Maryland football rallies to defeat USC in historic first matchup
Donnell Brown blocks USC field goal attempt in the fourth quarter (Courtesy of University of Maryland Athletics)
University of Maryland (4-3) quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. threw for 373 yards, leading his team to a 29-28 victory over the University of Southern California (3-4) in their inaugural meeting on Saturday at SECU stadium during Maryland’s homecoming weekend.
Maryland has now won four out of their last five homecoming games. They have a 62-36-4 all-time record on homecoming games.
Maryland linebacker Donnell Brown blocked USC kicker Michael Lantzs’ field goal attempt and returned it to the Maryland 47-yard line. On that drive, Edwards rushed for the 3-yard touchdown, giving Maryland the 29-28 lead, their first lead of the game with 53 seconds left in regulation.
On the next and last USC drive, Maryland linebacker Caleb Wheatland forced an incompletion on fourth down, securing the 29-28 victory.
Wheatland credited Maryland’s preparation with his execution of the stop saying, “We were looking at it all week. You know, they like to go to the check down. So, I was just keeping my head on the swivel and just doing what I need to do defensively.”
It was far from an easy result. The third and fourth quarters were pivotal for this Maryland team's comeback.
Maryland defensive back Lavain Scruggs intercepted USC quarterback Miller Moss, returning it to the USC 18-yard line. On the next play, Edwards completed an 18-yard pass to receiver Tai Felton for the touchdown, cutting the USC lead to 21-14 with just over eight minutes left in the third quarter.
Maryland came up with an important defensive stop on the next USC drive but they could not capitalize on it. USC cornerback Jaylin Smith intercepted Edwards in the endzone with just under three minutes left in the third quarter.
On their next drive, USC extended their lead after Moss completed a 26-yard pass to receiver Duce Robinson for the touchdown. Lantz made the extra point making it 28-14 with 13 minutes left in the fourth quarter but Maryland would not back down.
Maryland running back Roman Hemby rushed for the ten-yard touchdown after 10 plays. Edwards completed the pass to receiver Kaden Prather for the two-point conversion, cutting the USC lead down to 28-22 with just over 10 minutes left in regulation.
The beginning of the first half was a different story. Both USC and Maryland came up with two defensive stops before USC broke the deadlock.
Moss completed a 22-yard pass to Kyron Hudson for the first touchdown of the game. Lantz made the extra point, putting USC up 7-0 to end the first quarter.
Maryland responded quickly. Edwards completed a 33-yard pass to Prather on 3rd and long. A few plays later, Edwards completed a 16-yard touchdown pass to Octavian Smith Jr. Maryland kicker Jack Howes completed the extra point, tying the game at 7-7 with just over 11 minutes to play in the half.
USC responded on the next drive. After a few long completions to get them inside the red zone, Moss threw a 15-yard pass to receiver Ja’Kobi Lane who corralled it with one hand for the touchdown. USC took the 14-7 lead with just over eight minutes left in the half.
Maryland could not capitalize on their next three drives before the half, allowing USC to take the 21-7 lead at halftime, but overcame the deficit in the next half.
“Now's the time to double down on Maryland football,” said Maryland head coach Michael Locksley. “And it's not just talking. I'm not saying we're right. I'm saying it's time to get out of the negative business of it, and let's buy in that we can win around and we can win big.”
Maryland moved to 4-3 overall and 1-3 in conference play with this win. They will play their next conference match against Minnesota in Minneapolis on Oct. 26.