Biggest Winners and Losers From Virginia Tech's Week 3 Win Against Maryland

Virginia Tech hadn't beaten a Power Four opponent outside the ACC since Sept. 3, 2017. The drought reached 15 games.

It ended Saturday night in College Park. The Hokies beat Maryland 35-26, snapped the Terrapins' 20-game nonconference win streak, the longest in the FBS, and moved to 3-0 for the first time since 2017.

It wasn't clean. Tech didn't score in the fourth quarter, drew nine flags for 76 yards and let Malik Washington throw for 359. It also never trailed.

Winner: Ethan Grunkemeyer

Maryland came in leading the Big Ten with 10 sacks. It got quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer on the ground once.

He finished 31 of 39 for 314 yards and three touchdowns without an interception, then added an 18-yard scoring run. All four came before halftime. After throwing for 327 yards against Old Dominion, he's the first Tech quarterback with back-to-back 300-yard games since Ryan Willis in 2018. The third downs stood out more than the yardage. Tech converted 8 of 9 in the first half, tied for its most in a half dating back to 1987.

Winner: Luke Reynolds

Grunkemeyer looked for tight end Luke Reynolds 12 times. Reynolds caught all 12 for 107 yards and a touchdown, making him the first Hokie with consecutive 100-yard receiving games since Damon Hazelton in 2018.

His last catch iced the game. With Maryland out of timeouts and Tech facing fourth-and-1, Grunkemeyer went back to his old Penn State teammate. Reynolds got the yard, and the call held up on review.

Winner: James Franklin

Head coach James Franklin spent two stints as a Maryland assistant and was once lined up to be the Terps' next head coach before the school scrapped the plan. His last meeting with Mike Locksley was a 44-7 Penn State rout in 2024 that ended with Locksley confronting him at the handshake.

He also made some crucial coaching decisions that paid dividends in the end. Up 33-14, Tech went for two, and Que'Sean Brown made a nice diving catch to put the Hokies up 21. He could have punted the ball away with just over two minutes left in the game up nine, but he trusted his star tight end to put the game away.

Loser: The secondary

Washington went 30 of 43 for 359 yards and three touchdowns. Chris Durr Jr. caught 12 of them for 109 yards and two scores, and Maryland averaged 6.6 yards per play to Tech's 5.9.

The damage came in chunks. Kaleb Webb got loose for 45 yards to the 1 to set up the first touchdown; interference on Joshua Clarke set up another, and Washington hit Na'eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding for 43 yards on third-and-20. Cornerback Jaquez White said Monday he didn't think Washington was that accurate. Washington responded by completing 69.8% of his throws.

Loser: The nation's sack leaders

The Hokies arrived leading the FBS with 12 sacks and 32 tackles for loss. Washington dropped back 45 times and went down twice, and neither one came in a spot that mattered. Defensive lineman Aycen Stevens got the first as the first-half clock ran out. The second was linebacker Kaleb Spencer running Washington out of bounds on the opening series of the second half, which at least helped force a three-and-out.

The best pressure of the night never showed up as a sack at all. On a fourth down in the third quarter, the rush flushed Washington, and he floated an underhand toss that went nowhere, and Maryland turned it over on downs. A defense that spent the first two games in the backfield spent most of the night out of it.

Loser: The injury report

Left tackle Justin Terry was rolled up on with 23 seconds left in the first quarter, on the same play as Maryland's lone sack, and was helped off without putting weight on his left leg. He was on crutches in the second half. Wide receiver Ayden Greene was shaken up after drawing a pass interference call before halftime and didn't return.

Virginia Tech is back on the road next week as it travels up north to face Boston College. Kickoff is at noon, and coverage for the game will be on the ACC Network.

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