Maryland Football: Nick Novak lifts Texans to victory

Nick Novak capped off what was a banner year for former Terrapins on Sunday.

After the likes of Vernon Davis, Darrius Heyward-Bey, and Torrey Smith all scored touchdowns earlier in the day, Novak connected on a game-winning 33-yard field goal. His clutch kick gave the Houston Texans a 26-23 overtime victory over the Indianapolis Colts.

Novak made both of his field goal attempts (27 & 33) and connected on two-of-three extra point tries. The former Terrapin helped his team erase a 23-9 fourth quarter deficit.

The Texans rallied to score 14 points in the final 2:37 to tie the game at 23. Quarterback Brock Osweiler tossed touchdown passes to Lamar Miller and C.J. Fiedorowicz to even up the score.

On the season, Novak has connected on 13-of-16 field goal attempts and 9-of-10 on extra-point attempts. His longest field goal was a 53-yarder that he made against the Tennessee Titans on Oct. 2.

Novak has spent the past two seasons with Houston. He was released by the San Diego Chargers following the 2015 preseason in which he was beaten out by Josh Lambo.

The Texans are the fourth NFL team that Novak has played for since entering the league in 2005. Upon entering the NFL in 2005, he signed with the Washington Redskins and appeared in five games for the local team.

Novak was the most successful kicker in Maryland history. He made 80-of-107 field goal attempts, which was good for a 74.8 percent clip.

Next: Torrey Smith scores second touchdown of the season

His 393 points were also the most in the program’s history.