Craddock Kicks Maryland Past Penn State 20-19

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) -- Brad Craddock kicked a 43-yard field goal with 51 seconds left to giving Maryland a 20-19 come-from-behind victory over Penn State on Saturday.

The victory made the Terps bowl-eligible and extended Penn State's losing streak to four games.

Trailing 16-7 late in the third quarter, the Terps (6-3, 3-2 Big Ten) moved ahead after quarterback C.J. Brown engineered back-to-back scoring drives, aided by Alex Twine's fumble recovery on a Penn State kickoff return.

Penn State's Sam Ficken kicked his fourth field goal with 6:52 remaining to give the Nittany Lions a 19-17 lead.

The Terps held Penn State (4-4, 1-4) to a three-and-out and William Likely returned a 37-yard Penn State punt 15 yards to the Lions' 42. Maryland's Wes Brown took a 13-yard pass from C.J. Brown to the29, and three plays later, Craddock converted his 14th straight field goal for the winning margin.

The Terps, who limited Penn State to 219 total yards, again held the Nittany Lions on downs to seal the victory.

Maryland registered just 196 total yards, but limited Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg to 177 yards passing and the Nittany Lions to 42 yards rushing.

Neither Maryland's C.J. Brown nor Penn State's Hackenberg had a productive afternoon. Yet, each had their moments.

Brown, who victimized by some dropped passes, was 18 of 38 for 161 yards and able to take advantage of good field position.

Penn State got its break late in the third quarter after the teams had traded six punts. Defensive tackle Anthony Zettel forced Maryland running back Wes Brown to fumble and C.J. Olaniyan recovered.

Hackenberg got hot and completed two passes each to DaeSean Hamilton and tight end Kyle Carter, moving to the Maryland 8.

He found Jesse James in the corner of the end zone for a score. With the reception, James became Penn State's career leader in touchdown passes caught by a tight end with 11.

Maryland's Brown countered by finding Deon Long for 22 yards, and hit Stefon Diggs with back-to-back 12-yard passes to the Penn State 9.

But Wes Brown fumbled a C.J. Brown pitch on third down, and Brad Craddock kicked his 13th straight field goal of the season from 25 yards out to close it to 16-10.

Penn State's Grant Haley fumbled the ensuing kickoff and C.J. Brown, after losing 10 yards on an Austin Johnson sack, found Amba Etta-Tawo for 25 yards. Diggs got to the 1 on an 8-yard pass, and Wes Brown plunged in for the go-ahead score.

Things went wrong for the Terrapins even before the start of the game.

Maryland opted for intimidation tactics early and was penalized 15 yards on the opening kickoff for refusing to shake hands during the coin toss. There was also a minor shoving incident between the two teams during pregame warmups.

Penn State got the ball at the 35 and its 36-yard drive, aided by a 17-yard catch by Geno Lewis, was capped by a season-long 47-yard field goal by Ficken.

Emotions remained high when Penn State gave Maryland 30 yards on its opening possession. Jordan Lucas was flagged for a late hit and Marcus Allen was hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct call on the same play.

The first half was rugged. The teams combined to rush for 60 yards and pass for 108.

Hackenberg was 8 of 21 for 74 yards. He was sacked four times, had a bandage applied to his lower left leg, had his left thumb and hand examined on the sideline and struggling through a passing streak in which he was 1 of 11.

(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)