Of the 22 players on the field, only Darrius Heyward-Bey seemed to be moving. The Maryland sophomore receiver went 37 yards on a reverse early in the fourth quarter, splitting a pair of Boston College defenders ? seemingly frozen against the McDonogh product?s NFL-caliber speed ? en route to the end zone.
The touchdown gave Maryland a 21-point lead in an eventual 42-35 upset of No. 8 Boston College before 52,827 fans Saturday at a frigid Byrd Stadium.
Many of those fans braved the 32-degree temperatures to storm the field with the players ? but the goalposts were spared.
“I wasn?t even able to savor the moment,” senior tailback Lance Ball said. “Everything just happened so fast. Guys were rushing me, hitting me on the head. I wasn?t able to savor it.”
Boston College (8-2 overall, 4-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) loses its second game in a row after a 27-17 loss to Florida State on Nov. 3. Maryland (5-5 overall, 2-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) earns its second win of the season against a top-10 opponent ? the other against then-No. 10 Rutgers ? and snaps a three-game losing streak, all while clinging to its once-faded bowl hopes.
“I told them we?re back in the bowl picture,” Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen said. “I mean they?re kids so they want to go out and celebrate and have a good time. I didn?t want to throw cold water on that, but I said, ?Enjoy this game tonight, but we have two really tough games on the road. We?re 5-5 and there are a lot of teams in our boat. We have to go to two tough places and play two tough teams on the road.?”
The Terps visit Florida State Nov. 17 at noon before closing the season at North Carolina State Nov. 24.
Heyward-Bey?s touchdown run ? his seventh career score and first on a rush ? was the cherry on top of a breakout performance from the Maryland offense. The Terps set a season-high for points, while amassing 476 total yards.
Heyward-Bey?s performance might be expected, with his preseason all-conference potential. Unexpected was the six-catch, 56-yard, two-touchdown performance from senior tight end Jason Goode.
“Jason was on a mission tonight,” sophomore quarterback Chris Turner said. “It was his Senior Night, and he came up to me and said, ?I?m going to be there for you tonight.? Every time I looked, Jason was open, and it was easy enough to dunk it off.”
Turner ? who out-dueled Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan, the ACC preseason player of the year ? took advantage of those opportunities, going 21-of-27 for 337 yards and 3 touchdowns.
“We liked our matchups with Darrius [Heyward-Bey] and the other guys,” Turner said. “We made plays and got points out of it in the end. It was a great feeling.”
The offensive outburst came without leading rusher Keon Lattimore. The senior, who has 709 yards and 11 touchdowns in 9 games, sat out Saturday?s contest with a hamstring injury.
In his absence, Ball rushed for 109 yards and a touchdown on 32 carries.
“Guys missed assignments and Maryland capitalized more than any other team had before,” sophomore linebacker Mark Herzlich said. “I think that was one of the biggest problems.”
Equally as impressive as the Terps? offensive performance was the steadfastness of their defense. Despite allowing Ryan to go 33-of-56 for 421 yards and three touchdowns, Terps sacked the preseason ACC player of the year four times and intercepted him twice.
“They came out and did a great job,” Ryan said. “I give a lot of credit to them.”
Junior Erin Henderson, playing through a back injury, and junior linebacker Dave Philistin led the way with 13 tackles each.
Junior kicker Obi Egekeze converted a pair of second quarter field goals, and freshman running back Da?Rel Scott caught a 57-yard screen pass from Turner in the win.
Boston College got two late touchdowns from receiver Ryan Purvis, but Turner knelt on the ball twice in the final minute to summon the fans onto the field in celebration.
