Between the last few minutes of the second quarter and the first few minutes of the third quarter, each team made a questionable fourth down call. It only worked for one of them.
On a fourth-and-six from the Maryland 45-yard line with 1:10 remaining in the first half, Florida State lined up to punt. But if it looked a little curious having three men lined up in the backfield to protect the punter, it's because the Seminoles were up to something. The punter handed the ball to Mike Harris who sprinted around the corner untouched for a 33-yard gain. The Seminoles would add a field goal to finish off the drive, tying the game heading into hafltime.
Maryland's odd and unsuccessful call came on a fourth-and-18 early in the second half from the Florida State 35-yard line. The placement was deemed to be out of Travis Baltz's range, and too short to punt. Maryland could not convert though as Danny O'Briend's pass came up short.
The poor decision would not come back to bite the Terrapins though. The team forced Chris Thompson to fumble on the ensuing possession and Cameron Chism recovered, giving Maryland the ball back at its own 47-yard line. The Terrapins were once again unable to punch the ball into the end zone, but Baltz remains a perfect 3-for-3 as he nailed yet another field goal to put the home team back in front.
The lead didn't last long though. On just the fifth play on Florida State's next drive, quarterback Christian Ponder hung in the pocket under excellent protection and found wide receiver Burt Reid running free. Reid scored on the 44-yard pass to put the Seminoles in front by a score of 20-16 with 2:55 remaining in the third quarter.