Ethan Grunkemeyer threw three touchdown passes and scrambled for another score, all in the first half, and Virginia Tech held on for a 35-26 victory over Maryland on Saturday in College Park, Md.
Grunkemeyer completed 31 of 39 passes without an interception for 314 yards as the Hokies (3-0) ended the Terrapins’ 20-game winning streak against nonconference opponents, which was the longest run in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
Grunkemeyer helped deliver Virginia Tech its first road win under new coach James Franklin. The two were together last year at Penn State before Franklin was fired in his 12th season as head coach of the Nittany Lions.
It also was a satisfying homecoming for Franklin, who served two tenures as an assistant for Maryland and was designated as the Terrapins’ “coach in waiting,” before the school scrapped the plan in 2011.
Virginia Tech dominated Saturday behind an efficient, balanced attack, which produced touchdowns on five of its first six possessions, staking the Hokies to a 35-14 lead in the third quarter.
Malik Washington threw for 359 yards and three touchdowns for Maryland (2-1), which played catch-up throughout in the battle of former Atlantic Coast Conference rivals.
Washington completed 30 of 43 passes without an interception. Chris Durr Jr. caught 12 passes for 109 yards and two touchdowns.
Virginia Tech got the ball first and rolled 75 yards to paydirt as Luke Reynolds took a tight end screen straight down the middle of the field, scoring on a 14-yard play to put the Hokies up 7-0. Reynolds finished with 12 receptions for 107 yards.
The Hokies’ next possession produced a look-alike drive in which they effectively mixed low-risk passes with off-tackle runs.
With Virginia Tech facing third-and-goal at the 18, Grunkemeyer dropped back and then ran straight up the middle for a touchdown that capped a 74-yard drive and put the Hokies up 13-0.
Maryland responded with a quick-strike drive as Washington completed three straight passes for 70 yards to set up Iverson Howard’s 2-yard touchdown run.
But Virginia Tech answered as Jeffrey Overton Jr. took a swing pass from out of the backfield and raced down the left sideline on a 49-yard touchdown play to put the Hokies up 20-7.
Overton’s second touchdown of the night came on a 2-yard run in the third quarter. Marcellous Hawkins Jr. added 75 yards on 16 carries for the Hokies.
Washington threw two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter, but the Terrapins opted for two-point conversion attempts, which were unsuccessful, leaving them behind 35-26.