LINCOLN, Neb. — Jack Howes made a 24-yard field goal as time ran out to lift Maryland to a 13-10 win over Nebraska on Saturday.
Maryland’s victory, its first since late September, snapped a four-game losing streak and made the Terrapins (6-4, 3-4 Big Ten) bowl eligible for the third consecutive season. Nebraska (5-5, 3-4) dropped its second straight game and still has to win one of its last two to play in a bowl for the first time since 2016.
“This feeling is not like anything else in sports,” Howes said after his first game-winning kick since high school. “I kind of missed it for a little bit, but I’m glad it’s back.”
Nebraska turned the ball over on three consecutive fourth-quarter possessions, the final one Tarheeb Still’s interception of third-string quarterback Chubba Purdy in the end zone with 3:37 left. That set up Maryland’s winning 12-play, 75-yard drive.
Advertisement
“The last drive, I think, we played very smart, running the ball,” Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa said. “We had a lot of time on the clock and just being conscious of the time. The [offensive] line working their butts off. It just kept punching and kept working. They really did the job for us.”
The last-second win, Maryland Coach Michael Locksley said, was a result of perseverance.
“They found a way to get it done and fought through some adversity because it wasn’t pretty today,” Locksley said. “Our offense made plays when we needed to make plays. Our quarterback did a tremendous job on that last drive and put us in position to go win it. I can’t give enough credit to our defense. They created a bunch of turnovers. They kept playing with their back against the wall, and when we needed them to get us the ball back they got us the ball back”
Advertisement
Maryland players described the postgame locker room atmosphere as euphoric. For Nebraska, the feeling was quite the opposite.
“For it to go back and forth like that and have the ball at the end with a chance to take the lead with three minutes left, and to have that interception happen, to turn around and have a big run and a pass interference on third and long — obviously extremely disappointing,” Nebraska Coach Matt Rhule said.
All of Nebraska’s turnovers were forced by the Terrapins secondary, which came into Saturday’s game focused on takeaways.
“The last games we haven’t played as well defensively as we want to,” said defensive back Dante Trader Jr., who had a pair of interceptions. “This week, coaches told us to get back to the standard. It’s all in the fine detail that we’re trying to do to win games. You’ve got to get to takeaways, to go out there and do what we did.”
Advertisement
Purdy, the younger brother of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, came into the game after second-string quarterback Jeff Sims’s fumble was turned into a Maryland field goal that tied the score at 10 with 12:42 left.
Sims’s second turnover, an interception, set the Terrapins up to take the lead. But Roman Hemby gave it back to Nebraska with a fumble on the 3-yard line.
Purdy drove the Huskers 90 yards to the Maryland 5 before throwing the last interception.
Maryland got the game’s only first-half score. After stopping Nebraska on fourth down late in the second quarter, the Terps struck quickly with a pair of Tagovailoa passes to Tai Felton, the first a 53-yard shot down the middle and the second a 16-yarder down the sideline for a touchdown.
Nebraska got on the board early in the third quarter when, after recovering a Maryland fumble at the Terps’ 27, the Huskers ran six straight times. Fullback Janiran Bonner went two yards around right end for the score.
Advertisement
After picking off Tagovailoa on Maryland’s next possession, Nebraska failed to move the ball but took the lead on Tristan Alvano’s 38-yard field goal.
Maryland appeared to be on its way to answering the Nebraska score, marching 58 yards down the field. But the Nebraska defense stuffed Antwain Littleton II on a fourth-and-one run at the 17, ending the drive.
Tagovailoa passed for 283 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Nebraska’s three quarterbacks, including starter Heinrich Haarberg, who left the game with an injury, were 10 for 21 for just 86 yards with four interceptions.
The Terrapins, who had 101 yards on the ground, were just the second team to rush for more than 100 yards against the Nebraska defense this season.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7uK3SoaCnn6Sku7G70q1lnKedZMCxu9GtqmhqYGeAcH2QaGhqZ52Wv7q4wKebZp6fpMGjrculZKedkqeutLfAaA%3D%3D