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Scott returns in second half to lift Maryland over Nevada

Dec 31, 2008 - 7:44 AM BOISE, Idaho (Ticker) -- Turns out Da'Rel Scott only needed one half of football after all.

After being suspended for the first half of Tuesday's Humanitarian Bowl due to a curfew violation, the sophomore tailback carried Maryland to a 42-35 triumph over Nevada.

"I made a bad decision," Scott said. "I felt I had to run with a purpose."

He did just that, rushing for a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter to snap a tie and propel the Terrapins to their first victory since November 15.

Once ranked as high as No. 21 in the nation, Maryland (8-5) closed the regular season with a whimper, falling in back-to-back games to Florida State and Boston College. But the Terps rebounded in this one - despite surrendering the lead on three separate occasions to a Nevada squad that would not go away.

The Wolf Pack erased a two-touchdown halftime deficit, as Western Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year Colin Kaepernick delivered a pair of touchdown passes to pull Nevada even early in the fourth quarter. But that's when Scott took over.

After failing to get his first carry of the day until the 5:55 mark of the third, Scott made most of his chances count. Less than two minutes after Kaepernick's 21-yard scoring strike to Marko Mitchell tied things at 28-28, Scott burst through the line for a 49-yard TD dash to put Maryland back on top.

One possession later, Scott manufactured an entire drive by himself, going 66 yards in four plays - including a 30-yard run down to the goal line - and pounding in a 2-yard plunge to extend the Terrapins' lead to 42-28.

"He just ran through us like we weren't there," Nevada head coach Chris Ault said.

Kaepernick's 15-yard TD run on a broken play pulled Nevada to within a touchdown at 42-35, but the Wolf Pack failed to recover the ensuing onside kick.

Scott finished with 174 yards - just 25 yards shy of his career best despite playing just one half - and a pair of touchdowns on just 14 carries.

Kaepernick kept Nevada (7-6) in it, completing 24-of-47 passes for 369 yards, tossing three touchdowns and rushing for another. He also was intercepted twice.

"We made them one-dimensional and got used to them throwing the ball," Maryland defensive lineman Jeremy Navarre said. "We got used to them running the ball."