College Football Corner: Terps and Cavs cruise, while two rivals run aground

Dave Preston is an AP Top voter Read his rankings here College football makes strange bedfellows And there s reliably enough misery to pass around Saturday while Maryland and Virginia were taking care of in-state non-conference foes No Clemson came up short at Georgia Tech - to earn the ire of rival South Carolina who became Yellow Jacket fans for an afternoon But the No Gamecocks had its SEC opener to worry about and losing to Vanderbilt - poked a hole in the balloon of a fan base that refers to itself as USC and Carolina despite no rational person thinking they re either The product gave Tiger fans a little pleasure to counter what has been one rough start to the season with a pair of one-possession losses to unbeaten foes but a - start for the first time since And South Carolina s schedule doesn t get any easier with six of their next seven opponents as of now in the Top They do get a shot at Clemson to wrap up the regular season in Columbia It already looks like it s going to be a long fall for both Maryland - after taking a while to get going in their first two games of the year wasted no time against Towson by scoring on all six of their first half possessions The - supremacy was the Terps th straight against non-conference competition Temple in the trivia answer Bring on the Big Ten Terrapin Triumphs Malik Washington threw for a career-high yards and a touchdown while also running for a count The ground encounter that had averaged yards in the first two weeks posted a season-high yards rushing The defense held the Tigers to - on third down recovered a fumble and posted a pick six La Khi Roland returning the interception yards for a TD Messiah Delhomme blocked a punt Terrapin Troubles Eight penalties for yards including a pair of illegal punt formation flags The backups didn t preserve the shutout coughing up an -yard touchdown pass plus a three-play -yard march that resembled a blowtorch going through butter Next Saturday at noon on NBC against - Wisconsin Virginia - also wasted little time getting in gear against William Mary reaching the end zone six times in the first half on their way to a - rout of the Tribe The double-nickel is the school s highest point total since they hung on Abilene Christian during the pandemic season Cavalier Congrats Let s begin with a program-record yards Harrison Waylee rushed for of those yards while scoring three touchdowns the long a -yard scamper for a count Noah Vaughn added yards on eight carries Myles Brown led the defense with seven tackles while the Cavs held the Tribe to yards rushing and - on third down Cavalier Concerns Tough to find fault on a day where UVa didn t punt and was in control for the entire afternoon Five penalties The fourth quarter safety surrendered Kippy Buffy having red wine with fish at dinner Saturday night Enjoy the achievement Next Saturday at p m against - Stanford on the ACC Configuration Virginia Tech - looked to get right after losing consecutive games to SEC foes but the SBC can also play pretty good football especially when it s an Old Dominion group that has posted a pair of wins over the Hokies in recent months It didn t help that VT s first four possessions were a pair of three and outs a fumble and an interception By that point ODU led - on the way to a - stunner that has the Hokies - for the first time since Hokie Highlights Nick Veltsistas averaged yards per punt Yes when we lead with the punter you know it has not been a good evening Kyron Drones threw for yards and three touchdowns while adding a team-high yards and a TD on the ground more on him in a bit Donovan Green caught five passes for yards and a TD Caleb Woodson paced the defense with nine tackles Hokie Humblings Drones threw an interception and lost a pair of fumbles with the first two turnovers leading to ODU touchdowns The defense allowed yards rushing on yards per carry while the Monarchs completed of their passes Twelve penalties for yards was the cherry on top of this one Next Saturday at noon against - Wofford on the ESPN and ACCN extra Navy - - American looked like they were following the Virginia Tech script in Tulsa turning the ball over on their first three possessions as the Golden Hurricane staked a - lead But the Mids bounced back by reaching the end zone on six of their next seven possessions and the early hiccup was left in the wake of a - win Midshipman Medals Blake Horvath ran for yards and a touchdown while also throwing for yards and a amount Eli Heidenreich added yards rushing with yards receiving MarcAnthony Parker tallied tackles and a sack Midshipman Miscues Horvath threw a pair of interceptions while losing a fumble-all in the first quarter Tough to find anything else awry on a night where the Mids buckled down and posted a road conference win Next Saturday September at p m against - Rice on the CBS Sports Organization Source