BLOOMINGTON, IN -- Maryland moved to 5-2 for the first time since 2016 with a 38-33 comeback victory at Indiana on Saturday at Memorial Stadium. Back-up quarterback
Billy Edwards Jr., engineered two scoring drives in the final seven minutes of the game, the first of which brought the Terps down the field and finished with a
Roman Hemby 6-yard touchdown run with 5:35 left in the fourth quarter, putting the Terps up 31-27.
The Terps' defense came up with a huge sequence just seconds later as Mosiah Nasili-Kite recovered a fumble with 5:02 remaining to give the Terps the ball back. Hemby (107 rushing yards) secured the game with a 46-yard rush on 3rd-and-nine with less than three minutes remaining. It was Hemby's third 100-yard game of the season.
Maryland took a commanding 38-27 lead as Edwards scored on a 3-yard touchdown run with 2:11 left in the game. Edwards ran for 53 yards, all in the decisive final minutes.
Indiana added a late touchdown with 54 seconds remaining, but the Terps defense got pressure on Connor Bazelak to disrupt the two-point conversion attempt. The Terps covered up the Hoosiers' onside kick attempt to officially come away with the road victory.
Starting quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa, who suffered a fourth-quarter injury, finished with 270 passing yards on 25-of-39 with two passing touchdowns and a rushing score. He connected with Dontay Demus Jr., and CJ Dippre on scoring receptions. Jeshaun Jones led the Terps with five catches for 41 yards while
Jacob Copeland added 62 yards on four receptions.
The Terps finished with 442 yards of total offense.
On defense, Maryland got a big boost from interceptions by Tarheeb Still and Deonte Banks. Both picks came on Indiana's first play from scrimmage of each half. The Terps also held Indiana to just 36 rushing yards.
In scoring 38 points, the Terps added to their school record for most consecutive games with 27 or more points in nine games in a row, dating to last season's final two games.
Coach Michael Locksley's Takes
"Big Ten road wins are tough. (Head coach) Tom (Allen) had his team ready to play today. I thought Indiana played with great effort. Maryland-Indiana has never been easy, but it's great for our team, the way we faced the adversity, the young players that got thrust into playing because of the unavailability of a few of our starters. I was really proud of the way a guy like (freshman offensive lineman) Colton Deery came in and played, the way Billy Edwards came in for Lia when he went down. A lot of guys that hadn't played a lot of football had to step up and I liked the way we faced adversity.
"When Lia went down, I think the big message from me to our offense was, "Listen, Billy gets 40 percent of those reps during the week. Lia takes 60.' We have tremendous faith in Billy and his ability to come in and execute. It's a next man up mentality and I was really glad to see Billy come in and do what he did."
Player's Perspective
"Time to go," Edwards said of his mentality heading into the game. "As a backup quarterback, I think that's always in the back of my head, just staying ready for whenever my number's called. Obviously, I hate the fashion I went in, for a teammate of mine to get injured. But Locks preaches the next man up mentality. So as soon as I saw him down, I obviously knew I was going in for at least one play. And then from there on you kind of just ease into things, get relaxed and play from there.
"Guys are just tough and know how to fight through adversity," Still said of the team. "We know how to battle, know it's going to be a four-quarter game and every play counts. Billy did a great job coming in, making plays and leading us to scores when we really, really needed them. It was really good that we were able to not really have a drop-off when Billy came in the game and he led us to win the game."
Breaking Down The Action
- The Terps got off to a hot start as Tarheeb Still intercepted Connor Bazelak on the first play from scrimmage. The Terps capitalized on the short field and went up 7-0 thanks to a Tagovailoa rushing touchdown, continuing their FBS-leading streak of seven consecutive games with a score on the opening drive.
- Indiana added a field goal in the first quarter.
- On the first play of the second stanza, Tagovailoa scrambled outside the pocket and found tight end CJ Dippre down the field for an 18-yard score to go up 14-3, just 11 seconds into the second quarter.
- The Hoosiers scored touchdowns on back-to-back drives and led 17-14 at halftime.
- The Terps came roaring out of the locker room, getting a 54-yard kickoff return from Octavian Smith Jr. to set up a Dontay Demus Jr. 17-yard reception touchdown to put the Terps back on top, 21-17, just 1:37 into the second half.
- Deonte Banks picked off Bazelak on Indiana's first play of the half, marking the second time of the day that the Terps notched an interception to begin a half. Maryland turned that momentum into three points thanks to a 36-yarder from Chad Ryland for a 24-17 Terps' lead.
- Indiana took a 27-24 lead on Josh Henderson's second touchdown of the game, 51 seconds into the fourth quarter.
- Maryland regained the lead with 5:35 remaining as Edwards Jr. brought the Terps down the field and Hemby capped off the drive with a five-yard rushing touchdown. Edwards Jr. had a key 31-yard run on third-down to set up the Terps at the goal line.
- Just over 30 seconds later, the Terps came up with the massive fumble recovery to seal the win.
- Edwards added the late rushing score and Indiana responded with one of their own, bringing the final to 38-33.
Taulia On The Charts
- Prior to being injured in the fourth quarter, Tagovailoa excelled yet again, finishing with three total scores and 270 passing yards on 25-of-39 passing. He also added a rushing touchdown.
- He continues to stand second all-time in career passing yards (6,872), completions (574) and passing touchdowns (46).
- Tagovailoa scored his third rushing touchdown of the season, coming on a 3-yard rush for the first tally of the game. He now has seven career rushing touchdowns with two in each of the last two seasons.
Winning Ways
- Maryland improved to 5-2 overall for the first time since the 2016 season.
- With five wins, the Terps reached that win total on the earliest date since the 2013 season, when they won their fifth game on Oct. 13.
- Maryland defeated Indiana on the road for the first time since 2014 and beat the Hoosiers for the second year in a row overall.
Hundred For Hemby
- Running back Roman Hemby had his third career 100-yard rushing game as he finished with 107 yards.
- He also ran for 100-plus two other times, with 151 against SMU and 114 vs. Buffalo.
Demus Moves Up TD Reception Chart
- Dontay Demus Jr. scored his first touchdown of the season on a 17-yard reception early in the third quarter to give him 14 in his career.
- It was Demus' first score since Sept. 25, 2021 against Kent State, the game before he went down with a season-ending knee injury.
- With 14 career touchdowns, he is now tied with Buffalo Bills star Stefon Diggs for fifth all-time at Maryland. Next on the list at fourth with 17 is Carolina Panthers' receiver DJ Moore.
Opening-Drive Success
- Tagovailoa's 3-yard touchdown scamper on the Terps' first drive marked the seventh time this season, every game this season, they scored on the opening drive.
- Maryland is the only team in the country to do that and has the longest active streak in the nation at seven games.
Streaks Extended
- Maryland has scored on the first drive of the game in all seven games of the season.
- The Terps have now won 14 games in a row when they don't commit a turnover.
- They have also won 15 consecutive games when they score at least 30 points.
- Rakim Jarrett has recorded a reception in 21 straight games.
- Demus' touchdown reception in the third quarter marked the 34th consecutive game he has caught a pass.
- Chad Ryland made a 36-yard field goal in the third quarter, giving him 22 consecutive made field goals inside of 50 yards.
- Spencer Anderson and Johari Branch both started their 25th game in a row on the offensive line.
Notes And Nuggets
- On the very first play of the game, Tarheeb Still notched his first-career interception.
- Deonte Banks recorded his second career interception, and the first since his freshman season in 2019.
- The Terps' defense recorded interceptions on each of the first Indiana offensive plays of the two halves.
- Greg China-Rose had his second sack of the season and seventh of his career.
- Ocatavian Smith Jr. had a 54-yard kickoff return to start the second half, the longest kickoff return by a Terp all season.
- Billy Edwards Jr. had a 31-yard rush on the go-ahead drive that was the longest of his Maryland career.
- The Terps converted two fourth-down conversions in the game to make them 10-of-13 on the season for 77 percent.
- Kicker Chad Ryland (23) and legendary Terps play-by-play announcer Johnny Holiday (85) both celebrated their birthdays today.
Up Next
- The Terps will host Northwestern on Saturday for Homecoming. That game will be broadcast on Big Ten Network and the Maryland Sports Radio Network at 3:30 pm.
