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University of Maryland Athletics

Billy TD
28
Southern California USC 3-4 , 1-4
29
Winner Maryland UMD 4-3 , 1-3
Southern California USC
3-4 , 1-4
28
Final
29
Maryland UMD
4-3 , 1-3
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
USC Southern California 7 14 0 7 28
UMD Maryland 0 7 7 15 29

Game Recap: Football |

Terps Rally For Dramatic Last-Minute Win Over USC, 29-28

COLLEGE PARK, MD – Billy Edwards Jr.'s rushing touchdown with 53 seconds remaining gave Maryland its largest fourth-quarter comeback win in five seasons, as the Terps rallied for a dramatic 29-28 victory over USC in the first-ever meeting between the teams on Homecoming at SECU Stadium. The Terps scored 15 fourth-quarter points for their first Big Ten win of the season to move to 4-3 overall and 1-3 in conference play. 

Up 28-22, USC (3-4, 1-4 Big Ten) went for a field goal attempt with 1:41 left to play, but Donnell Brown blocked the kick. Quashon Fuller came up with the ball and lateraled it to Glendon Miller, who returned it around midfield. The Terps drove the rest of the way to the endzone, capped off by Edwards' last-minute score. The Trojans had a final chance to take the lead, but Caleb Wheatland forced an incompletion, and USC turned the ball over on downs at the Maryland 35-yard line. The Terps got in victory formation and fans rushed the field as the clock hit zero.  

The last-minute, game-winning score marked the first time the Terps scored a game-winning touchdown in the final minute of regulation since Nov. 17, 2001. That day, Guilian Gary caught an eight-yard touchdown pass from Shaun Hill with 41 seconds left, lifting the Terps to a 23-19 win at NC State to clinch the ACC Championship. 
  Edwards finished the game 39-of-50 for a career-high 373 yards and three total touchdowns. It was his second career 300-yard passing performance, and he also set a career-high for completions, the third-most in a game in Maryland history. His 12 straight pass completions in the first half also marked the longest streak of his career. 

Edwards' top receivers were Kaden Prather (nine rec, 111 yards), Tai Felton (nine rec, 84 yards) and Octavian Smith Jr. (eight rec, 84 yards). Smith's eight receptions and Prather's nine receptions were career highs. Prather's 111 yards were also a career-high. Smith and Felton hauled in receiving touchdowns. Smith's occurred in the first half, and it was his first touchdown of the season. Felton's occurred in the third quarter to cut the USC lead to seven. The score tied him for fifth in program history for TD receptions.  
  The last time the Terps trailed by 14 or more in the fourth quarter and came back to win was a wild 45-44 overtime win over Minnesota on Oct. 30, 2020. In that game, the Terps trailed 38-21 in the fourth quarter before rallying for the win. 

Lavain Scruggs recorded an interception, his first of the season and the second of his career. Fuller totaled five tackles and a sack. Miller finished with two pass breakups for a season, which also matched his career high. Ruben Hyppolite II and Wheatland led the Terps with seven tackles apiece.      
  Locksley's Take
"This team just kept believing and stuck together, really proud of the group," head coach Michael Locksley said. "They played through adversity. I tell people around here. ... We either earn it or take it, and this was one of those take it games. We came in saying we're going to be aggressive. We came in saying that we were pushing all of our chips to the middle of the table to get a win. ... Wins like this have become our expectation." 

Brown On His Blocked Field Goal 
"Field goal block, or even [a] field goal itself, is just about effort. So, trailing in the game, try to get some momentum going, giving back to the offense at a very crucial moment of the game. And for me, in practice, we work on it all the time in practice where they might tell us to rush and always get skinny because that's what a field goal block is all about. ... Today, I had success in the first or second quarter because they just let me free." 

Wheatland On Edwards' Go-Ahead Touchdown
"I was ready for that. That's really what just Billy does. I just know once I seen him pull that ball, I knew he was getting in there." 
  Breaking Down The Action
  • The Terps forced punts on USC's first two offensive drives, but the Trojans scored on their third offensive possession to lead 7-0. Miller Moss found Kyron Hudson for a 22-yard receiving TD. 
  • On Maryland's third drive, Billy Edwards Jr. found Kaden Prather down the sideline for a 33-yard completion, its longest play of the day up to that point. Edwards then found Octavian Smith Jr. in the back of the endzone for a 16-yard score. The game was tied at seven apiece at 11:07 in the second.
  • The Trojans responded on the ensuing drive with a TD reception by Ja'Kobi Lane. He hauled in a 15-yard strike with one hand to give his team a 14-7 lead midway through the second. 
  • The Terps converted two fourth-downs on their third drive but could not cash in any points after their 52-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right.
  • Woody Marks rushed for a five-yard touchdown, and USC led 21-7 entering the locker room. 
  • Lavain Scruggs intercepted a pass from Moss and returned it 51 yards to set the Terps up in the red zone. On the first offensive play, Edwards found Tai Felton for an 18-yard score to cut the deficit to 21-14.  
  • USC went three-and-out on the ensuing possession, and Maryland drove down to the red zone with a chance to tie the game late in the third. Nolan Ray had a 33-yard rush on the drive, but Edwards was intercepted in the red zone. 
  • Roman Hemby rushed for a touchdown at 10:02 in the fourth. Prather then hauled in a pass for the two-point conversion. The Terps trailed 28-22. 
  • The Terps forced a three-and-out and had an opportunity to take the lead. They started on their own three-yard line and moved to midfield, but the drive stalled out as Edwards was sacked on fourth down. 
  • USC settled for a field goal with under two minutes to play, but Donnell Brown blocked it and lateraled it to Glendon Miller, who was tackled around midfield. The Terps then took the lead with a rushing touchdown by Edwards, capping off a five-play, 47-yard drive to lead 29-28 with 53 seconds remaining.
  • USC drove down the field in less than a minute, but Caleb Wheatland forced an incompletion on fourth down that turned over USC on downs.     
Turn Me Up Tai! 
  • Tai Felton finished his day with a stat line of nine catches for 84 yards. Through seven games, he has 64 receptions, 803 receiving yards, and six receiving touchdowns. 
  • His touchdown in the third quarter tied him for fifth in program history for receiving touchdowns. With 14 in his career, he's tied with Jeshaun Jones (2018-23), Dontay Demus Jr. (2018-22) and Stefon Diggs (2012-14). 
  • Felton ranks 10th in career yards with 1,886. Next up is No. 9 Azizuddin Abdur-Ra'oof (1,895). 
  • Felton also moved to seventh in program history for carer receptions with 140. He passed Frank Wycheck (134) and Darrius Heyward-Bey (138). Next on the list is No. 6 D.J. Moore with 146. 
  • The receiver moved to seventh in single-season receptions with 64. He passed Rakim Jarrett (62 in 2021), Stefon Diggs (62 in 2014), Torrey Smith (61 in 2009), Frank Wycheck (58 in 1990) and Jones (56 in 2023). Next with 66 is Jermaine Lewis in 1995. 
  • He ranks 14th in single-season receiving yardage with 803, passing Stefon Diggs (792 in 2014), Jones (790 in 2023), Darrius Heyward-Bey (786 in 2007) and Guilian Gary (727 in 2001). Next at No. 13 is Jones, with 790 in 2023, and Stefon Diggs with 792 in 2014. 
Big Baller Billy 
  • Billy Edwards Jr. completed 39-of-50 passes for a career-high 373 yards and three total touchdowns. Through seven games, Edwards has completed 195 of his 278 passes for 2,113 yards and has accounted for 17 total touchdowns.  
  • He ranks first in the Big Ten in completions and among the top five in passing yards. 
  • The quarterback set a career-high in yards and completions. His 39 completions rank third in program history for a single game. He even completed 12 consecutive passes in the first half, awarding him his longest streak of consecutive completions in his career. 
  • Edwards' 300-yard performance was the second of his career. His other was against Villanova on Sept. 21, where he passed for 328 yards. 
  • He has passed for 250+ yards and 2+ touchdowns in six games this season. Miami's Cam Ward is the only FBS player with more such performances (7).
Roman's Empire 
  • Roman Hemby rushed for his fourth rushing touchdown of the season at 10:02 in the fourth quarter. The score gave him 20 in his career on the ground, ranking ninth in program history. 
  • The score also gave him 25 career touchdowns (rushing and receiving), tying him for eighth in program history with C.J. Brown and Josh Allen.  
Happy Homecoming 
  • Today's game was Maryland's 102nd homecoming game. The Terps' record in homecoming games is 62-36-4.
  • USC was the 32nd different opponent Maryland welcomed on homecoming.
  • The Terps have won four of their past five and seven of their last nine homecoming games, including wins against Purdue (2016), Indiana (2017 & 2021), Rutgers (2018), Minnesota (2020) and Northwestern (2022).
Hall Of Fame Inductees 
  • The Terps honored their eight class of 2024 Maryland Athletics Hall of Fame inductees in the first quarter of the game. 
  • The class includes Lonny Baxter (men's basketball), Patty Corson Robbins (women's swimming), Jill Fisher-Galli (gymnastics), Patrick Mullins (men's soccer), Katie Schwarzmann (women's lacrosse), Alyssa Thomas (women's basketball), Autumn Welsh Kelly (field hockey) and Lee Zink (men's lacrosse).
  • The eight inductees attended an induction ceremony yesterday, Oct. 18, at the Marriott Conference Center. 
Numbers And Nuggets 
  • 1: Billy Edwards Jr. ranks first in the Big Ten in completions. 
  • 1: This was the first meeting in program history between the Terps and Trojans. 
  • 1: Octavian Smith Jr. scored his first touchdown of the season. 
  • 2: Glendon Miller matched his career-high and set a season-high with two pass breakups. 
  • 4: The Terps have won four of their last five homecoming games. 
  • 5: Tai Felton is tied for fifth in program history in receiving touchdowns. 
  • 6: Maryland now has six comeback wins when trailing after the first quarter, dating back to the start of the 2022 season. That's most of any team in the Big Ten. Maryland's win at Virginia this season was also a comeback from a deficit after the first 15 minutes. 
  • 8: Smith's eight receptions were a career-high. 
  • 9: Kaden Prather's nine receptions were a career-high. 
  • 12: Edwards' 12 consecutive completions were the longest streak in his career. 
  • 12: Bryce McFerson has 12 punts of 50 or more yards this season, ranking tied for third in the NCAA. 
  • 15: The Terps rallied for 15 points in the fourth quarter to overcome their largest fourth-quarter deficit in five seasons. 
  • 16: McFerson has 16 punts inside the 20-yard line, ranking second in the country. 
  • 33: Prather's 33-yard reception in the second quarter was his longest reception as a Terp.
  • 33: Nolan Ray's 33-yard rush was the second longest run against a Big Ten opponent this season, behind Roman Hemby's 75-yard dast against Indiana. With that rush, Ray became the second Big Ten freshman to have two rushes of 30+, joining USC's Quinten Joyner.   
  • 39: Edward's 39 completions were a career-high and rank third in program history for a single game. 
  • 80: Prather hauled in 80 receiving yards before the intermission, his most in any career half. Additionally, his six receptions are tied for his most in any half.
  • 102: This was Maryland's 102nd homecoming.
  • 111: Prather's 111 yards were a career high.  
  • 373: Edwards' 373 passing yards were a career high. 
Up Next
  • The Terps will play at Minnesota (4-3, 2-2 B1G) on Oct. 26. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on FS1 and Maryland Sports Radio Network.
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