Maryland 62, Wake Forest 14

Maryland 62, Wake Forest 14

Published Oct. 31, 2010 12:05 a.m. ET

Danny O'Brien threw a career-high four touchdown passes, Kenny Tate and Ryan Donohue each scored on interception returns and Maryland rolled past Wake Forest 62-14 Saturday to become bowl eligible.

The Terrapins (6-2, 3-1 ACC) scored on their first four possessions and blocked two punts in taking a 27-7 halftime lead.

In the third quarter, Tate and Donohue sandwiched their scores around a touchdown pass by O'Brien to assure Wake Forest (2-5, 1-4) its sixth straight defeat.

It was Maryland's most lopsided ACC win since a 59-7 rout of North Carolina in 2002, and the 62 points tied the school record for a conference game, set in 1975 in a 62-24 win over Virginia.

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O'Brien, a redshirt freshman, went 13-for-20 for 168 yards before being lifted in the third quarter. He has seven touchdown passes in his last two games and 12 overall.

Davin Meggett ran for 94 yards and a touchdown for the Terrapins, whose sixth win made them bowl eligible for the seventh time in 10 years under coach Ralph Friedgen. Maryland went 2-10 last year - including 1-7 in the ACC.

Wake Forest freshman quarterback Tanner Price completed 16 of 31 passes for 156 yards and a touchdown. Backup Skylar Jones played briefly in the third quarter, but one of his three passes was picked off by Donohue, who took it 25 yards into the end zone.

Demon Deacons running back Josh Harris, coming off a 241-yard rushing performance against Virginia Tech, was limited to 24 yards on nine carries.

The loss dropped Wake Forest into a last-place tie with Boston College in the Atlantic Division.

Wake Forest wasted little time in falling behind 10-0. After Maryland converted a blocked punt into a field goal, O'Brien threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Torrey Smith after a third-down personal foul against the Demon Deacons kept the drive alive.

Price then completed three passes for 64 yards during an 85-yard drive that ended with a 6-yard touchdown run by Harris.

The Terrapins followed with a run of 45 straight points, beginning with a 28-yard TD pass from O'Brien to Quintin McCree for a 17-7 lead. After Nick Peterson blocked a Wake Forest punt, O'Brien threw a 3-yard scoring pass to Haroon Brown.

The Demon Deacons were limited to minus-5 yards rushing in the first half and 99 yards overall, and it got worse at the start of the third quarter. On Wake Forest's initial offensive play, Price threw a pass in the flat that Tate picked off and took in for an 8-yard score.

A 24-yard touchdown pass from O'Brien to LaQuan Williams made it 41-7, and touchdowns by Donohue and Meggett followed during Maryland's 28-point third quarter.

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