It’s pretty easy to point to the biggest moments in Maryland’s win over Texas on Saturday.
There’s the three touchdowns from wide receiver Jeshaun Jones as well as the trio of turnovers, including defensive back Antoine Brooks putting the game on ice with his fourth-quarter interception.
While touchdowns and turnovers are of course going to be huge moments in any win, here’s a look at some other important moments that stood out from Maryland’s win in Landover.
Texas drops an interception, the next play is a passing touchdown
Maryland dodged an early bullet when defensive back Kris Boyd was unable to hold onto the football and give Texas an early turnover. Quarterback Kasim Hill learned from that play and the very next pass he threw was a 65-yard touchdown strike to Jones. Maryland avoided throwing any interceptions in the win and this wound up being Texas’ best chance at getting one.
Pass interference keeps the drive alive
This pass interference on a third down kept Maryland’s drive alive and eventually allowed the Terps to kick a field goal. Those three points would prove pivotal, as it meant Texas’ final drive of the game had to end with a touchdown, rather than a field goal, to take the lead in the closing stages of the game. As we know now, their efforts at a touchdown failed.
Texas delivers a 15-yard punt
You can’t even see where the ball lands for this punt, but Maryland started its next drive on the Texas 20-yard-line and the first play of the drive was a touchdown. The Terps were gifted outstanding field position thanks to a freshman mistake by punter Ryan Bujcevski and wasted no time capitalizing.
Maryland stops a Texas two-point conversion
Maryland’s 24-7 lead was trimmed to 24-22 right before halftime as Texas rattled off 15 points unanswered thanks to a pair of touchdowns, a safety and an extra point. The Longhorns looked to head into halftime with the game tied, but Maryland’s defense ensured it kept its lead. Preventing Texas from picking up two points there meant that on their last possession the Longhorns couldn’t try for a field goal to send the game to overtime.
Pass interference keeps the drive alive, again
What’s worse than committing pass interference to keep a drive alive once? Doing it twice, of course. That’s exactly what Texas did here and Maryland capitalized to get a field goal to extend its lead to 34-29, which wound up being the final score.