Chad Ryland lined up for the extra point to put Maryland up by seven. An early jump on the defense led to a block. No flag was thrown, and after the eruption of boos, Purdue took the field to bury the game.
Maryland was looking to make a statement in this week six matchup against Purdue. The 3-2 Boilermakers stepped foot in Secu Stadium to give the Terps just their second loss, and thanks to yet another high tally of Maryland penalties, they succeeded.
“There’s no quit in this team,” Coach Mike Locksley said in his post-game presser. “If they keep giving this type of effort, I’m confident we’ll be back on the right track here in a week.”
Purdue struggled to get past its 30-yard line on its opening drive after a fumbled snap from QB Aidan O’Connell. After three successful stops, Maryland’s offense took over.
QB Taulia Tagovailoa came out ready to play, connecting a 35-yard pass with WR Dontay Demus Jr. to get the Terps in the red zone. Four plays later, Tagovailoa ran nine yards to give Maryland its first touchdown.
Maryland continued its streak of scoring on every opening drive this season.
Purdue tried to respond on its following possession, but Maryland’s defense held the Boilermakers to a 39-yard field goal from Mitchell Fineran.
Maryland almost kept Purdue to another field goal at the start of the second quarter, but a flag on the defense gave way for a 1-yard touchdown run from RB Dylan Downing to put Purdue briefly ahead by three. A 46-yard field goal from Chad Ryland tied the game soon after.
Maryland’s inability to prevent penalties was apparent in this game. Both touchdowns from Purdue in the first half were a product of two flags: too many men and unnecessary roughness. A late hit on Aidan O’Connell gave Mershawn Rice his second score of the game with a 4-yard pass into the endzone.
Just before the end of the first half, Tagovailoa completed a 68-yard pass to TE Corey Dyches, who muscled his way about ten yards into the endzone to even the score at 17-17.
“It was a big momentum change,” Dyches said. “We knew we got the ball back, so that was a great opportunity to do that.”
Purdue’s offense had a rough start to the second half, turning the ball over in its first two drives with a fumble and an interception. Despite the mistakes, both teams went scoreless in a lackluster third quarter.
With under ten minutes to go, Tagovailoa threw an 11-yard screen pass to RB Roman Hemby for a touchdown. Ryland’s kick was blocked, keeping Purdue within a touchdown to win.
“I’ll say this, the blocked extra point had a major impact on the game,” Locksley said. “It’s a one-score game. It takes us in overtime. It changes how they play the game.”
Boos echoed through The Shell after O’Connell connected a four-yard pass to TE Payne Durham, who was wide open in the endzone. Purdue was ahead by a single point with just about three minutes left. On the next possession, a 1-yard touchdown run from RB Devin Mockobee brought the score to 31-23.
With one minute left, Tagovailoa found Dyches for his second reception in the endzone. Maryland went for the two-point conversion to tie. Tagovailoa rolled out to the right and found WR Rakim Jarrett in the end zone at the same time flags hit the field. An ineligible receiver call forced Maryland to attempt the conversion again, but the Terps fell short.
“I think we did a good job of trying to fight back, but we’ve just got to finish,” said Tagovailoa.
The final score was 31-29, Purdue.
