Pinstripe Bowl, Virginia Tech Hokies at Maryland Terrapins
DEC. 29, 2021 | 2:15 PM | ESPN | BRONX, N.Y. | YANKEE STADIUM
Virginia Tech Hokies Notes
TECH VS. TERPS IN PINSTRIPE BOWL • Virginia Tech makes its debut in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl when the Hokies renew their former ACC rivalry with Maryland at Yankee Stadium (12/29).
• The Pinstripe Bowl marks Tech’s 34th all-time bowl berth. The Hokies have achieved bowl eligibility for 29 straight seasons and will return to bowl action after opting out of the 2020 bowl season due to COVID-19.
• Tech’s most recent bowl appearance came vs. Kentucky in the 2019 Belk Bowl.
• The Hokies have won five of their last six games against the Terrapins in a series that dates back to 1919.
• The most recent meeting between the two squads came when Maryland won a 27-24 overtime decision at Lane Stadium (11/16/13).
• These former ACC foes are scheduled for a four-game future home-and-home series with Tech slated to host home games in 2027 and 2029, while Maryland will host the Hokies in 2026 and 2028.
• Tech posted a 29-24 victory at Virginia (11/27) in its most recent contest, while Maryland won at 40-16 decision at Rutgers (11/27).
• West Virginia is the only common foe both teams have faced in 2021. Tech lost a 27-21 decision at WVU (9/18), while Maryland won 30-24 vs. WVU (9/4).
• Tech’s last meeting with a Big Ten squad resulted in a 51-24 victory at Purdue (9/9/15).
• Maryland’s last game vs. an ACC foe was a 63-20 win vs. No. 21 Syracuse (9/7/19).
SCORING & PASSING STATS TO WATCH
• Dating back to 2016, Tech is 29-8 when scoring 30+ points and 14-1 when scoring 40+ points.
• Maryland is 2-14 under Locksley when allowing 30+ points and is 1-10 when permitting 40+ points.
• The Terps are 10-0 under Locksley when scoring 30+ points, including a 5-0 mark in 2021.
• Maryland has scored 37.8 ppg and allowed 18.0 ppg in its six wins in 2021. The Terps have scored 16.7 ppg in their six losses and have allowed 46.8 ppg.
• Since the start of the 2016 campaign, VT is 33-2 when holding foes to 21 points or fewer. Over that same span, Tech is 30-1 when holding foes to 17 points or fewer.
• The Terps have been held to 21 points or fewer in all six of their losses this season. Maryland is 0-16 under Locksley when being held to 21 points or fewer.
• VT has allowed 22.6 ppg in its last five games, holding three of those foes to 17 points. Tech finished fourth in the ACC in scoring defense at 22.9 ppg.
• UM ranked sixth in the Big Ten in scoring offense at 27.3 ppg and was 13th in scoring defense at 32.4 ppg.
• The Hokies own a 38-5 record when leading at the half dating back to 2016.
• UM is 8-1 when leading at the half under Locksley and 2-17 when trailing, including six straight losses.
• Tech finished fifth in the ACC in pass defense (219.9 ypg). Maryland finished third in the Big Ten in passing offense at 307.1 ypg.
VIRGINIA TECH’S RUSHING RAMPAGE
• The Hokies own 1,503 rushing yards (250.5 ypg) over their last five games with six TDs. Tech is averaging 5.7 yards per attempt over that span.
• Tech has posted 200-yard rushing games in five of its last six outings. The Hokies piled up 320 rushing yards (6.8 avg.) in a Commonwealth Cup win at UVA (11/27), VT’s highest single-game rushing output since racking up 350 ground yards vs. Boston College (10/17/20).
• Over that six-game span, Tech has produced six individual 100-yard rushing games: RBs Malachi Thomas (2) and Raheem Blackshear (2), plus QB Connor Blumrick – 132 rushing yards at Miami (11/20) – and QB Braxton Burmeister – 115 at UVA (11/27).
VIRGINIA TECH RUSHING – LAST SIX GAMES
Opponent ATT YDS AVG. TD LEADING RUSHER
CUSE (10/23) 44 260 5.9 3 Thomas – 151
at GT (10/30) 53 237 4.5 0 Thomas – 103
at BC (11/5) 34 1624.8 0 Thomas – 70
DUKE (11/13) 41 297 7.2 2 Blackshear – 117
at MIAMI (11/20) 43 227 5.3 0 Blumrick – 132
at UVA (11/27) 47 320 6.8 1 Blackshear – 169
Totals 262 1,503 5.7 6 Blackshear – 517
• Over their last three games, the Hokies have averaged 43.7 rush attempts per game and 281.3 rush ypg.
• RB Raheem Blackshear has averaged 7.6 yards per carry over Tech’s last six games, averaging 86.2 ypg over that span, including a pair of 100-yard games.
• Blackshear leads Tech with 714 rushing yards and six rushing TDs on the season.
• RB Malachi Thomas posted his first career 100-yard rushing game with a 21-carry, 151-yard, three-TD outburst vs. Syrcause (10/23).
• Thomas followed that up with a 103-yard effort at GT (10/30), making him the first VT true freshman with back-to-back 100-yard rushing games since RB Kevin Jones posted three straight (11/10/01 – 12/1/01).
• Maryland ranks 12th in the Big Ten in rushing defense (157.5 ypg). Northwestern (31) is the only Big Ten squad that permitted more rushing TDs this season than Maryland (23) and Indiana (23).
• Tech is 14-3 since the start of the 2016 season when registering 250+ net rushing yards, including a 7-2 mark the past two seasons.
• Maryland is 1-5 under Locksley when allowing 250+ net rushing yards.
FABULOUS FRESHMEN
• Virginia Tech had two players earn spots on The Athletic’s Freshman All-America team.
• P Peter Moore was named the first-team punter. Moore finished second in the ACC with a 45.1-yard gross punting avg. His 23 punts of 50+ yards tied for the ACC lead, while his 22 punts inside the 20 tied for second in the conference.
• G Kaden Moore earned second-team Freshman All-America honors from The Athletic. Moore has started all 12 games at right guard in 2021, taking 658 snaps and earning an 80% grade. His 58 knockdown blocks rank second on the squad.
MORE OFFENSIVE NOTES ON TECH
• QB Connor Blumrick threw his first two collegiate TDs at Miami (11/20). He also has 231 rushing yards and a pair of rushing TDs on the season.
• Blumrick is anticipated to make his initial collegiate start in the Pinstripe Bowl.
• RB Raheem Blackshear is Tech’s top receiving target playing in the Pinstripe Bowl. He owns 23 receptions for 244 yards with one TD. Blackshear leads Tech with 1,136 all-purpose yards (94.7 ypg).
• WR Kaleb Smith has 20 catches on the season for 260 yards with two TDs.
THE TURNOVER TABLE & OTHER TIDBITS
• Tech is +1 (14 takes/13 gives) in turnover margin. Maryland is -8 (10 takes/18 gives). Only Indiana (9) has forced fewer than Maryland among Big Ten squads.
• The Hokies allowed a season-low 54 rushing yards at Miami (11/20), Tech’s best mark since permitting 53 ground yards at Georgia Tech (11/16/19).
• Tech ranks fifth in the ACC in third-down defense at 35.0% (57-163).
• Maryland ranks 11th in the Big Ten in third-down defense at 41.2% (68-165).
TECH SPECIAL TEAMS STATS
• VT ranks second in the ACC with a combined 1,032 kick return yards: punt (328) and KO return (704).
• Those 1,032 combined kick return yards trail only Duke (1,135) and Iowa (1,039) in the Power Five.
• K John Parker Romo is 7-9 on FG tries of 40+ yards with a career-long 52-yard FG vs. Notre Dame (10/9). He also made a 51-yard FG vs. Duke (11/13).
MORE DEFENSIVE TIDBITS ON TECH
• LB Dax Hollifield leads Tech with 88 total tackles(40 solo) and is ninth in the ACC (7.3 per game).
• Hollifield leads the squad with 8.5 TFL and 4.5 sacks.
• S Nasir Peoples is second on Tech with 86 total tackles (49 solo) and is 12th in the ACC (7.2 per game).
• Among Tech players participating in the Pinstripe Bowl, DB Chamarri Connner is second on Tech with 5.5 TFL. DE TyJuan Garbutt is second on the team with 3.5 sacks
Maryland Terrapins Notes
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
1 – The University of Maryland football team will make its 28th all-time bowl appearance when it meets Virginia Tech in the 2021 New Era Pinstripe Bowl on December 29 at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, N.Y. DB Jakorian Bennett leads all Power Five players with 16 pass breakups this season. In 11 games played, Bennett has 13 pass breakups and three interceptions, for an average of 1.5 pass breakups per game. The senior has a pass breakup in five straight games, with eight deflections over that span and has five games this season with at least two pass breakups, tied for the third-most in the country. Bennett’s 16 pass breakups this season are the most by a Terp since Domonique Foxworth had 22 in 2002.
3 – QB Taulia Tagovailoa is rewriting the Maryland record books this season, already having set three program records. In the last two games of the season, Tagovailoa broke the 29-year old single-season completion record set by John Kaleo (1992) with 19 completions against #8 Michigan (11/20) and the 28-year old single-season passing record set by Scott Milanovich (1993) with 312 yards at Rutgers to give him 3,595 yards this year. The junior’s seven 300-yard passing games this season is also the most in program history. The signal caller’s 24 passing touchdowns is second all-time and stands two behind Milanovich (1993) to tie the program record. Tagovailoa is also fifth all-time in career touchdowns (31), seventh in career completions (383) and eighth in career passing yards (4,606).
4 – Over the last four weeks of the season, TE Chigoziem Okonkwo tallied 29 receptions for 259yards, the most receptions ever by a Maryland tight end over a four-game span and the most by any Maryland player since DJ Moore tallied 30 in the first four games of the 2017 season. The senior’s 259 yards are the most yards by a Maryland tight end over four consecutive games since Vernon Davis had 385 against Clemson (9/10), West Virginia (9/17), Wake Forest (9/24) and Virginia (10/1) in 2005. Okonkwo recorded 12 receptions vs. #22 Penn State (11/6), the second-highest reception total ever by a Maryland tight end, only trailing Frank Wycheck’s 14 vs. Virginia Tech in 1990 (9/1). Okonkwo’s 112 yards at #8 Michigan State (11/13) were the most by a Maryland tight end since Davis had 139 yards at North Carolina in 2005 (11/12).
28 – The New Era Pinstripe Bowl will be Maryland’s 28th bowl appearance all-time. The New Era Pinstripe Bowl is the 19th different bowl the Terps have played in and it will mark the second-straight bowl game against an ACC team (2016, Boston College). With the New Era Pinstripe Bowl taking place in Yankee Stadium, this will be the first time Maryland has played in a baseball stadium since the 2007 Emerald Bowl (12/28) at AT&T Park in San Francisco against Oregon State. It will be the first time Maryland has played in New York City since 1936, when it beat Syracuse, 20-0 at the Polo Grounds.
ON THE OFFENSE
By The Numbers
2 – TE Chigoziem Okonkwo had one of the best seasons of any Big Ten tight end this season, ranking first among all Big Ten
tight ends in both receiving touchdowns (five) and receptions in conference games (41). Okonkwo’s season touchdown mark
ranks sixth among all Power Five tight ends.
4 – QB Taulia Tagovailoa was one of the best quarterbacks in the Big Ten this season, earning Third Team Pro Football Focus
All-Big Ten honors. Tagovailoa ranked second in the conference in passing yards (3,595), passing touchdowns (24) and
completions per game (25.67), while standing third in the league in completion percentage (68.4%), total offense (303.3) and
300-yard passing games (seven).
5 – In his time as a Terp beginning in 2020, QB Taulia Tagovailoa has averaged 287.9 passing yards per game, the fifth-highest
over that time span of any Power Five quarterback that has played in both 2020 & 2021, and the most in the Big Ten. Tagovailoa,
who has totaled 4,706 yards in 16 games as a Terp, trails only Virginia’s Brennan Armstrong (328.3 per game), Pittsburgh’s
Kenny Pickett (306.2 per game), Mississippi State’s Will Rogers (306.0) and Ole Miss’ Matt Corral (303.5 per game). Tagovailoa
is 12th in the country and second in the Big Ten, averaging 299.6 passing yards per game this season and has set the Maryland
all-time record for passing yards in a season (3,595).
7 – QB Taulia Tagovailoa has tallied seven 300-yard passing games this season (419 vs. Indiana, 384 vs. Kent St., 371 vs. #22
Penn State, 350 at #8 Michigan State, 350 at Illinois, 332 vs. West Virginia and 312 at Rutgers), the most in program history
and the second-most in the Big Ten this season, trailing only Ohio State’s CJ Stroud. Tagovailoa has thrown for 300-plus yards
in half of his starts as a Terp (eight out of 16) and is two away from tying Scott Milanovich for the career program record (10).
7 – WR Rakim Jarrett has seven touchdown receptions in his first 16 games as a Terp, the most since Stefon Diggs (2012-14)
had nine. Jarrett has caught a touchdown pass in five-of-12 games this season, a 43-yard touchdown at #7 Ohio State (10/9),
a seven-yard score vs. #5 Iowa (10/1), a six-yard grab against Kent State (9/25), a 36-yard pass against Howard and a 60-yard
game-sealing touchdown in the fourth quarter against West Virginia (9/4). The sophomore’s 1,021 career receiving yards are also
the most for a Terp through 16 games since Diggs had 1,302 in 2012-13.
13 – The Terps are averaging 307.1 yards per game in the air, the 13th-best passing yards per game total in the FBS and thirdhighest in the Big Ten, trailing only Ohio State (364.9) and Purdue (340.1). Maryland has over 250 yards passing in nine-of-12
games this season and is one of only three Big Ten teams (Ohio State & Purdue) with at least one passing touchdown in every
game. The Terps 3,685 total passisng yards this season are the second-most in program history, only 138 yards behind the
program record of 3,823 set in 1993.
86.0 – OL Spencer Anderson, who has played both center and tackle this season, has the best pass block grade of any Big Ten
offensive lineman, according to Pro Football Focus, earning an 86.0 grade. The Honorable Mention All-Big Ten honoree has
played 866 snaps at right tackle and center this season, helping block for one of the best offenses in the Big Ten.
ON THE DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS
By The Numbers
1 – Maryland has had 21 different players record at least one tackle for loss this season, the most in the Big Ten. The Terps are led by DL Sam Okuayinonu who has 8.5 tackles for loss, while nine additional players: LB Durell Nchami, DL Ami Finau, DL Lawtez Rogers, DL Mosiah Nasili-Kite, LB Deshawn Holt, DL Greg Rose, DB Tarheeb Still, LB Ruben Hyppolite II, DB Isaiah Hazel and DL Tyler Baylor all have at least two tackles for loss.
2 – The Terps have blocked two field goals this season (Ami Finau at Illinois, 9/17 & Tarheeb Still at Minnesota, 10/23), the 22nd-most in the country and tied with Indiana, Michigan, Nebraska and Penn State for most in the Big Ten. It is the fifth time in the last six seasons that Maryland has blocked at least two field goals over the course of a season.
8 – K Joseph Petrino currently is tied with Steve Mike-Mayer (1972-74) for eighth all-time in Maryland history with 209 career points (29 field goals, 124 PATs). Petrino is eight points behind Brian Kopka (1997-2000) for seventh all-time. The senior kicker is also fourth all-time in career PATs with 124 and sixth all-time in career points kicking, and is only two away from third all-time and four away from second all-time. Petrino has knocked through 11 field goals this season, including a 32-yard game winner to beat Illinois as time expired (9/17), earning him Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week honors.
13 – S Jordan Mosley is the 13th-highest rated safety with over 500 snaps in the nation according to Pro Football Focus, receiving an outstanding 82.0 grade. Mosley comes in as the third-highest rated safety in the Big Ten, behind Illinois’ Kerby Joseph (90.4) and Michigan’s Brad Hawkins (84.6). The PFF Second Team All-Big Ten honoree leads the Terps with 77 tackles (53 solo) and stands third with 13 pass breakups
42.4 – P Anthony Pecorella currently stands third all-time in Maryland history, averaging 42.4 yards per punt (3,183 yards on 75 attempts), behind only two former NFL punters in Brooks Barnard (1999-2002) and Adam Podlesh (2003-06). Pecorella is averaging 44.0 yards per punt this season (1,232 yards on 28 punts), which would be the third-highest single-season average in program history. The junior has booted 10 of his 28 punts over 50 yards with two 56-yard punts and has pinned 11 inside the 20.
