3 takeaways from Maryland football’s 29-28 win over USC

The Terps won their first conference game of the season.

Maryland football won its first Big Ten game of the season Saturday, upsetting USC, 29-28, at home.

It looked like the Terps were doomed to fall to 3-4 with two minutes remaining, as USC lined up for a field goal up six points. But Donnell Brown sparked life back into SECU Stadium and blocked the field goal, which was returned into USC territory. Maryland’s offense did the rest of the work, as Billy Edwards Jr. put the Terps up by one with a 3-yard rushing touchdown.

Here are three takeaways from Saturday’s game.

A pass-heavy game

Maryland and USC heavily relied on their quarterbacks’ arms Saturday.

In head coach Michael Locksley’s second game calling offensive plays, the Terps did not run the ball early or often. It took them more than two drives and 10 plays to call their first run play, a 3-yard rush from Nolan Ray. Throughout the first half, Maryland drew up four designed runs — aside from quarterback sneaks — for seven yards. Roman Hemby did not receive a single carry in the first half.

“They played man coverage 90% of the game. Man coverage adds a guy to the box,” Locksley said. “I sure would love to see us run the ball more and more efficiently, but today … we ran when we needed to.”

Maryland’s rushing attack saw a boost in the second half, though, highlighted by a 33-yard gain from Ray. By the end of the game, the Terps’ running backs totaled 12 carries for 68 yards. Meanwhile, Billy Edwards Jr. completed 39-of-50 passes for 373 yards and two touchdowns.

USC followed in suit. Its running backs carried the ball eight times for 44 yards in the first half, which upped to 20 rushes and 88 yards by the end of the game.

Miller had a similar stat line as Edwards, totaling 336 yards and three touchdowns on 34-of-49 passing.

While both teams entered the contest in the bottom half of the Big Ten in rushing yards per game, each rushed well below its season averages. Maryland posted 56 yards rushing, 65.1 yards below its season average, and USC totaled 82 yards, 63.4 yards below its season average.

A balanced passing attack

While Tai Felton leads the Big Ten in receptions and receiving yards by a wide margin, Saturday saw a more balanced passing attack for the Terps.

Junior Octavian Smith Jr. had the best game of his collegiate career, posting eight catches for 84 yards and an impressive touchdown catch. His previous career-highs were five receptions and 79 yards receiving.

“He’s been dealing with a turf toe,” Locksley said. “But today he was healthy. The bye week got him healthy. He made some huge plays, that touchdown catch earlier … I start talking about seeing guys grow up, and I thought Oct took a step in the right direction today.”

But it was Kaden Prather who led the team, tallying a season-high 111 receiving yards on nine receptions. He also caught a two-point conversion in the fourth quarter, which put the Terps in position to win the game at the end.

Felton was still productive, though, hauling in nine catches for 84 yards and a touchdown.

Outside of those three, Hemby caught six passes for 52 yards and was heavily utilized with screen passes. Tight ends Dylan Wade and Preston Howard combined for 32 yards receiving on six catches, while Ray tallied a catch for 10 yards.

Avoidable mistakes almost proved costly again

As has been a common theme for Maryland this season, avoidable mistakes killed the Terps.

In the first quarter, Maryland was penalized with an illegal substitution as the Trojans lined up for and missed a 52-yard field goal. The extra 5 yards allowed USC to go for it on fourth down instead, and picked up the first down with ease.

Instead of receiving the ball with good field position, the Terps found themselves down by seven points early, as the Trojans capitalized on the penalty with a 22-yard passing touchdown.

In the second quarter, Maryland looked to cut into USC’s lead with the ball at the Trojan 27-yard line and 10 seconds remaining in the half. But Edwards fumbled the ensuing snap and it was recovered by USC defensive end Solomon Tuliaupupu, ending the Terps’ scoring opportunity.

Again in the third quarter, Aliou Bah was called for a false start, which backed Maryland up to the USC 16-yard line. The Terps drive ended in a failed fourth-down attempt from the USC 4-yard line.

Similar mistakes occurred in Maryland’s loss to Michigan State in the second game of the season. Jalen Huskey jumped offsides on a missed field goal attempt, allowing the Spartans to retake and make a shorter field goal, which ended up being the difference in a 27-24 loss.

But this time, by the grace of Brown’s hand, the Terps overcame these mistakes and escaped with a win.

“You got to rinse it, man. Got to,” Locksley said. “That’s what this team has, resilience.”