Terps hold off Clemson

COLLEGE PARK, Md.  — When it was all over Saturday, Maryland’s 24-21 victory over conference foe Clemson seemed as much a matter of survival as it did a triumphant turnaround from its poor performances of previous weeks.
Chris Turner passed for two touchdowns and Demetrius Hartsfield’s sack and fumble recovery in the final seconds secured the win, but not until Maryland walked away unscathed from two late missed field goals by Clemson.
The win snapped a two-game losing streak by the Terps (2-3, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) and gave them a fresh start entering conference play.
“This game was huge for us,” said Turner, who completed 19 of 26 passes for 215 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. “We really tried to approach this game as the first game of the season. We are 1-0 in the ACC and that feels pretty good.”
Clemson (2-3, 1-2) cut the score to 24-21 with 4:11 left in the third quarter after C.J. Spiller’s 92-yard kickoff return and a 2-point conversion pass from Kyle Parker to Michael Palmer. The Tigers could have tied and taken the lead but Richard Jackson missed field goals from 47 and 48 yards away.
After a Maryland punt with 1:30 to play, Clemson drove to the Maryland 28 before Hartsfield’s big play foiled the Tigers again.
“(The offense) had three opportunities at the 30 yard line, it’s very disappointing,” said Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney. “There are a lot of things we can do just a little better.”
Jackson’s first miss followed a failed attempt by Maryland to go for a first down on fourth and 1 at its own 29. His second came after Clemson’s Da’Quan Bowers recovered a fumble at the Maryland 31 one play after the first miss.
Maryland called time-out before both of Jackson’s kicks.
On the first try, Jackson made the kick but the timeout call came just seconds before.
“It comes with the game,” Jackson said. “They can give their coaches credit, I couldn’t make it twice.”
Maryland was held to 28 yards and a single first down in the first quarter as Clemson built a 10-0 lead, three points coming after Maryland turned the ball on a fumbled fair catch.
But the Terps rallied with 17 points in the second quarter to pull ahead. Nick Ferrara kicked a 43-yard field goal and Turner threw touchdowns of 29 yards to Torrey Smith and 4 yards to Ronnie Tyler.
The pass to Tyler put Maryland ahead 17-13 with 35 seconds left in the first half.
Smith, who caught three passes for 64 yards, became the first NCAA player to go over 1,000 all-purpose yards this season. He now has 1,153 for the season.
The Terps’ lone second-half score came on a 1-yard run by Davin Meggett set up by a 43-yard punt return by Tony Logan.
The failed fourth and one try by the Terps started the series of Clemson failures in the final six minutes.
“The fourth down probably wasn’t a good call by me,” said Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen. “I went over to (defensive coordinator) Don Brown and he says ‘time to make a statement.’ (Offensive coordinator) James (Franklin) wanted to go for it, the kids wanted to go for it, and I knew the defense was tired, so I went for it. I let my emotions get involved and not my brain.”
Maryland kicker Ferrara had a big day. Forced to handle the punting duties due to an injury, he averaged 43.2 yards on eight punts. He had punts of 61 and 53 yards and three that started the Tigers inside their own 10.
Maryland outgained Clemson, 284-274, after the Tigers finished the first quarter with 141 yards.
Kyle Parker was 20-for-37 passing for 180 yards and Spiller rushed for 72 yards for the Tigers.
Spiller’s return was his sixth career runback for a TD, five on kickoffs. He also became the ACC career leader in all-purpose yardage with 5,945 yards.