In yet another matchup against a ranked opponent, Maryland proved no match as the Terps were stomped on senior night. Head coach Mike Locksley credited Michigan’s efforts in his postgame press conference before noting “we just weren't good enough today—coaches, players.”
“It all starts again, as I always say, with me,” Locksley added. “Disappointed for our 25 seniors that we honored today that we weren't able to play better for those guys.”
The game seemed to start on the right foot as the Terps' defense forced Michigan into a three-and-out on the first series of the game, followed by a Terps’ offensive series that pushed them into Michigan territory and set up an eventual field goal opportunity. But a 48-yard attempt from Joseph Petrino was wide right, pushing him to 4-of-8 from 40-49 yards this season and Michigan responded with an 11 play, 70-yard drive capped off by one of two touchdowns from Michigan QB Cade McNamara.
With a 14-3 deficit midway through the second quarter, special teams miscued reemerged again as Michigan’s blocked punt set them up in Maryland territory. Just four plays later, McCarthy found receiver Mike Sainristil in the endzone for a highlight-worthy touchdown. The miscue on special teams proved costly as Maryland once again dug a hole too deep too early, but it wasn’t the only one. Michigan pulled off a reverse on the kickoff with Michael Barrett throwing across the field to AJ Henning, pulling off a 79-yard touchdown in response to Taulia Tagovailoa’s touchdown throw to Carlos Carriere. Maryland once again responded with a touchdown on the next drive, capped off by a 17-yard run from Tagovailoa in for six. But the miscues on special teams have been a reoccurring issue for the Terps through the 2021 season and on Saturday, it’s where Locksley sees the difference.
“This game really for me got blown open with our special teams play. Special teams is one of the quickest ways when you give up explosive plays there, that's how you end up with the score the way it is today. Now again, all of us like I said, from coaching to playing, we weren't our best today and I got to get us to be our best.” Locksley credited Michigan’s special teams for adjusting to the Terps’ call on the blocked punt.
“We had a sky kick call, they recognize the sky kick and had an adjustment and made the play and for us, we lost contain back on the backside of it, so you know any time when you go to have a score and you allow a play like that to happen on special teams, it definitely takes away momentum and momentum is important part of the game.”
On a night when Taulia Tagovailoa set the program record for completions in a single season, he finished with 178 passing yards and one touchdown on 19-of-33 passing. He also accounted for 30 yards on the ground, but the Terps’ third-down offense mightily struggled against a stingy Wolverine defense. In addition to failing on both fourth-down attempts, Maryland was just 3-of-14 on the night with an average of 7.4 yards on their attempts. Maryland failed to convert all five opportunities of nine or more yards, and for Locksley, staying within manageable distance of the first down marker was a point of emphasis.
“Third down for us is you’re usually good when you keep it third and manageable. I thought we had way too many third and longs, third and extra longs. With the way their pass rushers work was going to be important for us to stay in third and managables and the way you do that is by being better on the first and second down. You know, like I said, we continue to hit and miss on the first down, you know, when we try to establish the run, which I thought we did a better job of that today, but then there was some miscues in the passing game that typically we're able to stay on track and we weren’t able to do that.”
Tagovailoa also threw a pick-six in the final minute of the third quarter to extend the deficit to 52-18, but veteran receiver Carlos Carriere takes responsibility for that play. “I hung him out to dry, need to come back to the ball and I take full responsibility for that play. I need to come back to the ball and at least not let him make a play, at the least,” he added. “I take the blame.”
In the end, the Terps were outmatched in another game against a big-time conference foe. Against the four ranked Big Ten teams this season in Iowa, Ohio State, Michigan, and Michigan State, Maryland was outscored 216-70. At home against Iowa and Michigan, Maryland has been outscored 110-31. The Terps’ dwindling home attendance was on full display Saturday afternoon with an afternoon of local recruits on campus, along with a near-empty stadium for senior day introductions. By the fourth quarter, the stadium had nearly emptied with the game out of reach as Michigan added their final touchdown just 80 seconds into the fourth quarter, cementing the final score of 59-18.
In a critical year three for Locksley, a bowl game would still go a long way for program development and hitting a key benchmark in a critical season. Locksley knows there’s just one final opportunity against Rutgers if the Terps want to achieve what hasn’t been done since 2016. “We can't hang our heads, we got to flush this one pretty quickly, because we still have a lot to play for next week, going up to New Jersey with the opportunity to win six, which we hadn't done since 2016.”
Linebacker Ruben Hyppolite knows senior day is in the past as Maryland leans on the 24-hour rule, but the opportunity to reach a bowl game is something Hyppolite cherishes heading into the season finale.
“I want to get it done for our seniors. Like I feel for them like I feel like I'm in that class with them about to leave. It's just a feeling that I have, I want to get it done for them so very badly, but I just have to do my part as the leader and just make sure that I continue to improve myself first.”
Maryland kicks off next weekend at Rutgers for a noon kickoff.