Stefon Diggs and Abner Logan with fans after the UMD vs Iowa Homecoming Football game on October 18, 2014 on Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium in College Park, MD.

The Terrapins football team clung to a three-point lead over Iowa late in the third quarter Saturday at Byrd Stadium.

With starting quarterback C.J. Brown sidelined because of an upper back injury, third-string signal-caller Perry Hills suffered three-and-outs in his first two series after replacing Brown.

But two plays during the next seven minutes of action, one defensive and one offensive, changed the complexion of the game and led the Terps to a 38-31 homecoming victory against the Hawkeyes.

The first game-altering moment came with four minutes, 18 seconds remaining in the third quarter during Hills’ third drive. The redshirt sophomore quarterback slung a screen pass to Stefon Diggs on the outside, and the speedy wideout dashed 53 yards for a touchdown to put the Terps up 10 points.

Then after a Hawkeyes touchdown cut the lead back to three points, another one of coach Randy Edsall’s explosive athletes broke free in the fourth quarter. This time, it was 5-foot-7 Will Likely, who jumped an out route to intercept a pass from Iowa quarterback Jacob Rudock before sprinting 45 yards for his second pick-six and third touchdown of the season.

“It’s great to have playmakers like Will, like Stefon,” Edsall said. “That’s what you want. You want guys to pick other guys up when things happen.”

The scores from Likely and Diggs were crucial in a game littered with obstacles for the Terps.

The Hawkeyes jumped out to a 14-0 lead after less than 10 minutes of play, as Rudock engineered scoring drives in his first two possessions.

The Terps responded with 17 unanswered points before the close of the half, though, led by the legs of Brown, who finished with 88 yards rushing in the first two quarters and 99 in the game. However, Brown was forced to leave the game after the Terps’ first offensive series of the third quarter after sustaining a punishing hit from cornerback Desmond King near the right sideline.

With backup Caleb Rowe out for the season with a torn ACL in his left knee he suffered during practice, Hills entered the game — his first action in more than a season — and completed just two of his first five pass attempts.

Despite the redshirt sophomore’s struggles, the game remained locked at 17-14 for most of the third quarter, as the Terps defense forced the Hawkeyes to punt on three straight possessions.

Edsall could sense the game hanging in the balance. One play and the Terps could lose the lead.

That’s when Diggs hauled in a screen pass near the right sideline. And with blockers in front of him, the junior weaved through several Iowa defenders before finding daylight down the right sideline. Seconds later, he waltzed into the end zone to electrify the announced 48,373 in the stands.

“It was just me doing my job,” said Diggs, who caught nine passes for 130 yards in the game. “I got some real, real key blocks.”

The score made it a two-possession game. But perhaps more importantly, the 53-yard scamper provided relief for Hills — an inexperienced player struggling in a difficult position during an important moment.

“That’s why you love to have Stefon on the team,” Hills said. “It’s amazing. It truly is.”

The adversity didn’t end there, though. Rudock led the Hawkeyes 51 yards for a touchdown on the next possession, a drive keyed by a 46-yard kick return from Jonathan Parker. And when Hills took the field again for the next two series, the Terps offense compiled a combined loss of 1 yard on six plays and were forced to punt twice.

Once again, Edsall felt a turning point approaching. Standing on the sideline watching the ball back in Rudock’s hands, the fourth-year coach thought to himself, “Boy, it would be nice to get a defensive score.”

And as he’s done many times this season, Likely delivered.

On third-and-6 from the Iowa 42-yard line, the Hawkeyes offense set up in shotgun formation with no running backs in the backfield and five receivers, three of them split to the left.

Likely had seen this formation before in film and knew what route combination was coming. So as soon as Rudock received the snap and turned to his left to fire a pass to running back Damon Bullock, Likely was ready.

He jumped in front of the throw, secured the interception and left all red and white jerseys in his wake as he glided 45 yards for the touchdown.

“It was a big play,” said Likely, who also returned an interception 88 yards for a touchdown in a win at Syracuse on Sept. 20. “We came in clutch as a unit.”

Edsall said Likely’s pick was the “biggest play of the ballgame.”

Brown returned for the Terps’ next possession and later led the team on a nine-play, 54-yard touchdown drive to extend the lead to 17 points, one the team never relinquished.

“We stayed together. We stuck to the plan,” Likely said. “And we just made plays.”