A Bowling Green receiver takes a knee in the end zone after beating cornerback Sean Davis for a touchdown during Maryland’s 48-27 loss to Bowling Green on Sept. 12 at Byrd Stadium.
Even though the Terrapins football team struggled to slow Bowling Green’s offense in the first half Saturday, it took a 13-6 lead into halftime. The trouble came after the Terps emerged from the locker room.
The Falcons outscored the Terps 42-14 in the second half. In a game that featured 164 offensive plays — 105 by Bowling Green — many led to the Terps’ downfall, but six stood out as the most glaring.
Here’s a look at the six plays, all coming between the 13-minute mark in the third quarter and the 8-minute mark of the fourth quarter, that resulted in the Terps’ second-half demise.
1. Blown coverage results in wide receiver Roger Lewis’ 58-yard touchdown
The trouble started on Bowling Green’s second drive of the third quarter. Quarterback Matt Johnson had been picking on Terps cornerback Sean Davis all afternoon. It had resulted in an astounding 11 catches for Lewis, whom Davis was guarding most of the day.
Lewis, who was lined up near the right sideline, ran a streak route on third and 10 from Bowling Green’s own 42-yard line. He blew past Davis, who seemed to think safety Anthony Nixon was supposed to provide help over the top.
Nixon was nowhere to be found, though, and Lewis caught the wide-open pass with more than five steps on Davis and trotted into the end zone. The touchdown tied the game at 13.
2. Cornerback Will Likely muffs punt
Despite Davis’ and Nixon’s miscommunication that resulted in the game-tying touchdown, quarterback Perry Hills responded three plays later with a 42-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver D.J. Moore. And after forcing a three-and-out on Bowling Green’s ensuing drive, the Terps had a chance to push their lead to two possessions.
Likely let that opportunity slip between his hands, though.
The Falcons launched a punt that sailed over his head, forcing him to try and make an over-the-shoulder catch. He couldn’t corral it, and a slew of Falcons jumped onto the loose ball and recovered possession.
Bowling Green took over at the Terps’ 14-yard line trailing by a touchdown.
3. Offsides negates fourth-down interception
After the muffed punt, the Terps defense nearly still managed to hold the Falcons scoreless. The unit forced a fourth-and-3 at the 7-yard line.
An aggressive Bowling Green team stayed on the field, and two Terps defensive lineman jumped offsides. Knowing he had a free play, Johnson took a chance in the end zone and was picked off by cornerback Alvin Hill.
The interception isn’t really what’s important here, however. The Terps had a chance to maintain their lead with a fourth-down stop, and instead, they gave Bowling Green a free set of downs.
The Falcons punched the ball into the end zone on the next play to tie the game at 20.
4. Davis’ pass interference on third down
A bad day for Davis turned even uglier when he helped extend a Bowling Green drive with a careless pass-interference penalty. At the time, the Falcons were facing a third-and-13 from their own 35-yard line. It was a great chance for the defense to get off the field.
Instead, Davis again allowed Lewis to get a step on him along the sideline. Johnson’s pass seemed destined to drift long and out of Lewis’ reach. We’ll never know, though, because Davis brought Lewis to the ground before the ball got there.
While an incompletion would’ve forced a punt, the pass interference gave the Falcons a first down in a drive that wound up going 99 yards on 17 plays. It wore down an already tired defense and gave Bowling Green its first lead of the afternoon at 27-20.
5. Free safety Dernard Turner picks off quarterback Perry Hills on fourth down
This is another case in which the interception is less important than the fact that it was fourth down. Coach Randy Edsall opted to keep his offense on the field on fourth and 5 at his own 44-yard line.
In a must-convert situation, Hills threw behind wide receiver Levern Jacobs, never giving him a chance to make a play on the ball. Turner picked it off, but the Falcons were going to take over possession even if he didn’t.
6. Wide receiver Robbie Rhodes’ 44-yard touchdown
Three plays after Hills’ interception, the Terps’ last chance at making a comeback vanished. There were still more than eight minutes left in the game, they had the Falcons on third and 7 out of field-goal range and were trailing by just one touchdown.
Johnson faked a jet sweep and hit Rhodes streaking down right-center field. Another chance at a third-down stop had resulted in another big play.
Likely tried coming off his man to make a tackle, but Rhodes found the end zone, giving the Falcons a commanding two-touchdown lead.
