Maryland vs. Boston College: Score and Reaction for 2016 Quick Lane Bowl

The Boston College Eagles earned their first bowl win since 2007 on Monday, beating the Maryland Terrapins 36-30 in the Quick Lane Bowl at Ford Field.

Maryland's four turnovers proved costly, as the Terrapins outgained Boston College 357-348.

The Terrapins also failed to fully utilize Ty Johnson, who ran for 159 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries. They instead relied heavily on the passing game, with Perry Hills finishing 15-of-35 for 229 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

Boston College's offense hit the ground running but faded as the game went on. Patrick Towles was 10-of-22 passing for 151 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, while Jon Hilliman gained 79 yards and scored once on 29 carries.

Entering Monday, Boston College owned one of the worst offenses in the FBS. The Eagles ranked 127th in total offense with 288.2 yards per game and 123rd in scoring offense with 19.1 points per game.

Through the first half against Maryland, Boston College was up 29-13 and had gained 238 yards on offense. ESPN Stats & Info put the performance in perspective:

USA Today's Dan Wolken had harsh words for the Terrapins after their poor defensive effort in the opening two quarters:

"

Maryland may have been the worst team to make a bowl game this season.

— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) December 26, 2016"

Vice Sports' Mike Tunison was having a crisis of confidence:

Hilliman put the Eagles ahead in the first quarter with a one-yard touchdown run.

Towles found tight end Tommy Sweeney on a two-yard touchdown pass with 13:40 left in the second quarter, and a 22-yard field goal by Mike Knoll put Boston College ahead 16-0 with 10:32 remaining.

Johnson ate into the deficit with a 62-yard run to give the Terrapins their first points of the game. Maryland's official Twitter account shared a replay of the touchdown:

Towles canceled out the score with a 20-yard touchdown reception less than two minutes later. Wideout Jeff Smith began his college career as a quarterback, and it showed when he threw on the run and hit Towles in stride before the senior quarterback reached the end zone.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, former Florida State Seminoles star Anquan Boldin's performance in the 2003 Sugar Bowl was the last time an ACC player had a passing and receiving touchdown in one bowl game.

After Johnson ran for his second touchdown of the game to bring Maryland to within 10 points, 23-13, Michael Walker ended the first half on a high note for Boston College with a 49-yard touchdown reception with 35 seconds left in the second quarter. It was the longest catch of the year for the sophomore.

Denver Broncos safety Justin Simmons, a Boston College alumnus, was happy to see Walker padding the Eagles' lead:

Following its hot start, Boston College fell back to earth in the second half.

Eagles defensive end Kevin Kavalec recovered a Hills fumble in the end zone on Maryland's first drive of the third quarter to help his team build a 36-13 lead.

Fox25's Tom Leyden found one Terrapins fan who wasn't enthused to see his team give up another touchdown:

Hills recovered, though, throwing touchdown passes on back-to-back possessions to help trim Boston College's advantage to nine points, 36-27, with 10:05 left in the third quarter.

With the teams combining for 63 points, CBSSports.com's Tom Fornelli thought the Eagles and Terrapins would benefit from taking weeks off between every game:

"

All the Maryland and Boston College offenses needed was a month off.

— Tom Fornelli (@TomFornelli) December 26, 2016"

With 4:02 left in the contest, Maryland squandered a golden opportunity to get to within a field goal. On 2nd-and-goal from the Boston College 1-yard line, Hills fumbled the snap, and Boston College recovered.

The Terrapins' drive began at the Eagles' 17-yard line following a Towles interception. Uproxx's Matt Hinton provided the sequence of plays that led to Hills' turnover:

Fortune favored Maryland on Boston College's next drive, though, after Hilliman fumbled on his own 5-yard line, and defensive lineman Azubuike Ukandu recovered for the Terrapins.

Hills threw three straight incompletions, forcing Maryland to settle for a 23-yard field goal by Adam Greene. The Terrapins offense wasn't setting a high standard for potency, but SB Nation CFB applauded the unit's perseverance:

Maryland had the ball one more time to try to get the game-tying score, but Hills was sacked on fourth down, which ended the Terrapins' comeback attempt.

Boston College ran out the clock to seal the victory.

Monday's result represented a nice turnaround for the Eagles, who finished the year at 7-6 after going 3-9 in 2015. Towles' graduation, though, will leave a big hole in the offense. Given the unit's struggles under head coach Steve Addazio, beginning the year with a new quarterback doesn't set Boston College up well out of the gate.

As long as the defense doesn't fall off, the Eagles should be able to compete for a fourth bowl appearance under Addazio, however.

Monday's loss to the Eagles capped off an underwhelming first season for Maryland head coach D.J. Durkin. The 6-7 Terrapins lost seven of their last nine games to wrap up 2016.

Randy Edsall left the program in disarray, so Durkin started from a difficult place when he took over in December 2015. Campus Insiders' Bonnie Bernstein took positives away from Monday:

With road games against Ohio State, Michigan State and Wisconsin in 2017, in addition to a nonconference clash against Texas, repeating this year's six wins will likely be considered a success for Durkin as he looks to get the Terrapins headed in the right direction.

Postgame Reaction

Addazio is excited for where Boston College is going after Monday's win.

"We have a great vibe right now," he said, per Michael Sullivan of the Heights. "But there’s so much positivity in the football world about Boston College."

Addazio expanded on that thought, per the Associated Press (via ESPN.com): "We started to really develop a resolve that you see in the players' eyes. The most critical thing in building your program is having that. And, I really believe we have finally set that platform forward and that's the most exciting thing to me of all."

Durkin is similarly optimistic about his team.

"The program is headed in the right direction, but we have to learn to not beat ourselves," he said.