Photos by the Associated Press

Virginia's Vic Hall (top) goes airborne after catching the ball in front of Maryland's Terrell Skinner during the first half of Saturday's game in College Park, Md.

Virginia quarterback Jameel Sewell (10) sets up to throw during the Cavaliers' 20-9 win over Maryland on Saturday. Sewell hurt his ankle in the third quarter and was replaced by Marc Verica.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Here's the kind of football game Maryland and Virginia played Saturday at rain-soaked Byrd Stadium.

The offensive player of the game was a defensive end.

That probably requires a few disclaimers. Nobody actually picked Nate Collins as the offensive player of the game, and, not too many years ago, he played quarterback as a senior in high school.

That was also the last time he had scored a touchdown before Saturday, when he picked off a pass deflected by teammate Darren Childs and returned it 32 yards for the go-ahead score in Virginia's 20-9 victory over the Terrapins.

"Thank God it wasn't any longer than that," said Collins, a 6-foot-2, 290-pound senior and co-captain. "It was the best touchdown I've ever scored, the best feeling I've ever had."

Collins later had a sack that saddled Maryland with a fourth-and-17 at its own 2-yard line with 1:54 remaining.

The Cavaliers, who led 13-9 at the time, forced a Maryland incompletion on fourth down and needed only one play to score the final touchdown of the game on a 2-yard run by Rashawn Jackson with 1:43 left in the contest.

It was the only offensive touchdown by either squad on a day when neither team had more than 300 yards total offense, Indeed, UVa could manage only 201 yards against a Terps' defense that was ranked 112th out of 120 Division I-A teams.

Virginia quarterback Jameel Sewell was sacked five times and eventually had to leave the game when he sprained his right ankle with 3:16 remaining in the third quarter.

He was replaced by Marc Verica, who completed only one of three passes the rest of the way, but was successful in holding onto the ball and milking the clock.

"He did a very nice job with it," UVa coach Al Groh said. "Marc's been out there before. He was our man for October last year."

The Cavaliers were 4-0 in October 2008, and they've won all three of their games in October this year. Virginia is 12-1 in October games dating back to 2006.

Coupled with Virginia Tech's 28-23 loss at Georgia Tech, Virginia's victory Saturday put the Cavaliers (3-3, 2-0 ACC) atop the Coastal Division and left UVa as the only team without a loss in ACC play.

"That was a magnificent effort by our players," Groh said. "They dealt with everything that we encountered today, whether it was guys having to step up [for] circumstances within the ballgame. They refused to be distracted by any issues."

Groh may have been referring to the weather or he may have been referring to a series of setbacks, including an apparent UVa fumble recovery that was overturned by replay officials and led to a go-ahead Maryland field goal before the half.

The Cavaliers had plenty of miscues of their own, including a Jimmy Howell punt that went for minus-3 yards and set up the field goal by Maryland's Nick Ferrara that put the Terps on top 6-3.

Maryland's first field goal had followed a Sewell fumble that gave the Terps possession at the UVa 33.

That was the first turnover in three games for the Cavaliers, and they did not have another one. Maryland lost two fumbles, and fifth-year quarterback Chris Turner was intercepted twice.

It was the third loss to Virginia in as many starts for Turner, who finished 16-of-38 for 158 yards.

Turner didn't get a whole lot of help. Midway through the fourth quarter, he ran or passed on six straight plays that gave the Terrapins a first down at the UVa 18.

However, on first down, a shotgun snap skittered past Turner for a 9-yard loss. That was followed by a pair of incompletions, the second coming on a drop by Virginia Beach product Kerry Boykins at the UVa 10-yard line.

Ferrara then missed a 44-yard field goal, his second fourth-quarter miss after a 3-for-3 start.

"I'm frustrated," said Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen, whose Terps (2-5, 1-2) lost for the fourth time in their last five games. "I don't think the teams we are playing are better than us, but we just keep shooting ourselves in the foot.

"We are just giving games away."

UVa running back Mikell Simpson, the Cavaliers' hero in an 18-17 UVa victory at Maryland in 2007, was in uniform Saturday but did not see action after sustaining a neck injury one week earlier in a 47-7 victory over Indiana.

He was replaced by another fifth-year senior, Jackson, who has been listed all season as the No. 1 fullback on a team that seldom uses a fullback.

Jackson has played in one-back situations throughout his career but had never carried more than 14 times in a game before Saturday. He finished with 19 carries for 90 yards and the first rushing touchdown of his college career.

Jackson, a 6-1, 245-pounder, had nine carries for 54 yards in the fourth quarter and that didn't include an apparent 49-yard touchdown run that was nullified by penalty.

It was a day for UVa's fifth-year players, as it has been throughout the Cavaliers' winning streak.

"They scheduled us for homecoming," Collins said."When one of your rivals schedules you for homecoming, you kind of take it personally."