LANDOVER, Md. â
FINAL: TEXAS FALLS TO MARYLAND 29-34
Texas fell to Maryland 29-34 in its season opener on Saturday in a hard fought game. Texas fell behind early to an emotionally charged Terrapins team, who honored their late teammate Jordan McNair by taking the field with 10 players on the first play and intentionally committing a delay of game penalty. Maryland shot out to an early 24-7 lead.
However, Texas showed some spark in the second and third quarter, scoring 22 unanswered points to take a 29-24 lead.
Maryland regained the lead in the fourth after an 86-minute weather delay and Texas couldn't finish off drives for the rest of the game. The Longhorns committed turnovers on three straight possessions in the fourth quarter -- two interceptions from Sam Ehlinger and a fumble on a swing pass to Tre Watson.
Maryland's freshman class showed out in this game, particularly freshman wide receiver Jeshuan Jones, who scored a receiving touchdown, a rushing touchdown, and a passing touchdown. Freshman accounted for all Maryland 34 points: Jones (three touchdowns), Petrino ( two field goals), and Fleet-Davis (one touchdown).
Texas starts the season 0-1 and will face Tulsa in the home opener at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Saturday Sept. 8 at 8 p.m.
Check out the highlights here:
TOM HERMAN PRESS CONFERENCE:
DRIVE BY DRIVE UPDATES:
FOURTH QUARTER
***MARYLAND LEADS 34-29***
MARYLAND (Own 10):
Maryland takes a knee and wins 34-29.
TEXAS (Own 33):
Ehlinger passed right to Humphrey for 17 yards to get to midfield. An incomplete pass to Collin Johnson and a checkdown pass for a loss of three to Kyle Porter set up a third and 13. On third down, Ehlinger checked it down to Porter again for a gain of seven. On fourth and five with one minute and thirty seconds left in the game, Ehlinger found Devin Duvernay for 13 yards and a first down.
Back-to-back incomplete passes brought up another third down for the Longhorns from the Maryland 33 yard line and one minute and 13 seconds left. On third down and 10, Ehlinger threw his second interception of the game and committed the Longhorns' third turnover in three straight possessions.
MARYLAND (Texas 46):
Maryland played it safe and chose to run the ball on all three plays and Texas head coach Tom Herman used all three of his timeouts. The Longhorns defense got the much needed stop with just over two minutes left in the game. Texas' Brandon Jones fielded the punt and gave the Longhorns a spark with a 27-yard return.
TEXAS (Own 9):
Ehlinger started the drive with a solid gain to senior tight end Andrew Beck for 15 yards. After an incomplete deep shot, Ehlinger called his own number again on the speed option for a gain of 12 and a first down to the 36 yard line. A speed option pitch to Tre Watson gained seven yards and set up Texas with a third and three. On that third down, Ehlinger threw a swing pass to the left to Tre Watson and he picked up the first down with just over four minutes remaining in the game. Referees reviewed the play and determined that Watson fumbled the ball on the play. The wet field and wet ball definitely played a factor in the fumble. Maryland takes over at the Texas 46 yard line.
MARYLAND (Texas 47):
The Texas defense held on strong with a crucial three-and-out in dangerous field position. Maryland punted the ball end over end and Texas downed the ball at its own nine yard line.
TEXAS (Own 27):
Ehlinger called his own number on a speed option to open the drive for 10 yards. On the very next play, Ehlinger committed the first turnover of the game: an interception that the Terrapins returned to the Texas 47 yard line.
MARYLAND (Own 8):
Tayon Fleet-Davis started off the drive with a 12-yard jet sweep. Fleet-Davis got another jet sweep, but was stopped for a two-yard loss. A third straight jet sweep was stopped for no gain and Texas forced the Terrapins into a third and 11. Hill took a shot down the right sideline for freshman wide receiver Jeshaun Jones and Texas was called for pass interference on a seemingly under thrown pass. On third and four, Hill hit a slant for a big gain of 35 yards to the Texas 25 yard line.
A roughing the passer penalty on the following play put the Terrapins at the 12 yard line. Ty Johnson rushed for 10 yards to give the Terrapins a first and goal from the two yard line. Back-to-back runs were stuffed to bring up third and goal. Hill threw a play action pass in the back of the endzone, which was caught, but the receiver landed with one foot in and one foot out. The Maryland receiver's outside foot landed out of bounds first. Interestingly enough, Maryland decided to kick the field goal after going for it on fourth down on multiple occasions during the game. Maryland's kicker nailed the 18-yard field goal through the uprights to give Maryland a 34-29 lead.
TEXAS (Own 26):
Texas received the ball right out of the weather delay since the last play from scrimmage was the Terrapins touchdown run. On a very wet field, Texas came out on the ground. Tre Watson started the drive with a six yard run. After an incomplete pass on second down, Ehlinger found Humphrey for 11 yards and a first down. Texas' rhythm was ultimately halted at midfield after screen pass on third and three was stopped for a one yard loss. Texas punted the ball away and Maryland recovered at its own eight yard line.
WEATHER DELAY:
Referees suspended the game due to thunderstorms in the area. Texas trails 31-29 with 14:25 left in the fourth quarter. Texas and Maryland went back onto the field at 3:30 p.m. CST. The game was delayed nearly an hour and a half.
MARYLAND (Started on own 25 in third, started fourth on Texas 24):
Hill ran left for a small gain and set up a manageable third down. On third and four from the Texas 17 yard line, Tayon Fleet-Davis took a jet sweep to the left for a touchdown. Maryland retakes the lead, 31-29.
THIRD QUARTER
***TEXAS LEADS 29-24***
MARYLAND (Own 25):
Hill completed a short pass, but a Texas personal foul penalty gave the Terrapins an extra 15 yards of real estate. Hill connected with Ty Johnson for 18 yards to the Texas 38 yard line.
Texas' Kris Boyd stopped the Terrapins in their tracks with a sack.
On third and 19, Hill completed a pass to Darryl Jones for 13 yards to the Texas 34 yard line. Kasim Hill converted a fourth and six with a 10-yard scramble as the third quarter came to a close.
Texas leads 29-24 going into the fourth quarter.
TEXAS (Maryland 36):
After a short run on second down, Ehlinger connected down the field with Collin Johnson again on third and long. The 33 yard Ehlinger-Johnson connection brought the Longhorns to the Maryland two yard line. Texas hurried up to the line and quickly punched it in on the ground with Kyle Porter and the Longhorns captured their first lead of the game. Texas leads 29-24.
MARYLAND (Own 27):
Back-to-back runs and a bubble screen set up the Terrapins with a fourth and short. Maryland chose to go for it, attempted a quarterback sneak and Texas stuffed it all the way. Texas takes over on downs at the Maryland 36 yard line.
TEXAS (Own 10):
Daniel Young starts the Longhorns off on this drive with a nine yard run. Young gained another first down with a 10 yard run. A short run by Young and an incomplete pass by Ehlinger set up third and nine. Texas tried an option shovel pass play, which was batted down and recovered by the Longhorns for a loss. Texas punted the ball away to the Maryland 27 yard line.
MARYLAND (Texas 49):
Jeshaun Jones finally touched the ball without scoring. This time the freshman gives the Terrapins an eight yard gain to set up Maryland with third and one, which Hill converted on the following play. Maryland faced another third down, but could not convert the second time around. Texas brought pressure and forced a bad pass from Hill. Maryland was going to go for it on fourth down, but a penalty pushed the Terrapins back to fourth and 12 yards to gain. Maryland punted the ball to the Texas 10 yard line.
TEXAS (Own 17):
Texas starts the second half with the ball. The kickoff was downed at the Texas 17 yard line. Ehlinger completes a pass to Humphrey for seven yards and Tre Watson gained the first down with a three yard run. Incomplete passes from Ehlinger forced a Texas punt. Texas punted the ball back to the Longhorns' 49 yard line.
HALFTIME NOTES
What a tale of two quarters. In the first quarter, Texas seemingly could not do anything right. They also could not stop freshman wide receiver Jeshaun Jones to save their lives. In his debut, the freshman has three touches... and three touchdowns: one receiving, one rushing, and one passing.
However, the second quarter was a completely different story. Texas responded with 15 unanswered points to end the first half, including a touchdown run from freshman Keaontay Ingram, a safety, and a 22-yard strike from Ehlinger to Collin Johnson.
Ehlinger went 9-for-15 passing for 147 yards and two touchdowns in the first half.
SECOND QUARTER
***MARYLAND LEADS 24-22***
TEXAS (50 yard line):
A kick out of bounds on the kickoff after the safety set up the Longhorns at the 50-yard line. Ehlinger connected with Jerrod Heard for seven yards on first down. After an incomplete pass on second down, Ehlinger scrambled for 16 yards and a first down to the Maryland 27 yard line. Ehlinger connected short again for six yards to Kyle Porter and Texas used its final timeout with 24 seconds left in the half. On second and four from the Maryland 22 yard line, Ehlinger threw a dime of a pass down the left sideline to Collin Johnson for a touchdown. Trailing 24-22, Texas decided to go for two. Ehlinger rolled right but could not find anyone and threw the ball out of the back of the endzone. Texas' strong second quarter has changed this game. Longhorns trail 22-24.
MARYLAND (Own 3):
Tayon Fleet-Davis started the drive with a two rushes for no gain. On third and long, Maryland fumbled the ball on a jet sweep and recovered the ball in the endzone. Texas covered up the player to secure a safety. What a huge turn of events. Texas snags two free points and will get the ball back. Texas trails 16-24.
TEXAS (Own 20):
A false start backed the drive up to the 15 yard line. Texas resorted back to the run game with a three yard run. On second and 12, Ehlinger completed a pass over the middle for a first down. Ehlinger completed another pass down the field to Lil'Jordan Humphrey for 24 yards. Texas is showing some offensive rhythm now. On third and 11 from the Maryland 36 yard line, Ehlinger was ran out of bounds for a three-yard loss. Texas' drive was stopped short and punted the ball to the Maryland three yard line.
MARYLAND (Own 25):
Texas responded strong on defense after the long touchdown drive by stopping the Maryland defense on downs. Maryland punted the ball to the Texas 18 yard line.
TEXAS (Own 31):
Three straight carries by Watson (seven yards, 10 yards, and six yards) gave the Longhorns some success on this drive. Ehlinger followed that up with a strike down the middle of the field to bring the Longhorns quickly to red zone territory. Ingram rushed for another first down inside the five. And Ingram finished off the drive with a five-yard touchdown run. Wow. That drive was fast. Texas narrows the deficit to 24-14.
MARYLAND (Texas 20):
What a debut by freshman wide receiver Jeshaun Jones. Jones took a jet sweep and stepped back to pass, connecting on a 20-yard touchdown pass with Taivon Jacobs. Jones has touched the ball three times and has three touchdowns: one rushing, one receiving and one passing. Maryland leads 24-7.
TEXAS (Own 5):
Texas turned to the run game again on this drive and had little success. Back-to-back small gains forced a third and nine. Collin Johnson nearly saved the drive with an athletic catch on the sideline, but the referees called the play incomplete. Texas botched this punt for only 15 yards and the Maryland offense takes over at the Texas 20 yard line.
MARYLAND (Own 16):
Hill started the drive strong with a 15 yard pass to DJ Turner. After an incomplete pass and a four yard run by Tayon Fleet-Davis, the Terrapins converted on third and six to Brian Cobbs. Maryland's offense is in a rhythm. Texas' bend but don't break defense held the Terrapins at midfield and forced them to punt. An end-over-end punt pinned Texas inside its own five yard line.
TEXAS (Own 29):
Ehlinger started the drive with an incomplete pass down the right sideline. Texas followed up with a five yard run by Tre Watson. On third and five, Ehlinger was sacked for a loss of four yards and Texas would punt. The punter was hit on the play, and running into the kicker was called (the five-yard penalty, not 15). Fourth down was replayed and Texas punted the ball to the Maryland 16 yard line.
MARYLAND (Started at own 45 in 1st, Tex 22 to start 2nd):
Kasim Hill scrambled up the middle for 12 yards, and there were offsetting penalties: holding on the Terrapins and a targeting penalty on Gary Johnson. Johnson was ejected from the game, per college football targeting rules. The play was offset and the third down from the Texas 22 yard line was replayed. Hill completed a pass right to Jones for six yards, setting up a 33-yard field goal attempt.
Freshman kicker Joseph Petrino nailed the field goal to give the Terrapins a 17-7 lead over Texas.
FIRST QUARTER
***MARYLAND LEADS 14-7***
MARYLAND (Own 45):
Kasim Hill checks back in at quarterback. Hill passes down the field incomplete, but a roughing the passer penalty gives the Terrapins an automatic first down. On third and eight from the Texas 38 yard line, the Longhorns committed its second penalty of the drive: a pass interference penalty. Texas is really shooting themselves in the foot here. Texas trails 7-14 at the end of the first quarter.
TEXAS (Own 9):
Three straight runs by the Texas offense forces a three-and-out.
Texas punts the ball to the Maryland 45.
MARYLAND (Own 21):
Tyrrell Pigrome checked into the game at quarterback and starts the drive with a seven yard run. Another run for three yards gives the Terrapins a first down. Two more short runs set up third and four, but Pigrome threw a strike down the right sideline for 16 yards and a first down. Jacobs took a jet sweep to the right for five yards on second down to set up another short yardage third down. On third and two from the Texas 39, Texas forced a run for a loss to stop the Maryland drive in its tracks.
Maryland punted the ball down to the Texas nine yard line. Maryland leads 14-7.
TEXAS (Own 29):
Back-to-back runs for little to no gain set up a third and six for Ehlinger, where his pass was batted down. Texas turns the ball over on downs. The Longhorns punt goes 41 yards to set Maryland up with first and 10 at its own 21 yard line.
MARYLAND (Own 35):
After stopping the Maryland on offense on first and second down, the Terrapins punched back with a 65-yard touchdown pass down the middle of the Texas defense to Jeshaun Jones again. Jones has two touches and two touchdowns in his career. What a way to start off your collegiate career as a freshman. Wow.
TEXAS (Mary 39):
Riding the momentum of the punt return by Brandon Jones, Ehlinger and the Longhorns took a shot on the first play of the drive and connected on a 39-yard touchdown pass to Devin Duvernay. Texas ties it up 7-7.
MARYLAND (Own 22):
Texas stopped Maryland on downs after a run for a loss on first down, an incomplete pass on second down, and a nine yard completion on third and 12.
Maryland punted and Texas' Brandon Jones returned the punt for 33 yards to the Maryland 39.
TEXAS (Own 20):
Texas opened the game throwing the ball early. Texas' Sam Sam Ehlinger threw passes on the first three plays of the game: the first was incomplete to the right, the second was a bubble screen to the left for no gain, and the third was an incomplete pass to the left sideline, but a penalty saved the Longhorns drive.
Texas turned to the ground with its new free set of downs. Small gains on first and second down set up a lengthy third and nine. Ehlinger's pass was broken up and the Longhorns turned the ball over on downs.
MARYLAND (Own 33):
Maryland won the coin toss and chose to receive the ball.
Texas started out strong with a batted pass by Breckyn Hager, but got gashed on the ground on the first drive. Maryland's Taivon Jacobs started the strong ground game with a 14 yard run. Jacobs then caught a pass from Kasim Hill for 23 yards.
The drive was finished off by a 28 yard touchdown run by freshman Jeshaun Jones, scoring on the first touch of his career. Maryland Terps lead 7-0. The drive was six plays for 67 yards.
PREGAME
The Texas Longhorns open their season against the Maryland Terrapins, a team which they lost to 51-41 in Austin back in 2017.
UT enters the matchup as the No. 23 ranked team in the nation. But that doesn't mean Tom Herman and the Longhorns are taking the Terrapins lightly.
"This is a team in Maryland that they don't think they can beat you. They know they can beat you because they have a lot of guys on that team that know they can beat Texas," Herman said in a press conference on Monday. "They've got really good players -- a lot of team speed and physicality on defense. To assume just because they've had issues in their program, they're not going to show up. They're going to show up."
One key difference from the 2018 matchup compared to the year prior: who the Longhorns are starting at quarterback. In 2017, Shane Buechele started, but Sam Ehlinger gets the nod this time around. Ehlinger was officially named the starter in a press conference on Aug. 20.
The Longhorns will also dedicate their performance on Saturday to American Hero and loyal Texas supporter Frank Denius with a "FD" sticker and Cobra Strike decals in remembrance of his WWII Operation Cobra on the backs of their helmets.
Texas is a 13.5 point favorite in the matchup. ESPN's Football Power Index gives the Longhorns a 80.3 percent chance to win the game.
