Illinois struggles but beats Maryland 20-17 on a 26-yard field goal by Ethan Moczulski

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- , Ethan Moczulski kicked a 26-yard field goal on the final play to lift Illinois to a 20-17 victory over Maryland on Saturday. Fresh off a win over Oregon, the Illini struggled for most of the game against Maryland despite quarterback Katin Houser 's return from a hand injury. They finally took their first lead on Javari Barnett 's 64-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter, which made it 17-14. Maryland (3-5, 0-5 Big Ten) tied it with a field goal, but Illinois mounted one more scoring drive after taking over at its own 26 with 5:45 to play. The Illini (5-3, 3-2) were able to drive deep into Maryland territory and then run the clock down after the Terps had exhausted all their timeouts. “The way this team's persevered, nothing's really come easy,” Illinois coach Bret Bielema said.