– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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PISCATAWAY, NEW JERSEY — Thanksgiving weekend was undoubtedly going to be a special one for the Tagovailoa family, with the older quarterback-playing brother of the bloodline already in the clubhouse after his team earned a convincing win on Black Friday. Less than 24 hours later, he got to not only congratulate a victory from little brother, but also got to send a message to him in acknowledging a major accomplishment in Big Ten annals.
Taulia Tagovailoa threw for 361 yards, and in the process, became the Big Ten’s all-time leader in career passing yards, in leading the Maryland Terrapins to a 42-24 victory over Rutgers in the season finale for both teams at SHI Stadium. Maryland’s offense scored touchdowns on its first four possessions, recapturing the form it showed earlier in the season when it started the campaign 5-0 and was knocking on the door of the Top 25 before a five-game losing streak.
Needing 268 yards to overtake former Purdue quarterback Curtis Painter for the top passing mark in the conference, Tagovailoa set the new record by halftime and goes into the Terrapins bowl game with 11,256 career yards through the air, and he hit 10 different receivers in the game.
After the game, Taulia was shown a pre-recorded video from older brother, Tua, whose Miami Dolphins won in the Garden State just over a day ago when it defeated the New York Jets on Black Friday. .
“It’s a blessing. My family is everything,” Taulia Tagovailoa said. “It’s an awesome blessing that they support me. They have been there every step of the way.”
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Saturday afternoon’s game, with all photos taken by New York-area photographer Scott Rausenberger. After clicking on the first photo to enlarge the picture, make sure to press the left and right arrow buttons to scroll through the rest of the pictures. There are 28 pictures in total.
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