2016 Quick Lane Bowl final score: Boston College beats Maryland in a beautiful mess of a game

Boston College beat Maryland in a winding, error-filled, surprisingly exciting Quick Lane Bowl on Monday in Detroit, 36-30. The Eagles moved to 7-6 and the Terrapins to 6-7. It was the Eagles’ first bowl win since 2007.

Talk about a beautiful mess of a game, and you’re talking about this game. It was the sort of game that featured one team (Maryland) getting to the opponent’s 2-yard line, taking penalties and sacks to back up to the 36, then getting a new set of downs because of a defensive facemasking call, then marching back inside the 1 and fumbling the ball away on the goal line.

That actually happened here — with Maryland trailing by nine in the fourth quarter. Then BC turned the ball over to Maryland for a second time a few minutes later, and Maryland kicked a field goal to get within six. The Terps got the ball back for a last-ditch drive in the last two minutes but couldn’t move it, and BC finally won.

It was an enjoyable football comedy, with silly penalties on one play, sneaky good offense on the next, and a turnover on the next. It was a slapstick mixture of ineptitude, occasional awesome plays, and excitement abounding. It was not textbook, but it was a lot of fun. Its pure entertainment value was surprisingly legitimate.

This was the sort of offensive showcase you never — literally ever, at any point, ever — saw coming. Boston College entered with the country’s 123-ranked scoring offense at 19 points per game, then dropped 29 in the first half, including a wide receiver reverse touchdown pass to the quarterback.

This bowl was supposed to be the actual worst of the entire bowl season, but it turned out there was some decent action, albeit mixed in among foibles everywhere.

Boston College QB Patrick Towles and Maryland QB Perry Hills, both seniors, were playing their final college games. Hills went 15-of-35 for 229 yards, two scores, and an interception. Towles was 10-of-22 for 151 yards, also for two scores and a pick. Towles’ performance was dedicated, of course, to Harambe.

Maryland running back Ty Johnson had two touchdowns on 15 carries and 159 yards, but he was curiously uninvolved in the offense down the stretch.

Both Maryland and Boston College had encouraging seasons, if you’re willing to view them with extreme relativity. Maryland won six regular season games after a 3-9 year and has seen a sharp recruiting spike under first-year coach D.J. Durkin, which are both good things. Boston College did the same after its own 3-9 record in 2015, and Steve Addazio appears to have secured himself in his job for at least next season.

Neither team was particularly good, of course. BC’s defense was only occasionally able to cover for its woeful offense, and Maryland didn’t beat a single solid opponent all year. To contend seriously, both programs have a long way left to travel.