Maryland football beats Illinois by a score of 20-17.
It kicker Joseph Petrino scored a game-winning field goal as time expired.
Its chances of picking up its third win of the season were grim late in the fourth quarter, with the Terrapins needing to go over 80 yards while trailing by seven points.
Taulia Tagovailoa, the offense’s quarterback, gathered himself and the team, putting behind him the problems that had resulted in his team scoring just 10 points in more than 55 minutes of football.
Tagovailoa staged a masterful drive, ripping the Illinois defense apart with his main weapons.
With two minutes and 13 seconds left, Tagovailoa fired a touchdown pass to running back Tayon Fleet-Davis, who carried it in for 10 yards and the score, tying the game at 17 with two minutes and 13 seconds left.
Maryland then came up with a huge stop, forcing Illinois to give up several yards.
The ball was punted away by the Fighting Illini, although it didn’t travel very far before going out of bounds.
With just a minute left, Tagovailoa picked up some yards to position up to his kicker for the game-winning kick.
As time expired, Joseph Petrino stepped up and kicked a 32-yard field goal, giving Maryland its first 3-0 start since 2016.
“Joe, we have a lot of faith and trust in you. Tagovailoa stated, “He makes kicks like that every day.” “Now was his chance to shine.”
Maryland narrowly defeated Illinois, 20-17, in its first road game of the season and first test against a Big Ten opponent on Friday night.
Illinois’ offensive struggles continued in the first quarter against a smothering Maryland defense.
Illinois failed to score in the first 15 minutes of the game for the fourth time in a row.
Maryland football
After missing the previous two games due to injury, Illinois starting quarterback Brandon Peters returned to the lineup.
Maryland’s offense failed to score on their first possession of the game for the first time this season.
Illinois’ defense, which has struggled in recent weeks, came out strong right away, restricting Tagovailoa early on.
Maryland was forced to punt after failing to convert a first down on its first possession.
In the first quarter, Tagovailoa made several attempts to locate his top target, Dontay Demus Jr. Maryland needed more than Demus’ three catches to move the chains and march down the field.
The Fighting Illini were hoping to seize the lead late in the first quarter and be the first team to score.
Illinois gained 77 yards on nine plays, setting up a 26-yard field goal.
However, defensive lineman Ami Finau blocked the kick, resulting in a 0-0 tie at the end of the first quarter. It was the first time this season that Maryland failed to score in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Maryland’s attack appeared to be clicking.
Tagovailoa connected with Rakim Jarrett on the right sideline for a 37-yard pass on the first play of the frame.
Despite the huge gain, Maryland’s drive ended with a field goal as Illinois’ defense held Maryland to a field goal.
Petrino connected from 32 yards out for the game’s opening points and a 3-0 Maryland lead.
Maryland was seeking a stop in a third-and-nine situation as it attempted to stop another Illinois motorist.
The Terps went on Sam Okuayinonu got through during a blitz to remove Peters from the game, forcing Illinois to punt.
“Defense, on the other hand, goes out there to retaliate, to make plays and affect the game, to get it back, to get the ball back to the office,” defensive back Tarheeb Still said.
“As a result, everyone is on the same page. Everyone is just focused on the task at hand.”
Maryland put together a string of completions and strong runs on the ensuing drive to put the team in field goal range.
But, once again, the Terps were unable to earn the requisite yardage when it mattered most.
They were forced to settle for Petrino’s 32-yard field goal attempt.
Except this one was wide of the mark, leaving the Terps with nothing and a three-point lead.
“You can miss one as a kicker, but you just have to come back,” Petrino said.
“That’s something I’ve been trying to improve on because you can’t always make them; you just have to respond.”
As the second quarter came to a close, Illinois sought to put together its first complete drive of the game.
The Fighting Illini gained a few additional yards on the drive thanks to a number of penalties on the Terps defense.
Despite allowing Illinois to get into scoring position, the Terps red zone defense held tough, forcing Illinois to try a field goal on third down. The 25-yard field goal attempt was blocked, tying the game at three.
Maryland’s offense was in disarray at halftime, with the score tied at three following two outstanding performances against West Virginia and Howard in the first two weeks of the season.
Maryland’s offence took thirty minutes to settle into its first away game of the season, but it was up and running by the
Fighting Illini, although it didn’t travel very far before going out of bounds.
With just a minute left, Tagovailoa picked up some yards to position up to his kicker for the game-winning kick.
As time expired, Joseph Petrino stepped up and kicked a 32-yard field goal, giving Maryland its first 3-0 start since 2016.
“Joe, we have a lot of faith and trust in you. Tagovailoa stated, “He makes kicks like that every day.” “Now was his chance to shine.”
Maryland narrowly defeated Illinois, 20-17, in its first road game of the season and first test against a Big Ten opponent on Friday night.
Illinois’ offensive struggles continued in the first quarter against a smothering Maryland defence.
Illinois failed to score in the first 15 minutes of the game for the fourth time in a row.
After missing the previous two games due to injury, Illinois starting quarterback Brandon Peters returned to the lineup.
Maryland’s offence failed to score on their first possession of the game for the first time this season.
Illinois’ defence, which has struggled in recent weeks, came out strong right away, restricting Tagovailoa early on.
Maryland was forced to punt after failing to convert a first down on its first possession.
In the first quarter, Tagovailoa made several attempts to locate his top target, Dontay Demus Jr. Maryland needed more than Demus’ three catches to move the chains and march down the field.
The Fighting Illini were hoping to seize the lead late in the first quarter and be the first team to score. Illinois gained 77 yards on nine plays, setting up a 26-yard field goal.
However, defensive lineman Ami Finau blocked the kick, resulting in a 0-0 tie at the end of the first quarter. It was the first time this season that Maryland failed to score in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Maryland’s attack appeared to be clicking.
Tagovailoa connected with Rakim Jarrett on the right sideline for a 37-yard pass on the first play of the frame.
Despite the huge gain, Maryland’s drive ended with a field goal as Illinois’ defence held Maryland to a field goal. Petrino connected from 32 yards out for the game’s opening points and a 3-0 Maryland lead.
Maryland was seeking a stop in a third-and-nine situation as it attempted to stop another Illinois motorist.
The Terps went on Sam Okuayinonu got through during a blitz to remove Peters from the game, forcing Illinois to punt.
“Defense, on the other hand, goes out there to retaliate, to make plays and affect the game, to get it back, to get the ball back to the office,” defensive back Tarheeb Still said.
“As a result, everyone is on the same page.
Everyone is just focused on the task at hand.”
Maryland put together a string of completions and strong runs on the ensuing drive to put the team in field goal range.
But, once again, the Terps were unable to earn the requisite yardage when it mattered most.
They were forced to settle for Petrino’s 32-yard field goal attempt.
Except this one was wide of the mark, leaving the Terps with nothing and a three-point lead.
“You can miss one as a kicker, but you just have to come back,” Petrino said. “
That’s something I’ve been trying to improve on because you can’t always make them; you just have to respond.”
As the second quarter came to a close, Illinois sought to put together its first complete drive of the game.
The Fighting Illini gained a few additional yards on the drive thanks to a number of penalties on the Terps defence.
Despite allowing Illinois to get into scoring position, the Terps red zone defence held tough, forcing Illinois to try a field goal on third down. The 25-yard field goal attempt was blocked, tying the game at three.
Maryland’s offence was in disarray at halftime, with the score tied at three following two outstanding performances against West Virginia and Howard in the first two weeks of the season.
Maryland’s offence took thirty minutes to settle into its first away game of the season, but it was up and running by the third quarter.
Maryland On its first Maryland went five plays for 75 yards on its first drive of the second half, with Fleet-Davis punching it in for the game’s first touchdown, giving Maryland a 10-7 lead.
Maryland was driving down the field with less than ten minutes left in the third quarter and appeared to be on the verge of scoring another touchdown to expand the advantage.
Fleet-Davis grabbed a pass and turned toward the end zone, only to have the ball pushed out at the Illinois 7-yard line by an Illinois defender.
The turnover was Maryland’s first of the season.
Illinois took advantage of Maryland’s mistakes and drove all the way down the field to set up a touchdown opportunity.
Josh McCray of Illinois ran 38 yards to the house on a carry that eluded Maryland’s secondary, which was attempting to grasp on. The game was knotted at 10 with just over six minutes left in the third.
Maryland’s defence, as had been the case throughout the game, bailed out the offence.
Nick Cross intercepted an overthrown ball by Illinois’ Peters on the next drive. Cross’ selection was his second of the season.
Maryland’s offence, on the other hand, was unable to capitalise on the turnover, punting the ball back to Illinois following a three-and-out drive.
With the game still knotted at 10, Illinois began marching to start the fourth quarter.
It didn’t take long for Illinois to get on the board in the fourth quarter.
Reggie Love III, an Illinois running back, Maryland defensive back Jordan Mosley fumbled on a rush.
popped the ball loose.
Instead of a Terp picking up the ball, Illinois’ Casey Washington grabbed it and raced it into the end zone, giving the Illini their first lead of the game, 17-10.
With plenty of time left in the fourth quarter, Maryland was seeking points once again, a sacred occurrence on Friday night.
Tagovailoa’s 41-yard touchdown pass to Demus Jr. appeared to be the spark Maryland had been waiting for all game.
Maryland was penalised for a chop-block penalty, thus the score was called back. With a 17-10 deficit, Maryland was forced to punt the ball away.
The defence, as dominant as it has been all season, made sure Illinois did not score any more points.
Tagovailoa’s fourth-quarter wizardry led to the game-tying drive and set up Petrino to shoot the game-winning shot minutes later.
Head coach Mike Locksley remarked, “We knew going into this game that it would be a challenging contest, that we would get their best.” “We were expecting a four-quarter game, and that’s exactly what we got.”
For the third straight game, Tagovailoa made excellent decisions, throwing no interceptions while completing 32 of 43 passes for 350 yards and one touchdown.
Three things to keep in mind
1. The Terps were carried by their defence, especially in the first half.
Maryland’s offence receives a lot of attention as the better of the two sides of the ball, and rightfully so after its outstanding start to the season.
That wasn’t the case against Illinois, as the Terps scored just three points in the first half against a defence that has struggled to make stops in previous weeks.
“For us, the offensive execution was not necessarily in sync,” Locksley said. “
We drove down a couple of times, we scored field goals.” “And, especially on the road, you have to score touchdowns when you go into the red zone for us.”
Maryland’s defence was outstanding in the first half, restricting Illinois to three points and 177 yards of total offence.
Maryland had gone eight quarters without conceding a touchdown, dating back to the West Virginia victory, before giving up one in the third quarter.
2. Maryland’s running backs battled to keep the ball under control. Early in the season, Fleet-Davis has emerged as Maryland’s leading back, but the room is far from settled.
Both Fleet-Davis and Boone lost the ball tonight, stymieing Maryland drives and giving the opponent momentum in the second half.
Maryland had two total fumbles in five games last season.
Maryland tied its season total from last season in just a few minutes in the third quarter against Illinois.
3. Illinois’ discipline continued to be a problem.
Locksley stressed discipline to his team throughout the preseason, and after the first two weeks of the season, he voiced disappointment with his team’s unnecessary penalties.
Despite Maryland’s staff’s increased focus on the issue, discipline remained a concern versus Illinois.
Maryland committed four penalties in the first half, including a targeting call that expelled Lavonte Gater in the first quarter.
The Terps had eight penalties at the end of the game.
The most expensive on the list.
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