Terps prevail with max effort
Late TD from Johnson, Bortenschlager’s passing help Maryland top Gophers
MINNEAPOLIS – Ty Johnson rushed for 130 yards and a 34-yard touchdown run with 1:10 to play to lift Maryland to a 31-24 victory over Minnesota on Saturday.
Max Bortenschlager completed 18 of 28 passes for 154 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score for the Terrapins (3-1). Lorenzo Harrison III added 75 yards rushing and Maryland racked up 262 yards on the ground against a Minnesota defense that was ranked No. 1 in the country against the run.
“That's Max every day,” Maryland coach D.J. Durkin said. “The difference was he had a team around him that was playing with a resolve, a determination of just a group of guys that decided to come together and do something special.”
Conor Rhoda was 13 for 26 for 229 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions for previously unbeaten Minnesota (3-1). Tyler Johnson had three catches for 69 yards, but the Golden Gophers rushed for just 80 yards.
“It exposed a lot of weaknesses,” Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck said. “That's what we can get to work on in practice this week to fix.”
D.J. Moore caught eight passes for 90 yards and a touchdown for Maryland.
The Terrapins have already lost two starting quarterbacks — Tyrrell Pigrome and Kasim Hill — to season-ending knee injuries this year.
Bortenschlager looked overwhelmed at times last week when he was thrust into surprise duty following Hill's injury. Given a week to practice as the starter, he looked much more comfortable.
“It was huge knowing that I was the guy,” Bortenschlager said. “Going through the week, everyone around the facility just instilled a bunch of confidence in me. They always told me they had my back.”
He squeezed a throw in between two Gophers defenders on fourth-and-11 from the Gophers 31 in the first quarter. D.J. Turner made a leaping catch for a 22-yard gain, setting up Bortenschlager's 7-yard draw for a touchdown to get Maryland on the board.
He came up big again in the fourth quarter on third-and-goal from the 4, rolling to his right and hitting a wide-open Jake Funk in the flat for a 24-17 lead. It was the first time an opponent has scored against Minnesota's defense in the second half this season.
The Gophers tied the game midway through the fourth quarter when Shannon Brooks scored with four minutes to play, but Bortenschlager gave Maryland its ninth third-down conversion of the game at the Minnesota 39 and Ty Johnson burst through the line and went untouched for the touchdown to seal the victory.