gavin Wimsatt to Evan Simon under center to no avail. The Scarlet Knights crossed the 50-yard line into Maryland territory just twice. Their six first downs were dwarfed by the Terps’ 30. One of their lone statistical categories that bested Maryland was its four punts downed inside the 20-yard line. And for the first time, the Terps shut out a Big Ten opponent.
Pinning the Terps did little to change the outcome, though. Tagovailoa still remained, and even hobbled, operating the Maryland offense on one good leg, he carved his way through the Rutgers defense.
It was the kind of performance at the end of the kind of season that deserved a curtain call, Jones raising Tagovailoa’s arm. It was that arm, after all, that had led Maryland to such a strong result.
