Sean Davis
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — After the Terrapins football team sprinted onto the field at Beaver Stadium on Saturday to a chorus of boos from the Penn State crowd of more than 100,000, a skirmish broke out near the 20-yard line. Players from both squads shoved one another. Wide receiver Stefon Diggs’ arm made incidental contact with a referee’s head. No penalties were called.
Minutes later, Diggs, tight end P.J. Gallo and safety Sean Davis, the Terps’ captains, walked to midfield for the pregame coin toss. The Nittany Lions captains extended their hands. Diggs, Gallo and Davis refused to shake them. This time, the referees flagged the Terps for unsportsmanlike conduct and assessed 15 yards on the opening kickoff.
Coach Randy Edsall and athletic director Kevin Anderson apologized for the captains’ decision after the contest and said the gesture was inappropriate. But the act — along with the rest of the Terps’ pregame passion — set the tone for perhaps the signature performance of Edsall’s career: a 20-19 come-from-behind victory over the Nittany Lions.
“It was a lot of emotion,” Diggs said. “Everybody was hyped for the game, both sides.”
Kicker Brad Craddock’s 43-yard go-ahead field goal with 56 seconds remaining spurred the win, with which the Terps become bowl-eligible for the second straight season.
“Our guys weren’t intimidated coming in here. And they could have laid down,” Edsall said. “But our kids wanted to make a statement. They expected to win when they came up here, and they did the things necessary to get a win.”
Saturday’s victory comes one week after the Terps were handed a 52-7 loss by Wisconsin at Camp Randall Stadium. Against the Badgers, Edsall’s squad failed to move the ball offensively, committed untimely penalties and fumbled away possessions.
The Terps faced similar struggles at Penn State. In the first half, the team compiled more penalty yards (74 on five flags) than total offensive yards (66). Twice in the contest, a Terps’ running back lost a fumble to give the Nittany Lions quality field position. And the offense went 1 of 14 on third-down conversions in the game.
This week, though, Edsall said his team was able to display its “inner-resolve.”
The Terps’ defense and special teams forced four Penn State turnovers — three fumbles and an interception — that turned into seven points. The front seven also sustained a relentless pass rush against an inferior Nittany Lions offensive line, rattling sophomore quarterback Christian Hackenberg, who finished 18 of 42 passing for 177 yards.
“We know we didn’t do what we needed to do last week,” Edsall said. “We had to take a look at ourselves after that game. And we did.”
The Terps appeared destined for their fourth loss of the season late in the third quarter when Hackenberg connected with wide receiver Jesse James, who out-jumped Davis for a 50-50 ball to secure an eight-yard touchdown grab, extending the Nittany Lions lead to 16-7.
The touchdown came after running back Wes Brown fumbled to end a once-promising Terps drive. It would have been a likely turning point in the contest for a program that has failed to deliver victories in potential program-defining games under Edsall.
This time, though, the Terps responded. C.J Brown — who went 18 of 38 for 161 yards — fired four completions to lead the offense to the Penn State goal line on a drive stretching into the fourth quarter. A botched toss to Wes Brown on third-and-goal forced the Terps to settle for a 25-yard field goal from Craddock that made it a one-possession game.
On the ensuing kickoff, linebacker Jermaine Carter forced a fumble from Penn State returner Grant Haley, and linebacker Alex Twine recovered. Four plays later, Wes Brown punched in a one-yard touchdown, and the Terps took a 17-16 lead.
“We came in the second half with a different mentality,” Brown said. “We felt confident coming into this game. We kept staying around, defense kept us in it. And we were able to execute a few plays.”
Kicker Sam Ficken connected on his fourth field of the game, a 48-yarder, with 6:52 remaining in regulation to give the Nittany Lions a two-point lead.
But just less than six minutes later, Craddock put the Terps back ahead for good.
And for the first time in 22 tries since 1917, the Terps escaped Beaver Stadium with a victory over Penn State.
“We needed to come back and play football the way we play it at the University of Maryland. It might not always be pretty, but we’re going to play hard,” Edsall said. “And we did that today.”
