NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Any doubts about whether Maryland’s offense would still have any efficacy in its first game without Taulia Tagovailoa at quarterback were put to rest quickly and resoundingly Saturday afternoon.
Billy Edwards Jr. threw for 126 yards, all in the first half, and accounted for two scores, and Cameron Edge totaled 82 yards passing and a touchdown as Tagovailoa’s dual understudies made names for themselves in Maryland’s third-straight bowl win, a 31-13 thumping of Auburn in the Music City Bowl.
“I think we did a good job preparing the past three weeks, especially the past week and a half diving into Auburn and what they did. I think we came out, executed it to a T,” Edwards said.
The win marks the first time in program history that the Terrapins (8-5) won a bowl in three straight seasons. Maryland also finishes with back-to-back eight-win seasons for the first time since 2002-03.
“You know, it’s not easy to do here,” Maryland coach Mike Locksley said. “It was a lot of blood, sweat and tears from our players, coaches and staff throughout the finish of this season … man, to be able to sit here [with] three straight seasons of finishing wins at the end of the season is a testament to these kids.”
Edwards was named the game’s most valuable player even though he said he didn’t think he played very well. He got the bulk of the game’s most crucial snaps, leading seven Maryland drives with Edge directing the other four. Featured mostly this season as a short-yardage quarterback shove option, Edwards showed off his full array of talents early.
“I just tried to go out there and do my job to the best of my ability,” the Burke, Virginia, native said. “I put a lot of pressure on myself … I think we left a lot of meat on the bone and there’s lots to improve from. I’m not going to take away from that, I’m going to enjoy this one. I’m really happy to be able to get the win.”
Under a cold and cloudy Tennessee sky, Edwards shined. After just missing Kaden Prather on a deep ball at the Auburn 35, Edwards found running back Roman Hemby in the backfield on a screen three plays later. In his best play of the season, Hemby evaded one defender, then juked another as he took the ball 61 yards to the 2. Edwards immediately finished it off with his seventh rushing touchdown of the season on the next play for a 7-0 Maryland lead in less than 2 minutes.
“I think some of those deeper shots, the first play of the game to Kaden Prather, I’ve got a strong enough arm, I’ve just got to let those things rip,” Edwards said.
On Maryland’s second drive, he bulldozed his way for a 14-yard rush on the second play, seemingly seeking contact and defenders on his route. Jeshaun Jones, in his final game after six Maryland seasons, and Octavian Smith Jr. helped the Terrapins get down the field with completions before Edwards found tight end Preston Howard for a 5-yard score and a 14-0 lead.
“They gave me the openers yesterday, [Offensive coordinator Josh] Gattis gave it to us as we sat down,” Edwards said. “I knew in those first 15-ish plays we were going to be really aggressive, so I immediately started listening to my meditation music to try to calm myself down for the next 24 hours.”
“This generation, man,” Locksley said, laughing at his quarterback’s answer. “Whatever you got to do to win,” Edwards replied.
The Terrapins dominated an Auburn secondary sprinkled with underclassmen due to departures all afternoon. After the Tigers failed to convert on fourth down, Edge made his first touches since way back against Towson in September simple and quick: A 16-yard handoff to Tai Felton, a 57-yard rainbow throw to Prather down to the Auburn 3, and a toss to Dylan Wade for another Maryland score.
The Terrapins’ 21 first-quarter points were the most in any bowl in program history and made things easy, sledding the rest of the way. Maryland scored on four of its five first-half drives, with Jack Howes adding a 49-yard field goal just before halftime — a career-long for him and program-long in a bowl game.
Auburn (6-7) couldn’t get out of its own way for much of the afternoon. The three-and-outs on its first two drives were a harbinger of much worse struggles to come.
Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne, who acquitted himself well enough in two previous starts the last two seasons against Maryland while he was at Michigan State, had a dreadful day. He only managed 84 yards on 13-27 passing and a touchdown before he was removed in the fourth quarter for backup Holden Geriner.
Most of his passes were under-thrown or behind his receivers, the worst of which was a telegraphed pass directly to Maryland defensive back Glendon Miller in the third quarter — the first of Auburn’s four turnovers, all in the second half.
Miller ran 44 yards untouched to the end zone, waving his arms in jubilant celebration as he extended Maryland’s lead to 31-7. That was the exclamation point on as complete of a game the Terrapins have played in some time.
“This is a show-me-first society that we’re in, and we were selling a vision,” Locksley said. “We were selling what it looked like in four years, five years in our program, and this group took the vision and played a major role in making it come to fruition.”
• George Gerbo can be reached at ggerbo@washingtontimes.com.
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