Dylan Raiola threw four touchdown passes, including the game winner with 1:08 left, as Nebraska won 34-31 at Maryland in a Big Ten Conference game on Saturday afternoon in College Park, Md.
Dane Key’s 3-yard catch gave the Cornhuskers (5-1, 2-1 Big Ten) their final lead in a game that saw four lead changes and one tie.
Raiola was 20 of 29 for 260 yards with four TDs but also threw three interceptions, one of which was returned for a score. Two of his TDs went Nyziah Hunter, who had five catches for 125 yards, while Emmett Johnson ran for 176 yards.
Malik Washington threw for 249 yards and a TD for Maryland (4-2, 1-2 Big Ten), which dropped its second in a row. The Terrapins blew a 20-0 lead at home to Washington last week.
Down 24-17 at halftime, Maryland tied it on a 1-yard run by DeJuan Williams. Three minutes later Dontay Joyner returned a Raiola interception 67 yards for a score and a 31-24 lead midway through the third quarter.
Nebraska got within 31-27 on a 27-yard Kyle Cunanan field goal with 7:47 to go then got the ball back with 3:42 remaining and drove 81 yards in seven plays for the win.
After both teams turned it over on downs to start the game, Nebraska opened the scoring midway through the first with a 64-yard pass from Raiola to Hunter. The Cornhuskers led 10-0 before Maryland scored 14 in a row on a 28-yard Nolan Ray TD run and a 21-yard pass from Washington to Leon Haughton Jr.
An 85-yard kick return by Kenneth Williams set the stage for a 7-yard TD catch by Luke Lindenmeyer to put Nebraska back in front, and Hunter’s second TD catch, a 12-yarder, gave the Cornhuskers a 24-14 lead with 5:37 left in the first half before Sean O’Haire hit a 37-yard field goal for Maryland with 24 seconds to go before the break.
Nebraska continues its road swing with a visit to Minnesota on Oct. 17, while Maryland heads to the West Coast to face UCLA on Oct. 18.
–Field Level Media
