Maryland redshirt junior quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa was carted off during the Terps’ 38-33 win at Indiana on Oct. 15.
The Terps (5-2, 2-2 Big Ten) defeated Indiana (3-4, 1-3) for the first time in Bloomington, Ind., since 2014. Maryland will return to College Park to take on Northwestern on Oct. 22, though Tagovailoa’s status is now unclear.
Tagovailoa was taken to the locker room after a hit to the lower leg in the fourth quarter. Redshirt freshman Billy Edwards Jr. replaced him.
“It was a lower leg injury. I don’t know if it was the knee or ankle,” Terps head coach Michael Locksley said. “Probably won’t be clear until [Oct. 16]. Hopefully, when we get back we’ll get an MRI.”
“I can tell you I looked over and saw him singing the fight song with a big smile on his face hugging Billy and celebrating with his teammates and to me that’s a positive sign,” Locksley added.
Before sustaining the injury, Tagovailoa threw for 270 yards and two touchdowns on 25-for-39 passing. He also had one rushing touchdown. Tagovailoa had done well avoiding pressure from the Hoosiers and was able to extend several plays.
In scoring his rushing touchdown, Tagovailoa was able to scramble to the end zone and outrun the Hoosiers’ defense. In another instance, Tagovailoa used his legs to extend a play to find sophomore tight end CJ Dippre, who barreled over two Indiana defenders for a touchdown.
Maryland had just fallen behind, 27-24, after a rushing touchdown by Indiana senior running back Josh Henderson when Tagovailoa exited the game. Edwards came into the game and led the Terps to two touchdown drives to regain the lead and then the win.
“When Taulia went down, I think the big message from me to our offense was, ‘Billy gets 40 percent of the reps during the week and Taulia gets 60,'” Locksley said. “We have tremendous faith in Billy and his ability to come in and execute. It’s a next-man-up mentality.”
“Time to go,” Edwards said of his mindset after the injury. “As a backup quarterback, I think that’s always in the back of my head. Just stay ready for whenever my number is called.”
Edwards added that his teammates all had faith in him and encouraged him because they saw how he worked during practice.
On a third-and-2 with 6:30 remaining in the fourth quarter, Edwards scrambled for 31 yards to get the Terps to the Indiana 3-yard line. That led to a 6-yard rushing touchdown by redshirt freshman running back Roman Hemby to put Maryland up 31-27. Hemby finished with 107 rushing yards on 17 carries.
“All those guys, when they’ve been given opportunities, they’ve really done a tremendous job of executing,” Locksley said of the running back group. “So we’ve got to lean on that room, and obviously Roman is the guy that’s kind of leading the charge for those young running backs.”
On the ensuing Indiana drive, redshirt senior linebacker Fa’Najae Gotay forced a fumble by Indiana sophomore wideout Coby Andison that was recovered by Maryland redshirt senior lineman Mosiah Nasili-Kite. The Terps took over at their own 39-yard line with 5:02 remaining.
During Maryland’s game-winning drive, a 46-yard run by Hemby on third-and-9 got the Terps to the Hoosiers’ 15-yard line. After a 3-yard run by Hemby, Edwards used his legs to scramble for 9 yards to get the Terps to the Indiana 3-yard line. Two plays later, Edwards again used his legs to rush into the end zone and give the Terps a 38-27 lead.
“Billy did a great job coming in making plays and leading us to scores and we really needed them,” Terps junior cornerback Tarheeb Still said. “So that’s really good that we were able to not really have a drop-off when Billy came in the game.”
Edwards didn’t throw the ball much (0-for-3), but he finished second on the team in rushing yards with 53, behind Hemby.
“Our offensive line was blocking phenomenal,” Edwards said. “The only reason I had the runs I had was because [the Hoosiers] were keying in on whoever was the running back in the game at the time.”
During Indiana’s final drive, two passes from Indiana junior quarterback Connor Bazelak were tipped by Maryland’s defense, only to be caught by senior wideout Emery Simmons and then junior receiver Cam Camper. That put Indiana at the Maryland 3-yard line, and Bazelak then found freshman tight end Aaron Steinfeldt to make the score 38-33.
The Terps effectively ended the game when they recovered the ensuing onside kick by Indiana.
Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox