COLLEGE PARK, MD — The USC Trojans lost their second close game of the season as they fell to the Maryland Terps on the road, 29-28. It was Maryland’s first conference win of the season and showed how to run a proper two-minute offense along with clock management skills on the sidelines from head coach Mike Locksley.
“We came in saying that we were going to be aggressive. We came in saying that we were pushing all of our chips to the middle of the table,” Locksley said about Maryland’s win. “Wins like this have become our expectation.”
The Maryland defense only allowed one Trojans touchdown in the second half, which spoke volumes about the opportunities to occur and build momentum for the Terps. The USC blocked field goal allowed Maryland to attempt a successful two-minute offense for the win—an immaculately executed drive that led to the win.
“I told my team that we were pushing the chips in the middle of the table and that we weren’t going to earn it; we were going to go take it. And so, the analytics tell you to go for two, um, but you also have to look at where you are. You look at the momentum of it. We had a good play called. It’s a play that we thought had an opportunity. And we knew that if we got that play, we could win the game in regulation, which is what the plan was, and it executed itself out.“
Terps now have a 4-3 record and will face Minnesota on the road on October 26 in another Big Ten matchup.
