Ferrara field goal gets Maryland past upset-minded James Madison 38-35 in overtime

Maryland squeezes past James Madison in OT, 38-35

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Nick Ferrara kicked a 26-yard field goal in overtime, giving Maryland a narrow 38-35 win over James Madison on Saturday night.

Starting first in overtime, James Madison moved one yard in three plays before Dixon Wright was wide right on a 41-yard field goal try.

Maryland (1-1) then used two runs by Da’Rel Scott to move the ball to the 13. Following two carries by quarterback Chris Turner, the second of which got the ball to the middle of the field, Ferrara connected.

Coming off a 52-13 loss to California, the Terrapins hoped to rebound with a convincing win over James Madison, a Football Championship Subdivision team that was 0-9 against Football Bowl Subdivision teams since 1990. But Maryland received another poor performance from its young defense and an inconsistent showing from an offense that committed two turnovers.

The Terrapins, however, got it right in overtime.

James Madison’s Drew Dudzik ran for 112 yards and a touchdown, and threw for two scores. Were it not for a variety of penalties against James Madison — 11 for 105 yards — the Dukes (0-1) might have won.

Up 21-6 in the second quarter, the Terrapins yielded 22 straight points and trailed 28-21 with 13 minutes left. The comeback was fueled by Maryland turnovers: A fumbled punt and an interception that was returned 38 yards for a touchdown by Jon Williams.

The Terrapins pulled even on an 8-yard run by wide receiver Torrey Smith with 12:18 remaining, but Maryland’s porous defense couldn’t hold the lead for even a minute. Dudzik faked a handoff into the line, rolled left and broke free for a 70-yard run to give James Madison a 35-28 lead with 11:23 to go.

On the ensuing drive, the Terps faced a fourth-and-4 from the James Madison 47. Turner completed a 20-yard pass to Ronnie Tyler, then hit Adrian Cannon for a 27-yard touchdown with 5:09 remaining.

That ended the scoring until overtime.

The Dukes capitalized on the game’s first turnover to pull into a tie at 21 with 3:05 left in the third quarter. After Kenny Tate fumbled on a punt return and Corwin Archer recovered at the Maryland 45, Dudzik threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Mike Caussin, who made a great catch in the end zone over linebacker Adrian Moten.

Minutes later, Williams’ interception return provided James Madison with its first lead.

The Dukes outgained Maryland in the first half 217-151, but the Terrapins built a 21-14 lead behind Turner, who went 11-for-14 for 97 yards, and Smith, who had four catches for 51 yards in addition to an 81-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.