Maryland Football: Terps sneak past Hoosiers

Maryland came into their 2017 Homecoming game against Indiana needing to capture a victory.

From the opening kickoff, nothing seemed like it was going to go Maryland’s way. The Hoosiers would take their opening drive 75 yards for a score. Then, Bortenschlager threw an interception on just the second Maryland offensive play. That turnover then resulted in a second consecutive touchdown drive for Indiana.

The Terrapins would answer with a score of their own and get a defensive stop, but the Hoosiers pinned Maryland to their own three and got a safety. A poor play call resulted in Ty Johnson running laterally along the goal line with nowhere to move forward.

Darnell Savage Jr would block a punt and return it himself for a score, and from that point forward, Maryland took control.

That score would ignite a six minute and 20 second span in which Maryland scored 21 points and gave up just one touchdown. This dominant quarter gave Maryland a 28-23 lead going into the locker room.

In the third quarter, Maryland faced yet another installment of the Big Ten officials’ comedy show. After a Jermaine Carter Jr sack that would have set up a 4th and 22, the officials called Cavon Walker for “unnecessary roughness” for this:

DJ Durkin went absolutely nuts on the sidelines, much like the crowd, and he picked up a 15-yard penalty as well. This set Indiana up with first and 10 from the 50 yard line, eventually resulting in three points that expanded the Hoosier lead to five points, 33-28.

After that deflating series, Javon Leake unexpectedly returned a kickoff that was halfway deep in the end zone, and brought it 82 yards to the Indiana 18 yard line.

This field position eventually resulted in a Maryland score to retake the lead. Jake Funk powered in from just one yard out to make it 35-33 just four seconds into the fourth quarter.

A big defensive stop gave the ball right back to the offense with plenty of time to expand their lead. Bortenschlager would connect with DJ Moore on a 44-yard pass play to bring Maryland into a scoring position. After a series of running plays, Funk powered in again for his second touchdown of the quarter, giving Maryland a 42-33 lead with just 10:14 remaining.

After an injury to Peyton Ramsey, the Hoosiers were forced to use fifth year quarterback Richard Lagow, who threw for 270 yards against Maryland last year. He would lead Indiana down the field for a score, but Maryland blocked the extra point with 8:09 left to maintain a three point lead, and get possession of the ball.

With two minutes remaining, Wade Lees landed a perfect punt on the one yard line. Indiana had no timeouts remaining, and simply could not go 99 yards. The Hoosiers faltered on their own 37 on four straight passes, to give Maryland the ball with second left.

Two knees were all it took for Maryland to close out a 42-39 win. This marks win number four, ends their three game losing streak, and get back to .500 on the season.