Ethan Moczulski kicked a 26-yard field goal at the buzzer to propel visiting Illinois to a 20-17 win over Maryland in Saturday’s Big Ten action from College Park, MD.
Katin Houser passed for 223 yards with a touchdown and an interception for Illinois (5-3, 3-2 Big Ten), which has won three straight games. Collin Dixon caught six passes for 103 yards for the Fighting Illini, while Javari Barnett scored on a 64-yard TD run for the visitors.
Malik Washington threw for 190 yards with an interception for Maryland (2-6, 0-5), which fell to 0-1 under interim coach Aazaar Abdul-Rahim. Washington and DeJuan Williams each scored a rushing touchdown for the Terrapins, who have lost six games in a row.
With the game tied at 17-17, Illinois held the ball for the final 5:45 of the game. Jordan Anderson kneeled at the 2 following a 12-yard run, allowing Moczulski to kick the game-winner on the final play.
Following a low-scoring first half that ended with the teams knotted at 7-7, Maryland scored on its opening possession of the third quarter. Williams ran left and scored on a 17-yard burst to give the Terps a 14-7 edge.
Illinois promptly responded with a quality drive of its own, resulting in a 45-yard field goal by Moczulski. That capped the third-quarter scoring, but Barnett surged up the middle for a 64-yard TD run on the first play of the fourth, hurdling one defender and outracing the rest for a 17-14 lead.
Sean O’Haire countered on the other end with a 46-yard field goal to tie it at 17-17 with 10:16 to play.
Shortly after each team committed a turnover on its first possession, Maryland opened the scoring on Washington’s powerful 8-yard touchdown run. The Terps had a chance to add to their lead late in the opening quarter, but Washington was intercepted by Tanner Heckel at the Illinois 16.
The Illini were unable to take advantage of that miscue, however, as Moczulski missed a 52-yard field goal.
Illinois finally dented the scoreboard with 27 seconds left in the half as Houser found Brayden Trimble for a 16-yard TD pass, sending the teams into the locker room tied at 7-7.