COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Dylan Raiola threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Dane Key with 1:08 remaining, and Nebraska edged Maryland 34-31 on Saturday.
Raiola threw for 260 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions in a wild game in which the Cornhuskers (5-1, 2-1 Big Ten) squandered a 10-point lead.
The Terrapins (4-2, 1-2) led 31-24 in the fourth quarter before Emmett Johnson’s 50-yard run gave Nebraska the ball at the Maryland 10. The shifty running back didn’t get the ball again on that drive, and a delay of game penalty on fourth down forced the Cornhuskers to settle for a field goal and a four-point deficit.
Nebraska got the ball back, and Raiola guided his team 81 yards in seven plays for the go-ahead TD. Maryland then drove back near midfield, but freshman Malik Washington was called for a disputed intentional grounding penalty that knocked the Terps back 14 yards. Washington had a receiver open to the left and perhaps would have seen him if he’d had more time.
Washington eventually threw incomplete on fourth-and-four from the Nebraska 49.
Dontay Joyner scored on a 67-yard interception return in the third quarter for Maryland, which lost a second straight heartbreaker at home after blowing a 20-point lead against Washington the previous weekend.
Nebraska opened the scoring on a 64-yard catch-and-run by Nyziah Hunter. An offensive pass interference penalty wiped out a touchdown later in the first quarter, and the Cornhuskers settled for a field goal. Then, Nolan Ray ran for a 28-yard touchdown for Maryland, and the Terps cashed in on Raiola’s first interception when Washington found Leon Haughton Jr. for a 21-yard TD.
An 85-yard kick return by Kenneth Williams set up Raiola’s 7-yard touchdown pass to Luke Lindenmeyer, and his 12-yard TD throw to Hunter made it 24-14.
But Raiola was picked off again near the toward the end of the half, and Maryland managed a field goal before halftime. The Terps took the opening drive of the third and tied the game on a 1-yard scoring run by DeJuan Williams. The interception return by Joyner gave Maryland the lead.
The takeaway
Nebraska: It was a sloppy performance by the Cornhuskers, but their fans will take the win after seeing this type of game go against Nebraska often in recent years.
Maryland: Washington continues to show promise, and although the Terps came up short again, this loss wasn’t nearly the collapse their previous defeat was.
Up next
Nebraska plays at Minnesota on Friday night. Maryland is at UCLA on Saturday.
___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
Noah Trister, The Associated Press
