COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Maryland put up a fight on Homecoming, with Perry Hills and Caleb Rowe each throwing for a score, but Wisconsin was able to hold on to defeat the Terps, 31-24, in front of 44,678 at Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium.
Wisconsin won its fifth straight game to improve to 8-2 overall and 5-1 in the Big 10. The Terps fall to 2-7 on the year and 0-5 in league play.
Junior running back Wes Brown rushed for a seven-yard touchdown to give Maryland a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. It was his third touchdown of the season and 11th of his career.
Trailing 17-10, Hills found freshman wide receiver D.J. Moore for a 40-yard touchdown that sent the game into halftime all tied up. Moore has three touchdown grabs on the year, the most by a Maryland freshman since current NFL standout Stefon Diggs had six touchdowns in 2012.
Wisconsin finished off a seven-play, 71-yard drive with a seven-yard touchdown pass from Joel Stave to Dare Ogunbowale less than a minute into the fourth quarter. That score gave the Badgers a 31-17 lead over the Terrapins.
With Rowe in at quarterback, the Terps moved the ball late in the fourth quarter. The junior completed five passes for 81 yards on a drive that culminated with a 27-yard scoring strike to Levern Jacobs with 2:39 to go to make it a 31-24 game.
Maryland recover the ensuing onside kick, but an offside penalty on the Terps nullified the play. Wisconsin was able to cover up the next onside attempt and run out the remainder of the clock.
Maryland's 24 points against Wisconsin, the nation's leading defense (11.0 points per game), is the most points scored against the Badgers since their season-opening loss to Alabama (35-17).
Maryland returns to action next Saturday at No. 6/7 Michigan State.
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