Maryland upsets Virginia Tech in OT
BLACKSBURG, Va. -- With a roster depleted by injuries and playing on the road against a team with ACC championship hopes, the Maryland Terrapins scored a major 27-24 overtime upset win over the Virginia Tech Hokies on Saturday at Lane Stadium.
Quarterback C.J. Brown rushed for 122 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 135 yards and a score in helping the Terrapins (6-4, 2-4 ACC) become bowl eligible and break a five-game losing streak to the Hokies.
Brown scored the game-winning touchdown on a 3-yard run after freshman kicker Eric Kristensen gave the Hokies a brief lead in overtime on a 31-yard field goal.
"We still feel we can play with anyone and we came out here today really excited for the opportunity, and we took advantage of it," Brown said.
Maryland's defense held Virginia Tech to 264 yards and sacked Hokies quarterback Logan Thomas seven times.
Virginia Tech (7-4, 4-3) climbed back into the ACC's Coastal Division race with its road win against Miami last week, but now it finds itself on the outside looking in.
"It would have been a good way to go out, play Florida State (in the championship game)," Hokies senior defensive end James Gayle said. "But it is what it is. At the end of the day, we're going to go beat UVa (in our season finale) and then we're going to go to a bowl game."
The Hokies rallied from a 14-point deficit to force a 21-21 tie early in the fourth quarter and took a 24-21 lead in overtime when Kristensen, playing in his first career game, booted his first career field goal.
But Maryland answered quickly with three straight Brandon Ross runs that netted 22 yards. Brown then scrambled to his left and reached over the pylon for the game-winning touchdown. The Terrapins' bench erupted and ran across the field to celebrate.
After an official review, the touchdown was confirmed and Maryland walked away with its first victory in Blacksburg since 1949.
"I was thinking there was no way they can overturn it," said Terps coach Randy Edsall. "There was no way. That last play epitomized the effort that our team gave all day."
The Hokies fell behind 21-7 on Brown's 16-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Nigel King two minutes into the second half.
The Hokies answered with a quick scoring drive. Demitri Knowles ran the kickoff back 88 yards, and Thomas connected with wide receiver D.J. Coles on a 1-yard touchdown pass a few plays later.
Thomas completed a 5-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Willie Byrn with 9:32 remaining in the fourth quarter to tie the score 21-21.
Brown rushed for 93 yards in the first half and gave the Terrapins a 14-7 lead 17 seconds before the break on a 1-yard touchdown run.
Virginia Tech's offense returned to its struggling ways one week after breaking out for its best performance of the season in a road win at Miami. The Hokies had only 143 first-half yards and scored their only touchdown on a 3-yard run by Trey Edmunds.
"We had chances but we just didn't come out and execute to the fullest," Coles said. "We just got to go out there make plays."
The Terps tied it up midway through the second quarter on a 63-yard punt return touchdown by 5-foot-7 freshman William Likely.
The Hokies forced two first-half turnovers and held Maryland's passing attack in check, but they couldn't slow Brown, who recorded his third 100-yard rushing game of the season.
NOTES: Maryland led at halftime for the first time in ACC play this season. ... Playing in his first college game, Hokies freshman walk-on K Eric Kristensen missed his first field goal attempt from 34 yards in the first quarter. Kristensen was pressed into duty after Cody Journell was kicked off the team for a violation of team rules. ... Hokies QB Logan Thomas tied the school record with his 38th straight start. He also became the first player in school history to eclipse the 10,000 total yards mark. ... Maryland LB Cole Farrand, the team's leading tackler entering Saturday's game, left the game in the first half with a right arm/shoulder injury. ... With two turnovers against the Hokies, the Terps have now turned the ball over 10 times in the last three games. ... The Hokies have allowed two punt return touchdowns this season after allowing none in the previous four seasons. The last time they yielded two or more in a season was 2008 (three).
