Saturday morning at the hotel before the game, IU Coach Kevin Wilson spoke to his team with a message in mind.
"If it’s 28-3 we’re down or 28-3 we’re up, we’ve got to keep playing," he said.
Wilson wasn’t far off. The Hoosiers were against the ropes trailing Maryland 21-3 only 10 minutes into the game. IU was looking like a mess and its bowl hopes were all but fading.
But those 10 minutes were the last of Maryland controlling the game. IU responded with a touchdown the next drive and never gave up the momentum, scoring 27 unanswered points to end the half.
Despite the rough start and pressure on Wilson, IU finished the game on a 44-7 run to win, 47-28, in College Park, Maryland. The Hoosiers advanced to 5-6 and are one win away from an elusive bowl berth. They have a chance to clinch it next week at struggling Purdue.
"No matter what’s happening, if we’re continuing to improve and we’re playing good games here in November and we’re a good team, when it goes good or when it doesn’t go good, you’re just going to keep playing," Wilson said.
The comeback began with a 77-yard touchdown drive, finished by a 19-yard pass from senior quarterback Nate Sudfeld to junior receiver Mitchell Paige. After IU scored again with a 59-yard pass to senior receiver Andre Booker, Wilson rolled the dice with an onside kick that the Hoosiers recovered.
"I actually had no idea that was coming," Paige said. "We had just scored, so I was over there talking and we were discussing what we were going to do for the next drive. I saw the ball and was like, ‘That’s kind of a weird spot for the kick.’"
With momentum now on IU’s side, the Hoosiers quickly drove downfield and a Sudfeld 1-yard quarterback sneak took the lead. IU went from trailing by 18 to leading by three in only six and a half minutes of gameplay.
Junior running back Jordan Howard left the game with a knee injury during the first IU drive and never returned. Sudfeld took charge in his absence and completed 23-of-35 passes for 385 yards and four touchdowns.
In Howard’s stead, sophomore running back Devine Redding ran for 130 yards on 24 carries.
The IU defense got off to a rough start by giving up 203 yards in the first quarter. After that, the Hoosiers held the Terrapins to 234 yards and seven points. Maryland converted only 3-of-16 third down attempts, an area of focus in recent weeks for IU.
Maryland running back Brandon Ross ran for 250 yards and three touchdowns, but 154 of those yards came off two long rushing touchdowns of 79 and 75 yards.
The victory ends a six-game losing streak for IU and puts it one win away from clinching a bowl berth. This is the first time IU has won two road games in a season since 2012 and the first time with two Power Five road wins since 2001.
