Defense and penalties have been the story of the second half.
Late in the third quarter the Terrapins and Hurricanes traded intereceptions as Miami held onto their slim lead. Maryland linebacker Alex Wujciak, the next in the long line of Terrapin linebackers headed to the NFL, grabbed his second interception of the game. Wujciak scored on an interception in the first half, and he looked to be headed to the end zone again, but was tackled at the Miami 17-yard line. Just when you thought that the Terrapins were poised to take the lead though, an underthrown pass by Danny O'Brien was intercepted by Miami safety Ray Ray Armstrong in the end zone.
Early in the fourth quarter, it was Miami's defense again that appeared to put the Hurricanes farther in front. The Hurricanes sacked O'Brien, forcing a fumble. The ball was recovered by Marcus Robinson and returned all the way in for the score. But, as has been typical with Miami this season, the touchdown was called back for a penalty. Apparently a facemask penalty was called prior to the fumble.
Maryland was able to capitalize on that critical error. Backup quarterback Jamarr Robinson entered for O'Brien for just one play, and completed a first down to give the Terrapins the ball inside Miami's 10-yard line. That was about it for the visitors though. O'Brien re-entered the game and threw two incompletions. The team then turned to Travis Baltz, who kicked Maryland into a 20-18 lead.