Cats crumble on critical play
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Northwestern had just tied the score on Andrew Clair’s nine-yard touchdown run with 3:34 left in the game.
But on the first play of Maryland’s next drive, Roman Hemby slipped through a hole on the left side and outran everyone, eluding three Wildcats players who dove at his ankles, to score on a 75-yard run that put the Terps back in front.
They held on for a 31-24 victory, overcoming the absence of Taulia Tagovailoa, the standout quarterback who aggravated a sprained knee last weekend.
They also became bowl-eligible. It’s the earliest Maryland (6-2, 3-2 Big Ten) has done that since 2001, when they did it Oct. 11.
“We saw the front that we wanted, and I just came through the mesh, and the linemen got their blocks, the wide receivers worked to the secondary to get their blocks,” said Hemby, who finished with 179 yards. “I just had to run and beat two people, and I was able to outrun their angles.”
The Wildcats (1-6, 1-3) led 17-7 late in the second quarter, but they dropped their sixth straight game since winning the opener against Nebraska in Ireland.
Evan Hull ran for 119 yards and caught a touchdown pass for Northwestern. Brendan Sullivan’s deep pass was intercepted by Maryland’s Beau Brade with 3:02 to play. He went 18-for-24 for 143 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
Billy Edwards Jr. — who helped Maryland win at Indiana last weekend after Tagovailoa was carted off — threw for 166 yards and a touchdown. Edwards was under constant pressure in the first half and had to scramble out of trouble quite a bit. The Terps were unable to turn first-and-goal from the 2 into a touchdown near the end of the first half. They settled for a field goal and trailed 17-10.
An interception by Dante Trader Jr. early in the third quarter set Maryland up near midfield, and Hemby’s 18-yard scoring run eventually tied the score. The Terps took a 24-17 lead later in the quarter on a 30-yard touchdown strike from Edwards to Rakim Jarrett.
Maryland had a chance to take a two-score lead in the fourth, but a drive that took 6:15 off the clock produced no points when Chad Ryland missed a 46-yard field goal. The Terps had second-and-one from the 5, but a fumbled snap resulted in an eight-yard loss. Then Edwards took a sack for a loss of 15 that made the field goal much longer. Northwestern then drove the other way to tie it at 24.
Maryland had scored on its first possession in every game this season — the only FBS team that still could make that claim. That streak ended Saturday, and Northwestern took a 7-0 lead on a one-yard run by Sullivan.