Maryland football
TAMPA, FLA. — Trailing South Florida by three points early in the fourth quarter Saturday at Raymond James Stadium, the Terrapins football team appeared destined for its first loss of 2014.
The offense committed five turnovers through the first 45 minutes of play. It was a deadly combination of untimely fumbles and excruciating interceptions that slowly diminished the remaining confidence, momentum and positive energy among players and coaches on the Terps’ sideline.
But Kenneth Goins Jr made a play that changed all that. Seeing the opportunity for victory slipping away with just more than 12:30 remaining in regulation, the fullback jogged onto the field with the rest of the Terps’ punt return unit.
Goins lined up along the line of scrimmage. And after punter Matti Ciabatti took the snap, the 5-foot-9, 230-pound redshirt sophomore bolted past the first line of Bulls blockers and charged full-speed into one of the final three players protecting Ciabatti. The kick deflected backward off the South Florida blocker and bounced into the end zone, where linebacker Avery Thompson recovered the loose ball for the go-ahead touchdown.
The play proved to be the difference in the Terps’ 24-17 victory over the Bulls.
“Somebody had to make a play sooner or later,” Goins said. “And I told myself that I was going to be the person to make the play.”
For most of the contest, though, the Terps appeared sloppy. They had opportunities to pull away early in the game but failed to take advantage of them.
In the contest’s first play from scrimmage, Bulls starting quarterback Mike White suffered a left forearm injury that forced him to the sideline for the rest of the day. The Terps defense, meanwhile, pounced on inexperienced backup Steven Bench and surrendered -4 total yards in its first three series on the field.
But the offense couldn’t capitalize and committed turnovers in its first two possessions of the game — the first on an interception from C.J. Brown and the second on a fumble from running back Brandon Ross, who struggled with ball security during preseason camp.
Even after taking a 7-0 lead on a 10-yard touchdown strike from Brown to receiver Marcus Leak, the offense, which compiled six turnovers in the game, failed to find consistency protecting the ball. And in the next offensive series, Brown committed his second turnover of the day when he fumbled on a designed run inside his own 20-yard line after a hit from safety Nate Godwin.
Bulls linebacker Auggie Sanchez recovered the loose ball and returned it for a touchdown to tie the game at 7.
“It’s just fundamentals and technique,” coach Randy Edsall said. “To see that stuff happen, it’s discouraging.”
Flashes of brilliance from the offense continued after receiver Stefon Diggs took the ensuing kickoff 49 yards to set the Terps up with tremendous field position. On the third play of the drive, Brown connected with Leak on a 44-yard catch and run down the right sideline that gave the Terps a 14-7 lead.
But the Bulls responded with a touchdown early in the second quarter on the following offensive series. Bench appeared to settle in after his unexpected entrance early in the contest and engineered an 11-play, 76-yard touchdown drive to knot the score at 14. The junior quarterback capped it off with a 15-yard scramble for the score after evading Terps defensive end Andre Monroe in the backfield.
“He came in and did a good job,” Edsall said of Bench. “Hats off to him.”
The rest of the second period featured minimal scoring and more mistakes, including a botched snap from South Florida on 33-yard field goal attempt with 3:20 left in the half and a second lost fumble from Ross.
“I love Brandon to death,” Edsall said. “But we can’t put him on the field with the other guys we have that can hang onto the ball.”
The Bulls took a 17-14 lead into the break after kicker Marvin Kloss connected on a 35-yard field goal as time expired, the last points South Florida would score in the game.
“The only thing that changed was our attitude,” Monroe said about the defense in the second half. “We just held our own.”
The Terps offense showed signs of improvement during the third quarter when running back Wes Brown replaced Ross. After Kloss misfired from 54 yards, the Terps drove 46 yards on 12 plays using a combination of option runs. Wes Brown accounted for 31 of those 46 yards on the ground.
However, the offense’s newly found rhythm was negated when C.J. Brown tossed his second interception of the contest, throwing behind an open Diggs in the middle of the field. Diggs couldn’t corral the poorly thrown ball, and Sanchez secured the catch off the deflection.
“That was on me,” said Brown, who completed 17 of 28 passes on the day for 201 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. “I told him that.”
The teams traded possessions for the remainder of the third quarter and into the fourth before Goins’ blocked punt and Thompson’s recovery gave the Terps a lead they never relinquished.
“By any means, we just had to find a way to get it done, and we did,” Edsall said. “That’s our motto this year and, boy, it came true today. And thank goodness it did.”
