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Maryland Football: Top five plays of the season
The Maryland football team may have been inconsistent at times this season.
However, the Terrapins had plenty of eye-popping plays on both sides of the football.
The season certainly started off with a bang as Maryland dominated Howard in the home opener. This was a game where the Terps racked up 519 yards of total offense and six touchdowns on the ground.
Maryland raced out to a 4-0 record, which included a hard-fought 30-24 overtime win over Central Florida. The Terps also dominated Purdue in a 50-7 rout to open the Big Ten portion of the schedule.
Then things definitely took a turn for the worse.
Maryland lost the next two weeks at the hands of Penn State and Minnesota. Both games were lost by at least three touchdowns.
The Terps did top Michigan State at home on Oct. 22 and ended the season with a 31-13 victory over Rutgers. Maryland may have only won three conference games, but they did reach bowl eligibility.
D.J. Durkin was able to double the program’s win total from the previous year.
There were several bumps in the road, but here’s five plays that were truly spectacular.
Nov 5, 2016; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Maryland Terrapins running back Ty Johnson (6) rushes in the first half against the Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
No. 5 Ty Johnson’s 66-yard touchdown against Indiana
Indiana was certainly one of those toss-up games that Maryland had the talent to win this season.
After the Hoosiers raced out to a 13-0 lead in the opening quarter, sophomore running back Ty Johnson responded with one of his most electric plays of the season. Johnson took a handoff from quarterback Perry Hills out of the shotgun and scampered down the sideline 66 yards.
Johnson even shed an attempted tackle by defensive back Jonathan Crawford. Crawford had Johnson wrapped up, but Johnson powered through the contact and took it to the end zone.
This was one of many long runs by Johnson, who averaged 8.9 yards-per-carry this season. He also had a 76-yard run against Purdue.
Johnson came on strong at the end of the 2015 season with a two-touchdown performance against Rutgers in the season finale. He ended up being one of the most lethal backs in the Big Ten.
This run really kept Maryland hanging around in a game that could’ve definitely gotten out of hand early on.
Sep 17, 2016; Orlando, FL, USA; Maryland Terrapins quarterback Tyrrell Pigrome (3) runs for the game winning touchdown past the diving Central Florida Knights defensive lineman Tony Guerad (93) in double overtime of a football game at Bright House Networks Stadium. Maryland won 30-24 in double overtime. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
No. 4 Tyrrell Pigrome rushes for game-winning touchdown
One of the biggest storylines of 2016 was Perry Hills being knocked out of several games.
In the third game, Maryland was in a dogfight with Central Florida on the road. Hills was forced to leave in overtime due to injury.
Backup Tyrrell Pigrome came into the game with his only experience coming against Howard and Florida International in garbage. It certainly didn’t seem to phase the true freshman though.
After the Terps recovered a Knight fumble earlier in double overtime, Pigrome got his chance to make an impact. He ended up taking a designed quarterback draw 24 yards for the game-winning touchdown.
Pigrome weaved his way right through the heart of the Central Florida defense. At the end of the run, he was able to cut back, which made it an easy trip to the end zone.
The former Clay-Chalkville (Ala.) standout proved to be a very dynamic run threat throughout his freshman season. Pigrome ended up rushing for four touchdowns when it was all said and done.
Pigrome does leave a little to be desired from a passing standpoint. However, this is a stellar athlete that can flat-out make plays and he’s a big part of Maryland’s future.
Nov 26, 2016; College Park, MD, USA; Maryland Terrapins running back Ty Johnson (6) runs with the ball past Rutgers Scarlet Knights defensive back Saquan Hampton (9) in the fourth quarter at Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium. The Terrapins won 31-13. Mandatory Credit: Patrick McDermott-USA TODAY Sports
No. 3 Ty Johnson makes it look easy on a screen pass
Stop if you’ve heard this before: Ty Johnson broke off a long touchdown run.
Johnson already made an appearance at No. 5 with his rush against Indiana. With that being said, he’s just as dangerous in the screen game.
On Oct. 8 against Penn State, Maryland found themselves trailing the Nittany Lions 7-0 in the first quarter.
Hills dropped back to pass and was facing a heavy blitz from Penn State. He was able to flip a screen pass out to Johnson, who nearly had to make a one-handed grab to secure the catch.
Johnson then turned on the jets and flew down the sideline for a 66-yard touchdown. He was aided by some phenomenal downfield blocking from center Brendan Moore.
As was mentioned a few slides back, Johnson is as explosive a back as you’ll see in the Big Ten. He is a threat to score any time the football is in his hands.
The Terps have another two years with Johnson in the fold and he’ll be a big part of the gameplan against Boston College in the Quick Lane Bowl on Dec. 26.
Oct 15, 2016; College Park, MD, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers tight end Brandon Lingen (86) tackled after a catch by Maryland Terrapins linebacker Jermaine Carter (23) at Byrd Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports
No. 2 Jermaine Carter Jr.’s strip and fumble recovery
Linebacker Jermaine Carter Jr. was one of the true gems that came out of the Randy Edsall era.
Carter has been an extremely productive tackling machine for the Terps over the past three season. However, he did have his fair share of ups and downs in 2016.
One of his brightest moments was in the season finale against Rutgers.
Scarlet Knights’ wideout Justin Goodwin caught a pass and had it in his grasp. However, as Goodwin was going to the ground, Carter was able to rip the ball out of Goodwin’s hands to record the turnover.
It all happened in the blink of an eye and was easily one of the most impressive plays the Maryland defense had all season. In the game, Carter finished with 15 tackles, a pair of sacks, and that beautiful fumble recovery.
Carter is a very instinctive player that has a nose for the football. If he can continue to improve his game and put up big-time numbers, he could be playing on Sundays in a few years.
Nov 19, 2016; Lincoln, NE, USA; Maryland Terrapins wide receiver D.J. Moore (1) carries the ball to score a touchdown in front of Nebraska Cornhuskers safety Nate Gerry (25) in the second half at Memorial Stadium. Nebraska won 28-7. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Thorson-USA TODAY Sports
No. 1 D.J. Moore takes it all the way
There were definitely several high-octane plays that Maryland had this season, so it was hard to choose one as the top option.
With that being said, wideout D.J. Moore wowed the fanbase more than a handful of times.
His most prolific play has to be against Nebraska. Maryland was trailing 28-0 and looking for any type of spark to carry over to the Rutgers game the following weekend.
Fill-in signal caller Max Bortenschlager was deep in his own territory and needed to get the ball out in a quick fashion.
Bortenschlager dumped off a bubble screen pass to Moore and Moore did the rest. The former Imhotep (Pa.) star made four Cornhuskers miss on his way to the end zone for a 92-yard touchdown.
It was the longest touchdown of Moore’s career.
Moore finished the season with 38 receptions for 597 yards and six touchdowns. He proved that he has the talent to be a star wide receiver for the Terps and could even draw comparisons to Stefon Diggs.
He’s got a long way to go, but Moore definitely had the top plays of the 2016 season.
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