COLLEGE PARK — Maryland football’s run of futility in the Big Ten is over — for now.
Quarterback Billy Edwards threw for a career-high 373 yards and two touchdowns and ran for the game-winning score, and the Terps outscored visiting Southern California by 15 points in the second half to emerge with a 29-28 victory Saturday evening before an announced 43,013 at SECU Stadium.
Edwards’ last touchdown, a 3-yard run with 53 seconds left in the game, propelled Maryland (4-3, 1-3 Big Ten) to its first win in the conference since a 42-24 victory at Rutgers on Nov. 25. The program also avoided its first 0-4 start in the league since the 2015 squad opened its schedule with seven straight losses.
Whether the Terps can maintain that momentum when they visit Minnesota on Oct. 26 remains to be seen. But for at least one night, students and fans stormed the field inside the stadium after the final horn, and the players were all smiles about getting off the Big Ten schneid that included setbacks to Michigan State, No. 16 Indiana and Northwestern.
“It was just a great feeling knowing all of the hard work and stuff we had to go through to get to this point,” Edwards said. “We’re going to use this game to create momentum for ourselves and just control what we can control and take it one game at a time and carry us on throughout the season.”
Coach Mike Locksley used a defiant tone for many critics who had questioned the program’s direction after the 0-3 start in the Big Ten.
“It’s been a rough couple of weeks for us, and not a lot of people had a lot of good things to say about our team, about us,” he said. “So to be honest, I’ve got a little bit of an attitude because I don’t want any new friends. I want us to stick with what we believe in, which is in each other, and not get distracted or listen to the things outside of our program.”
Senior wide receiver Kaden Prather produced personal bests in both catches (nine) and yards (111). Senior wide receiver Tai Felton finished with nine receptions for 84 yards and one touchdown, and junior wide receiver Octavian Smith Jr. had eight catches for 84 yards and one score.
Before Saturday, Maryland had dropped 33 consecutive games when trailing by 10 or more points at halftime. But the team ended that dubious streak by scoring two touchdowns, one 2-point conversion and an extra point in the fourth quarter against the Trojans (3-4, 1-4), who lost for the fourth time in their past five games. It’s the largest fourth-quarter comeback for Maryland since overcoming a 17-point deficit to beat Minnesota in 2020.
Trailing 21-7 at halftime, the Terps injected some life into a dwindling crowd when redshirt sophomore safety Lavain Scruggs, a Baltimore native and Archbishop Spalding graduate making his second consecutive start for injured senior Dante Trader Jr. (McDonogh), intercepted redshirt junior quarterback Miller Moss’ pass intended for sophomore wide receiver Zachariah Branch and returned it 51 yards to USC’s 18. On the ensuing play, Edwards hit Felton on an 18-yard post for a touchdown that drew Maryland within 21-14 with 8:32 remaining.
On the Terps’ next possession, a 33-yard carry by redshirt freshman running back Nolan Ray fueled a trip to the Trojans’ red zone. But on fourth-and-3 at the 4, coach Mike Locksley eschewed a field goal attempt and kept the offense on the field. That gamble didn’t pan out as Edwards’ underthrown lob to Prather was intercepted by USC senior cornerback Jaylin Smith in the end zone.
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The Trojans took advantage, consuming 80 yards in 10 plays and finishing with a 26-yard touchdown pass from Moss to sophomore wide receiver Duce Robinson for a 28-14 lead with 13:31 left in the fourth quarter.
Maryland replied with a series that included two fourth-down conversions and a 10-yard touchdown run by redshirt junior running back Roman Hemby (John Carroll). When Edwards found Prather for the 2-point conversion, the Terps trailed, 28-22, with 10:02 remaining.
After USC stopped Maryland on fourth-and-7 when redshirt sophomore safety Kamari Ramsey sacked Edwards for an 18-yard loss, the Trojans moved the ball to the Terps’ 24 and sent in redshirt senior kicker Michael Lantz for a 41-yard field goal attempt.
But senior outside linebacker Donnell Brown blocked the try, and junior linebacker Caleb Wheatland recovered the ball and returned it to USC’s 47. Seven plays later, Edwards kept the ball and ran 3 yards off left tackle for the game-winning touchdown.
BLOCKED AND RECOVERED ❌🚨@TerpsFootball #B1GFootball on FS1 📺 pic.twitter.com/icIsQZERSh
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) October 19, 2024
Brown said he nearly blocked Lantz’s first attempt in the first quarter by “getting skinny” or finding a way to split the Trojans’ blockers.
“A field goal block, it’s just about effort,” he said. “We were trailing in the game and trying to get some momentum going and give it back to the offense at a very crucial moment of the game. In practice, we work on that all the time where they might tell us to rush and always get skinny because that’s what field goal block is all about, especially if you’re on the front line.”
On homecoming weekend, Maryland was the model for hospitality by gifting two of USC’s three first-half touchdowns with penalties.
The Terps, who entered the game tied for fifth in the Big Ten in total penalties (43) and penalties per game (7.2) and ranked fifth in penalty yards per game (67.2), almost matched those per-game averages in the first half. They were flagged six times for 55 yards, and two of them proved costly.
On their third possession of the game, the Trojans (4-3, 2-3) drove to Maryland’s 35-yard line before stalling, and Lantz’s 52-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left.
That relief, however, was short-lived as Terps redshirt sophomore nose tackle Jordan Phillips was cited for an illegal substitution call trying to run onto the field late. So rather than facing fourth-and-7, USC got a fourth-and-2, which the offense converted for an 8-yard gain.
On the ensuing play, Moss hit redshirt junior wide receiver Kyron Hudson on a fade to the back left corner of the end zone for a 22-yard touchdown that gave the Trojans a 7-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Maryland answered with an eight-play, 75-yard march capped by Edwards’ 16-yard touchdown pass to Smith in the back left corner of the end zone with 11:07 left in the second quarter.
USC responded with a seven-play, 75-yard series that ended with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Moss to sophomore wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane with 8:08 remaining. The play made the rounds on social media after Lane pulled in the ball with his left hand while warding off redshirt sophomore quarterback Perry Fisher with his right.
With less than 90 seconds left in the period, the Terps went three-and-out, and redshirt sophomore punter Bryce McFerson punted the ball to Branch, who returned the ball 19 yards to the Trojans’ 44. But Felton was flagged for an illegal hands to the face, which moved the ball to the Terps’ 41.
Four plays later, redshirt senior Woody Marks (17 carries for 82 yards) rushed 5 yards up the middle for a touchdown that gave USC a 21-7 advantage with 21 seconds to go before halftime.
Maryland had a chance to trim the deficit when the offense sprinted to the Trojans’ 27. But rather than spike the ball to stop the clock with 10 seconds left, Edwards’ attempt to collect a shotgun snap by redshirt senior center Josh Kaltenberger ended in catastrophe when the ball bounced off his hands, and the fumble was recovered by redshirt senior defensive end Solomon Tuliaupupu at USC’s 40.
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Maryland at Minnesota
Saturday, 3:30 p.m.
TV: FS1
Radio: 105.7 FM
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