COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Chris Turner engineered a dramatic fourth-quarter drive that produced a 26-yard field goal by Obi Egekeze with 1:42 left, and Maryland beat No. 17 North Carolina 17-15 Saturday for its school-record sixth consecutive win over a ranked opponent.
Da'Rel Scott ran for 129 yards and a touchdown and Davin Meggett had 86 rushing yards for Maryland (7-3, 4-2). The Terrapins can reach the Atlantic Coast Conference title game for the first time by winning their last two games.
The Tar Heels (7-3, 3-3) dropped out of first place in the Coastal Division and remained winless at Maryland since 1997.
Playing on a wet field, facing a strong North Carolina defense and starting 82 yards from the end zone with 10:25 left, Turner put together an impressive 73-yard drive to produce the only points of the second half.
Using 19 plays and almost nine minutes, the Terrapins methodically moved downfield. An 18-yard completion to Ronnie Tyler on a third-and-11 from the Maryland 44 helped, but the key was a 9-yard run by Turner on a fourth-and-5 at the Carolina 32.
After Egekeze's field goal, Cameron Sexton's bid to bring the Tar Heels back ended with an interception by Jamari McCollough.
Maryland has beaten four ranked teams this season: California, Clemson, Wake Forest and North Carolina. Its six-game run began last season with wins over Rutgers and Boston College.
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The victory also kept the Terrapins unbeaten at home (6-0).
North Carolina missed a chance to increase its one-point lead late in the third quarter when Casey Barth's 28-yard field goal attempt hit the left upright. A 44-yard pass from running back Shaun Draughn to Brooks Foster preceded the errant kick.
The Tar Heels got the ball back when a fumble by second-string quarterback Josh Portis was recovered by Quinton Coples at the Maryland 33, but three straight incomplete passes led to a punt.
A back-and-forth first half, played at times in a heavy rain, ended with North Carolina up 15-14.
The game's first points came on a Maryland mistake: a snap over the head of punter Travis Baltz, who dived on the ball in the end zone for a 42-yard loss and a safety.
After Barth added a field goal, Scott capped a 76-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown run to put the Terrapins up 7-5.
Two plays later, Sexton lofted a pass on the run that cleared leaping defensive back Kenny Tate and landed in the arms of Cooter Arnold, who completed the 59-yard play for his first career touchdown.
The Terrapins again had a response, this time a methodical 13-play march in which Meggett rushed for 57 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown.
The Tar Heels then moved to the Maryland 36 before Sexton fumbled the wet football. Later, however, North Carolina regained the lead when a 32-yard run by Foster set up a field goal.
