C.J. Brown threw for 280 yards and two touchdowns as the Maryland Terrapins notched a 34-20 win over former ACC foe Syracuse at the Carrier Dome.
William Likely, who returned a punt for a touchdown against West Virginia last week, scored again on an interception return for the Terrapins (3-1).
Terrel Hunt threw for 219 yards and ran for a game-high 156 yards and two scores for the Orange (2-1), who were trying for their first 3-0 start since 1991. Prince-Tyson Gulley finished with 138 yards on 14 carries in the loss.
Syracuse opened the game with an 11-play possession but had to settle for a 35-yard field goal by Ryan Norton after the drive stalled.
Maryland needed only five plays from scrimmage to find the end zone, as Brown connected with Marcus Leak for a 25-yard touchdown pass. Three minutes later, the Terps pushed their lead to 14-3 on a 90-yard scoring strike from Brown to Brandon Ross.
Syracuse settled for another field goal on its next possession, this one a 49- yarder off the leg of Cole Murphy.
The Orange trimmed the margin to 14-13 on the first play of the second quarter when Hunt found the end zone on an eight-yard scamper.
However, the rest of the quarter belonged to Maryland. After a 31-yard field goal by Brad Craddock, the Terps made it a 24-3 game at the 6:13 mark on a four-yard touchdown run by Jacquille Veii, which was set up by a blocked punt. Then, Maryland's defense came up big as Likely intercepted Hunt and returned it 88 yards the other way to push the margin to 31-13 entering the half.
After a scoreless third quarter, Craddock converted a 44-yard field goal to make it a 34-13 game with 4:17 to play.
Hunt scored on a one-yard run in the final minute.
Syracuse lost despite a 589-369 edge in total offense and a 26-17 advantage in first downs. The Orange rushed for 370 yards and a 7.3 ypc team average.
[SportsNetwork.com]
