Malik Washington threw two touchdown passes and ran for two more scores as Maryland snapped its 13-game Big Ten losing streak with a 34-29 victory over Purdue Saturday in West Lafayette, Ind.
Chris Durr Jr. turned a wideout screen into a sensational 87-yard touchdown and DeJuan Williams added a 75-yard scoring run as the Terrapins (3-6, 1-5 Big Ten) delivered interim head coach Aazaar Abdul-Rahim his first win.
Abdul-Rahim, who took over on Oct. 21 following the departure of eight-year coach Mike Locksley, was doused after conducting a postgame TV interview. Players then carried him off the field.
Ryan Browne completed 24 of 38 passes for 296 yards and Jacobo Echeverria Lozano kicked five field goals for the Boilermakers (3-6, 2-4), who dropped their third straight game.
Maryland rallied from a nine-point deficit with the help of a resilient, big-play defense which had seven sacks, including one by Lavain Scruggs that forced a fumble and changed the game.
After Maryland’s Daniel Wingate recovered Browne’s fumble, Washington followed with a 1-yard quarterback sneak touchdown on a fourth-down play to put the Terrapins up 21-12 early in the second half.
Purdue answered with a 30-yard touchdown run on an end-around by Xavier Townsend, making it 21-19.
But on the first snap of the ensuing possession, Williams burst straight up the middle and into the clear on his touchdown run that put Maryland up 28-19.
After Echeverria Lozano kicked his fifth field goal to match a single-game program record, Durr responded with his electric play.
After receiving a pass from Washington behind the line of scrimmage, Durr slipped out of the grasp of two defenders and juked a few others on his way to the longest touchdown play of his career to put the Terps up 34-22 with 9:13 left.
The Boilermakers kept their hopes alive with a 75-yard touchdown drive capped by a 2-yard run by Fame Ijeboi to make it 34-29 with 3:50 left.
Purdue regained possession at its own 5-yard line with 1:01 left and drove to the Maryland 11 before Sidney Stewart and Zion Elee combined for a game-ending sack of Browne.
On the game’s opening possession, Purdue was aided by a personal foul penalty, which led to the ejection of Maryland defensive back Dontay Joyner. Four plays later, Echeverria Lozano kicked a 47-yard field goal.
Explosive plays by the Boilermakers set up two more Echeverria Lozano 3-pointers, which stretched the lead to 9-0.
Washington scored on a 15-yard touchdown run to cut Purdue’s lead to 9-7, but the Boilermakers responded with another Echeverria Lozano field goal to make it 12-7.
Early in the second half, Maryland took the lead for good when Washington completed a short pass over the middle which Na’eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding turned into a 44-yard touchdown play.