Maryland football vs. Virginia: Terps hang on, improve to 4-2 Maryland's defense, ranked seventh nationally entering the game, struggled to get push against Virginia's massive offensive line, and Cavaliers running back Kevin Parks finished with 129 yards on 17 carries. But the Terrapins were able to flush quarterback Phillip Sims out of the pocket midway through the fourth quarter. Linebacker Darin Drakeford, an under-mentioned senior with a penchant for edge blitzes and pranks, caught the Alabama transfer from behind. Defensive lineman A.J. Francis pounced on the loose ball and Brad Craddock drilled a 28-yard field goal from the right hash mark three plays later, giving Maryland its final points. But Michael Rocco, who replaced Sims on Virginia's ensuing drive, threw a a 24-yard touchdown pass to Jake McGee to make it a one-possession game, and the Cavaliers (2-5, 0-3) then gained possession just beyond midfield with 1 minute 51 seconds left following a Maryland three-and-out. Rocco overthrew his target on first down. Isaac Goins broke up a third-down rocket. A fourth-down heave fluttered harmlessly downfield, and a massive stadium exodus served as the backdrop for Maryland's victory formation. For as many mistakes quarterback Perry Hills has made through his first six games - all the fumbles and missed reads - the freshman from Pittsburgh has been steadiest when the game is on the line. He bulldozed over Virginia defenders, shoulder down. On a perfect Saturday afternoon, when Maryland's rushing attack was as absent as the clouds in the sky, Hills stamped his second ACC victory with a six-yard, fourth-quarter touchdown run that was preceded by a 22-yard completion to Matt Furstenburg in traffic. Through six games, Maryland has outscored opponents, 51-31, in the fourth quarter. Had the Terrapins held on to their 17-3 halftime lead, however, they never would have needed to such fourth-quarter heroics. On the game's opening kickoff, freshman Stefon Diggs fielded a boomer at the goal line and, perhaps for the first time throughout his electric freshman season at Maryland, stood still. He surveyed the landscape, a flood of blue jerseys barreling downfield, while inching forward, cradling the football in one arm, pointing out his blocks with the other. Or maybe he was calling his shot. With a powerful first step, the true freshman took off down the sideline, 45,556 shoulders slumping with each step. A teenage speedster among slow-motion defenders, Diggs went 100 yards untouched, sapping the energy out of a Homecoming crowd whose team was down 7-0 before many even had time to blink. "Nothing he does surprises me," Terrapins Coach Randy Edsall said afterward. Maryland's Anthony Nixon, a true freshman starting in place of injured safety Matt Robinson, picked off Sims on third and long on Virginia's ensuing drive. Five plays later, from 20 yards out following a 60-yard Diggs catch-and-run, Hills stared down an oncoming blitz, checked down to running back Justus Pickett and let the sophomore do the rest. Pickett, who finished with minus-eight rushing yards on 15 carries, juked one defender on the outside and, like Diggs, trotted in untouched. But the Terrapins, like they did in four of their first five games, went scoreless in the third quarter after mustering just minus-one yard in the second. Both teams left points on the board. An early Virginia field goal attempt was launched low and got blocked by A.J. Francis. On Maryland's opening third-quarter drive, Furstenburg dropped a sure-fire touchdown after bobbling a high pass from Hills. Craddock then clanged a 28-yard field goal attempt off the left upright. Trading punts early in the second half, Virginia cut the lead to 17-10 on a one-footed, 20-yard laser from Sims to a sliding E.J. Scott. A chip-shot field goal from Ian Frye with 29 seconds left in the third quarter put the Cavaliers within four points, 17-13. But a personal foul penalty on the attempt gave Diggs room to work. The freshman sprinted past midfield, setting up the drive that ended with Hills's touchdown.