Maryland football beats USC 29-28 thanks to last-minute touchdown drive

Photo courtesy of Maryland Athletics

With two minutes remaining, the Terps needed a miracle. USC lined up for a 41-yard field goal to push the lead to two possessions. Donnell Brown delivered after he went unblocked and swatted the kick. Maryland gained possession at just past midfield in a game that looked over seconds ago.

Then Billy Edwards Jr. completed 4-of-4 passes for 29 yards and another 15 for a pass interference. The senior finished the drive with a three-yard keeper on a read option to give Maryland its first lead of the night with 53 seconds remaining.

Caleb Wheatland delivered a big hit to force a drop on fourth down to secure the victory. As the clock hit zero, the fans stormed the field.

“We were looking at [the checkdown] all week,” Wheatland said, “They let it go to the checkdown so I just keep my head on a swivel and just doing what I need to do defensively.”

In the first all-time matchup between Maryland football (4-3, 1-3 Big Ten) and USC (3-4, 1-4), the Terps grabbed a 29-28 homecoming comeback win on Saturday in College Park.

Maryland secured its largest fourth-quarter comeback since 2020 and its first conference win. The Terps trailed by 14 with 13:31 remaining.

Edwards threw a career-high 373 yards on 39-of-50 passing with three total touchdowns and an interception.

“The biggest thing in that final drive, I just tried to continue to do what I did the whole game; remain calm,” Edwards said, “When we get to this point, we got nothing to lose, just go out there and cut it loose.”

The game’s first score came at the end of the first quarter when Miller Moss completed a 22-yard fade pass to Kyron Hudson. Hudson made the catch over his defender on the left sideline of the endzone as his right knee dragged in bounds.

Maryland made a stop on third and seven earlier in the drive. USC missed the 52-yard field goal, but an illegal substitution on the Terps made it fourth and two. Lincoln Riley elected to go for it and it paid off as the Trojans completed a swing pass for a gain of eight. On the next play, they broke the scoring drought.

The Terps quickly answered, going on a 75-yard scoring drive to tie it with 11 minutes left in the second quarter. The drive was capped off by Octavian Smith Jr.’s first touchdown of the season, a contested catch in the back corner of the endzone.

“I thought [Smith] took a step in the right direction today,” Locksley said, “Not very many people were surprised because Octavian Smith is a really talented player.”

Kaden Prather made two third-down catches on the drive for a combined 46 yards. The senior ended his night with nine catches for 111 yards, both career highs.

USC added two touchdowns before the half. The first was on an impressive one-handed catch by Ja’Kobi Lane over Perry Fisher in the corner of the endzone and the second on a five-yard Woody Marks run.

Meanwhile, Maryland struggled to establish its run game and entered the half with just 13 yards on nine attempts—1.4 yards per carry.

With the ball at the USC 27 and 14 seconds left, Billy Edwards Jr. mishandled a snap that the Trojans recovered and they entered halftime with a 21-7 lead.

Maryland found life early in the third quarter after Lavain Scruggs intercepted Moss and returned it into the red zone. The next play Tai Felton caught a pass over the middle at the five and carried three defenders with him into the endzone.

Nolan Ray gave the run game life in the second half and ripped 33 and 10-yard runs in Trojan territory on two separate drives. However, Maryland failed to score on the first drive after Edwards underthrew Prather and it was intercepted in the endzone.

From here, the two sides traded blows. To begin the fourth quarter, Duce Robinson caught a pass from Miller Moss at the 12, absorbed three hits from Maryland defenders, and fell into the endzone.

The Maryland offense answered with a Roman Hemby 10-yard touchdown run and a two-point conversion to Prather, bringing the score to 28-22. The offense continued to roll, securing the victory in the final 10 seconds following the blocked kick.

“Got a locker room full of guys that never stop believing in themselves. A lot of distractions, a lot things that took place the last few weeks and this team kept believing and stuck together,” coach Mike Locksley said.

The Terps will look to build on the win next Saturday on the road against Minnesota (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten) at 3:30 p.m. The Gophers will be coming off their bye and riding a two-game win streak including a win over USC.innesota (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten) at 3:30 p.m. The Gophers will be coming off their bye and riding a two-game win streak including a win over USC.