The Terps defense opened the second quarter with a stop, highlighted by a sack of UConn QB Chandler Whitmer by Marcus Whitfield. Maryland started at its own 20 and it took C.J. Brown just four plays to march down the field for a touchdown, including two throws to Stefon Diggs for a combined 36 yards. The score came on a 41-yard run up the middle by Brown, tying the game with 11:10 to go and finally getting the Terps on the board.
A sack by Yannick Cudjoe-Virgil on third down forced the Huskies into a three-and-out on the next drive, and Connecticut punter Cole Wagner managed just a 20-yard punt that was downed at the UConn 40, giving the Terps excellent field position. On Maryland's first play of the drive, Brandon Ross ran for 25 yards into the red zone, but the Terps couldn't capitalize and Brad Craddock ended up kicking a 29-yard field goal to give them their first lead of the game, 10-7.
Connecticut started its next drive from its own 39, and a 28-yard catch highlighted a quick march down the field into Maryland's red zone. But a failed quarterback draw and a sack by Whitfield for a loss of seven held them to a 33-yard field goal, which Chad Christian made to pull the game even at 10 with four minutes to go in the quarter.
The teams then traded three-and-outs, and Maryland got the ball back with 2:09 left in the half, starting from their own 11. Ross started the drive with a 21-yard run, but two plays later a penalty pushed them back 15 yards with about a minute to go. Back-to-back first-down passes to Levern Jacobs and Deon Long moved them to a yard shy of midfield before Jacobs took a pass by Brown 46 yards to the three-yard line with just eight seconds on the clock. The Terps tried to go for the end zone, but Brown was pressured to the right and the play didn't materialize, forcing a 21-yard field goal attempt with two seconds to go. Craddock punched it in and Maryland heads into halftime up 13-10.