College Park, Md—Two late turnovers with under five minutes to go in the fourth was too much for the Maryland Terrapins to overcome in their 34-28 loss to the Hoosiers of Indiana University.
After a key fourth down conversion by quarterback Tyrell Pigrome it looked like the Terrapins were in prime position for a game winning touchdown drive, but it was not to be. On the very next play on Indiana’s 45-yard line, Pigrome over-threw his receiver and the ball fell in the waiting arms of Hoosier safety Reese Taylor. This is the second year in a row the Terrapins were favored to win this Big Ten match up and came up short in heartbreaking fashion. Pigrome finished 17 of 27 for 210 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
“We had two drives there at the end to win the ball game and we didn’t get it done. Ended those two drives with turnovers” said Maryland head coach Mike Locksley.
After struggling to keep the Hoosiers offense off the field for most of the game, the Terrapins defense managed to get them off the field on a couple third down conversion attempts late in the fourth quarter. This would allow Maryland’s offense to get a couple more cracks at a game winning drive, but they came up short.
“I thought they did a good job just by giving us a chance to win, but we just came up short” Pigrome said.
The Terrapins managed to keep themselves in this game throughout its entirety. Something that this team has struggled with ever since Big Ten play started. Locksley thinks that his team showed maturity in this game by not allowing what the scoreboard showed dictate how they would play.
At halftime the score was 24-21 Indiana, but the Terrapins were not ready to give up. Down three points Pigrome and the Terps offense could not get anything going until there was under three minutes left in the third quarter. The Hoosiers struck first on a nine-yard touchdown run from Stevie Scott bringing the score to 31-21. Pigrome and the Terrapins offense would answer back with a long touchdown drive of their own capped off by a one-yard touchdown run by Javon Leake, who had a career rushing day with 23 carries for 158 yards and two touchdowns, but even his effort was not enough for a win.
The Hoosiers offense had a lot of big plays down field and were getting a lot of yards after the catch. Peyton Ramsey led the way going 20 of 27 for 193 yards passing against a Maryland defense that is at the bottom of the Big Ten in pass defense. It also does not help that Terrapins starting inside linebacker Isaiah Davis got ejected from the game early in the first quarter because of a targeting penalty. A key loss on the terps defense that Indiana would exploit throughout the rest of the game.
The terps would get a key stop on third down in the fourth quarter and all of a sudden had new life. The Terrapins offense would take over with less than ten minutes left but were not able to get past their side of the field. The Hoosiers would take over with 5:22 left in the 4th and the pressure started to bubble even more. Maryland would get another opportunity to drive down field, but Javon Leake fumbled the ball and the Hoosiers would take over deep in Maryland territory. Upon further review by the officials the call would stand.
“We made it a four-quarter game. Something that we haven’t done around here this year but didn’t make the plays when we had the opportunities to” Locksley said.
Indiana would kick a field goal on their next drive which brought the score to 34-28, and that would pretty much put a bow on this game. Now sitting at 3-4 overall and 1-3 in conference play, Maryland has to get ready for a stretch of games that will not be easy by any stretch. This was the second time under very similar circumstances that the Maryland Terrapins were not able to finish the job against Indiana.
“That was a big-time game for us. We just gotta bounce back and get ready for Minnesota” Pigrome said.
It was indeed a big-time win Maryland could’ve had, but the reality of the situation is this. This team has shown that it can put up a fight. However, when it comes to finishing games in a positive way, they simply have not been able to do so.
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