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University of Maryland Athletics

Joseph Petrino
20
Winner Maryland UMD 3-0 , 1-0
17
Illinois ILL 1-3 , 1-1
Winner
Maryland UMD
3-0 , 1-0
20
Final
17
Illinois ILL
1-3 , 1-1
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
UMD Maryland 0 3 7 10 20
ILL Illinois 0 3 7 7 17

Game Recap: Football |

Terps Stay Perfect, Rally For Win At Illinois, 20-17

CHAMPAIGN, IL — Down 17-10 with less than five minutes to go in the fourth quarter, Maryland rallied for a dramatic 20-17 victory over Illinois to stay perfect at 3-0. The Terps scored twice in the final 2:13 to continue its best start to a season since 2016 when they started 4-0.

Joseph Petrino kicked his first-ever game-winning field goal as his 32-yard field goal gave the Terps the conference road win. It was Maryland's first walk-off win since Dan Ennis' game-winner against Clemson in 2006.

The Terps tied the game with 2:13 as quarterback TauliaTagovailoa found Tayon Fleet-Davis for a 10-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 17-17. 

Greg Rose single-handedly derailed Illinois' ensuing drive with two sacks for losses of 11 and seven yards in the final 1:13. Intentional grounding on the Illini forced punt and the 38-yarder gave the Terps the ball at Illinois' 45-yard line with 47 seconds left, setting the stage for the winning play. 

Tagovailoa threw for 350 yards on 32-of-43. DontayDemus Jr. had eight catches for 77 yards, extending his consecutive game streak with a reception to 25. Fleet-Davis carried the ball 11 times for 62 yards and two total touchdowns (1 rushing & 1 receiving). 

Illinois took a 17-10 lead 47 seconds into the fourth quarter when Casey Washington scooped up a loose ball that Jordan Mosley punched out of Reggie Love's hands and rumbled 30 yards to give the Illini their first lead. 

A penalty negated what appeared to be the tying play for the Terps. Tagovailoa's 41-yard scoring pass to Demus Jr. with 11:15 left was called back, putting the Terps in a 3-and-25 situation, where Illinois sacked Tagovailoa. 

The Illini ran the clock, converting a pair of third downs, but eventually, the Terrapin defense held, giving Maryland the ball back with less than five minutes left in the fourth. 

Not done yet, Tagovailoa led the offense down the field. He found Fleet-Davis in the flat. Fleet-Davis made two defenders miss before finding the endzone, tying the game. 

Maryland came out in the third quarter with a purpose as Tagovailoa methodically moved his team down the field in just five plays, punctuating the drive with a rushing touchdown by Fleet-Davis. Now leading 10-3, Maryland's defense forced a quick three-and-out putting Tagovailoa and the offense quickly back on the field. The Terps again used chunk plays to move down into Illini territory, but a fumble on the goal line stalled the drive. 

An Illinois touchdown on a 38-yard rush by Josh McCray tied the game at 10-10 with 6:15 left in the third quarter. 

A second Terps fumble set the Illini up deep in Terps' territory, but safety Nick Cross intercepted the ball on the very next play to swing the momentum back towards Maryland. However, neither team could crack the end zone before the fourth quarter. 

The first quarter was a defensive battle as neither offense could get into a rhythm. Illinois began marching late into the frame, but a goal-line stand led by freshman linebacker Branden Jennings forced the Illini to attempt a field goal. Defensive lineman Ami Finau didn't let the kick have a chance sticking his hand up and blocking it, keeping the game scoreless. 

The second quarter started with a bang as Tagovailoa hit Rakim Jarrett for a 37-yard pass play on the first play of the quarter. The Maryland offense continued to move the ball down the field. Petrino capped the drive off with a 32-yard field goal. 

Sacks by Sam Okauyinonu and Durrell Nchami kept Illinois at bay, but the Illini tied the game 3-3 heading into halftime.

From The Coach

"First of all I've got to give credit to Illinois. Bret [Bielema] and his staff did a great job preparing their team. We knew going into this game that it would be a tough game. We knew that we would get their best. We were prepared for a four quarter game and it became just that. A Big Ten road win is tough to come by. Our guys had every reason to kind of cash it in when things didn't bounce our way. When we started this year we said we had two questions to get answered. Would we be a team that played with great discipline this year and would we be a team that handled adversity and today we got the second question answered. I was really proud of the way they fought and overcame a ton of mistakes on our part. The ball didn't see to bounce our way today but when we needed to make plays on offense, defense and special teams all three phases made the plays and that's what I'm most proud of. We get a chance to get on the plane 3-0 and we've got a 24-hour rule in effect meaning we get to enjoy this thing but come in tomorrow, kind of a check-in, get our guys healthy, get an extra day to focus on Kent State. But I know this: I'm excited for those kids in the locker room. They had every chance like I said to quit but I never felt that they panicked or that they looked at the scoreboard and that's the way we have to play. I was really happy for the kids."

Staunch Defense
  • Maryland had only allowed three points over 120 minutes played stemming from the second half against West Virginia, through the Howard game, and through the first half against Illinois. 
  • The last time a Maryland team had done that was in 1983 when they allowed just three points over 145 minutes of gameplay against Pitt, Virginia, and Syracuse. 
Tagovailoa Continues Strong Play
  • Taulia Tagovailoa threw for 350 yards and one touchdown on 32-43 passing, along with leading the game-winning drive.
  • Friday's performance brings his season totals to 956 yards on 80-106 with seven touchdowns and zero interceptions.
Notes
  • Taulia Tagovailoa threw for a season-high 350 yards and for the third straight game didn't turn the ball over.
  • Dontay Demus Jr has caught a pass in 25 straight games, dating back to October 27, 2018, tied for the 12th-longest streak in the country and fourth-longest in the Big Ten. 
  • Ami Finau recorded the first blocked field goal for the Terps since Keiron Howard blocked a kick on October 5th, 2019 at Rutgers.
  • Sam Okuayinonu recorded his third sack in three games this season which doubles his career-high of 1.5 entering the season.
  • Maryland's offense had 155:08 of game time to start the season without a turnover before Fleet-Davis's third-quarter fumble.
  • Darryl Jones had a career-high in catches (5) and receiving yards (66). 
Up Next
  • The Terps will return home next weekend for a contest against Kent State at 3:30 p.m., on Big Ten Network and thr Maryland Sports Radio Network. 
  • Next Saturday's matchup will mark Maryland's first-ever matchup against the Golden Flashes.
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