Billy Edwards Jr. went 39-of-50 passing for 373 yards with two touchdowns and rushed for the game-winning score in the final minute as Maryland edged Southern California 29-28 on Saturday in College Park, Md.
Maryland (4-3, 1-3 Big Ten) took possession for its decisive drive when Donnell Brown sprang up to block Michael Lantz’s 41-yard field-goal attempt, which would have put USC ahead by two possessions with under two minutes remaining.
A wild sequence on the return, including a Quashon Fuller lateral to Ruben Hyppolite, set up the Terrapins offense at midfield.
Edwards made savvy plays under pressure, including a shovel pass while under duress and then his successful 3-yard scramble to the end zone with 57 seconds left in regulation. Edwards fooled the USC defense with a zone-read handoff fake to running back Roman Hemby. Jack Howes’ extra point was good to give Maryland a 29-28 lead.
The Trojans (3-4, 1-4) could not muster a scoring drive in the remaining seconds in suffering their fourth one-possession loss in league play.
Hemby scored a 10-yard touchdown earlier in the fourth quarter as Maryland cut a two-touchdown deficit down to 28-22. Edwards then converted a two-point try with his pass to Kaden Prather with 9:56 left in regulation.
USC moved the ball into Maryland territory on all four of its fourth-quarter possessions but scored only on the first when Miller Moss threw the third of his three touchdown passes. This one was a 26-yarder to Duce Robinson, with Moss’ other scoring passes going 15 yards to Ja’Kobi Lane and 22 yards to Kyron Hudson.
Moss finished the game 34 of 50 for 336 yards, but his one interception was pivotal. Lavain Scruggs picked off Moss’ pass midway through the third quarter with USC ahead 21-7 and driving to go ahead by three scores.
Scruggs’ ensuing 51-yard return led to Edwards’ 18-yard touchdown pass to Tai Felton on the next snap, injecting life into the Terps for their strong finish. Felton matched Prather with a team-high nine receptions and had 84 yards. Prather totaled 111 yards.
Makai Lemon led USC with eight receptions for 89 yards. Woody Marks rushed for 82 yards on 17 carries in the loss.
Maryland’s comeback marked the fourth time, all in Big Ten games, that USC lost on a score in either the final minutes of regulation or in overtime.
–Field Level Media
