Ethan Grunkemeyer goes 31-of-39 for 314 yards and three touchdowns as the Hokies hand the Terrapins their first nonconference loss since 2022. September 19, 2026.

Virginia Tech Hokies 35, Maryland Terrapins 26 SECU Stadium, College Park, Maryland

Maryland’s 20-game nonconference winning streak — once the longest in the FBS — is over. Virginia Tech ended it Saturday night at a sold-out SECU Stadium with a complete, disciplined 35-26 win that the scoreline undersells. The Hokies led from the game’s first possession, scored touchdowns on five of their first six drives, and answered every Maryland push with another punch of their own. Ethan Grunkemeyer was sharp from the first snap, Jaquez White’s mid-week bulletin board material aged poorly, and new head coach James Franklin left College Park with his first road win. The streak now belongs to BYU at 16 games. The Terrapins head into Big Ten play with something to answer for.

How It Happened

First Quarter: Virginia Tech wasted no time. Grunkemeyer connected with Luke Reynolds on a 14-yard touchdown pass on the game’s very first possession to put the Hokies on the board. Maryland had no answer in the opening frame and trailed 7-0 after one quarter of a game the home crowd had been anticipating for weeks.

Second Quarter: The second quarter was where this game was decided. Grunkemeyer escaped the pocket on third-and-goal from the 18 and scrambled 18 yards into the end zone to push the lead to 13-0 — though Maryland’s defense blocked the ensuing PAT to keep it at 13 rather than 14. Maryland answered with Iverson Howard’s 2-yard rushing TD to make it 13-7, but Grunkemeyer responded immediately — a 49-yard catch-and-run touchdown by Jeffrey Overton Jr. pushed the VT lead to 20-7. Washington threw a 12-yard TD to Chris Durr Jr. to cut it to 20-14 with 2:11 left in the half, and it felt like Maryland might find its footing. Instead, the Hokies drove 75 yards in the final two minutes and Grunkemeyer delivered a 2-yard TD strike to Ja’Ricous Hairston to send Virginia Tech into the locker room leading 27-14. VT went 8-of-9 on third down and gained 302 total yards in the first half alone.

Third Quarter: Overton Jr. added a 2-yard rushing TD early in the third quarter, and Grunkemeyer found Que’Sean Brown on the two-point conversion pass to push the lead to 35-14. Maryland had no third-quarter points and the game looked over.

Fourth Quarter: Maryland made it interesting but couldn’t close the gap. Washington threw scoring strikes of 2 yards to Dorian Fleming and 13 yards to Durr Jr., but the Terrapins went for two on both plays and missed both times. The missed conversions — which would have pulled Maryland to within seven — kept the game from ever becoming a genuine one-score thriller. Virginia Tech took a knee on its final three possessions and walked out of SECU Stadium with a 35-26 win.

Offensive Summary

Grunkemeyer was the story. The Virginia Tech quarterback went 31-for-39 for 314 yards, three touchdowns, zero interceptions, and a 95.8 QBR against a Maryland secondary that cornerback Jaquez White had promised during the week would contain him. Franklin made sure to correct that narrative in his postgame comments, saying he disagreed with the remarks when they were made and disagreed still. Marcellous Hawkins Jr. led the VT ground game with 75 yards on 16 carries, and Overton Jr. was a weapon both as a runner (49 yards, 1 TD) and a receiver (63 yards, 1 TD).

Malik Washington gave Maryland everything he had — 30-for-43 for 359 yards and three touchdowns with zero turnovers, outpassing Grunkemeyer on the stat sheet in a losing effort. Durr Jr. had 12 catches for 109 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Terrapins simply couldn’t win the field position and conversion battles they needed to complete the comeback.

Defensive / Special Teams

Virginia Tech’s defense forced zero turnovers but kept Maryland in check when it mattered — the Hokies had 2 sacks and 4 tackles for loss, with Kaleb Spencer and Aycen Stevens each recording a sack. Maryland held Virginia Tech to 131 rushing yards but could never consistently stop the passing attack. Daniel Wingate led all tacklers with 12 total stops for the Terrapins. Special teams were largely quiet on both sides — no return touchdowns, no field goals; the game was decided by offense.

Players of the Game

🏈 Offensive Ethan Grunkemeyer (VT) — 31/39, 314 yds, 3 TD, 0 INT, 95.8 QBR | scored touchdowns on VT’s first five possessions; perfect when it mattered

🏈 Defensive Kaleb Spencer (VT) — 6 TOT, 5 SOLO, 1 sack, 1 TFL, 1 PD; led an efficient Hokies front Daniel Wingate (MD) — 12 TOT, 5 SOLO, 1 TFL; most tackles on the field

🏈 Special Teams Virginia Tech protected the lead with three kneel-downs in the final minutes; no notable special teams plays on either side

Team Statistics

Passing Summary

Ethan Grunkemeyer (VT): 31/39, 314 yds, 3 TD, 0 INT Malik Washington (MD): 30/43, 359 yds, 3 TD, 0 INT

Rushing Summary

Marcellous Hawkins Jr. (VT): 16 car, 75 yds, 0 TD Jeffrey Overton Jr. (VT): 12 car, 49 yds, 1 TD Iverson Howard (MD): 11 car, 22 yds, 1 TD

Receiving Leaders

Luke Reynolds (VT): 12 rec, 107 yds, 1 TD Jeffrey Overton Jr. (VT): 3 rec, 63 yds, 1 TD (long: 49) Chris Durr Jr. (MD): 12 rec, 109 yds, 2 TD Kaleb Webb (MD): 5 rec, 98 yds (long: 44)

Quarter-by-Quarter Scoring

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter: 8:15 — Luke Reynolds 14-yd TD pass (Grunkemeyer) (Love PAT good) — VT 7, MD 0

2nd Quarter: 14:51 — Grunkemeyer 18-yd rush TD (Love PAT blocked) — VT 13, MD 0; 12:31 — Iverson Howard 2-yd rush TD (O’Haire PAT good) — VT 13, MD 7; 9:14 — Jeffrey Overton Jr. 49-yd TD pass (Grunkemeyer) (Love PAT good) — VT 20, MD 7; 2:11 — Chris Durr Jr. 12-yd TD pass (Washington) (O’Haire PAT good) — VT 20, MD 14; 0:16 — Ja’Ricous Hairston 2-yd TD pass (Grunkemeyer) (Love PAT good) — VT 27, MD 14 (halftime)

3rd Quarter: 7:29 — Jeffrey Overton Jr. 2-yd rush TD (Grunkemeyer pass to Que’Sean Brown, 2-pt conversion good) — VT 35, MD 14

4th Quarter: 12:36 — Dorian Fleming 2-yd TD pass (Washington) (2-pt pass conversion failed) — VT 35, MD 20; 5:34 — Chris Durr Jr. 13-yd TD pass (Washington) (2-pt pass conversion failed) — VT 35, MD 26 (final)

Key Notes

• Virginia Tech snapped Maryland’s 20-game nonconference winning streak — once the longest in the Football Bowl Subdivision; BYU now holds the record at 16 consecutive nonconference wins
• Maryland’s streak began in 2022 and had included 20 straight nonconference wins, including last week’s 62-0 rout of Hampton
• James Franklin won his first road game as Virginia Tech’s head coach in his inaugural season with the Hokies, who improved to 3-0
• VT went 8-of-9 on third down and gained 302 total yards in the first half — a first-half performance that effectively decided the game
• Maryland’s two missed two-point conversions in the fourth quarter proved fatal — had either succeeded the Terrapins would have been within one score; they remained down by 15 and 9 respectively on each conversion failure
• Jaquez White’s pre-game bulletin board comment — the VT cornerback said during the week “I don’t really think he’s that accurate” about Washington, who finished 30-for-43 for 359 yards and 3 TDs; Franklin addressed it postgame: “I don’t know why you watch the film from the week before — and the guy completes 18 straight passes — and make a comment like that”
• VT took a knee on its final three possessions — a notable contrast to the last time Franklin faced Maryland, two seasons ago as Penn State’s coach, when the Nittany Lions threw two passes in the final 10 seconds to cap a 44-7 win
• Zero turnovers for either team — a clean game decided entirely by execution and conversion rate
• Virginia Tech went 2-for-2 on fourth down while Maryland was 0-for-1
• Attendance: Sold-out SECU Stadium, College Park

Up Next

Virginia Tech Hokies: At Boston College — next Saturday

Maryland Terrapins: vs. UCLA at SECU Stadium — next Saturday