Malik Washington, Daniel Wingate detail what went wrong for Maryland vs. Washington

Ahmed Ghafir
Oct 5
7 min read

Maryland football is now tasked with overcoming its first wave of adversity after suffering a deflating, comeback 24-20 loss to end an unbeaten streak that caught growing attention across the country. Now, six days away from hosting Nebraska for another 3:30 PM kickoff, Maryland will look to shed the bad taste left in its mouth after head coach Mike Locksley noted he “didn’t think we did a great job” of managing early season success during the bye week.

“Just continuing to work, just continuing to get better each day, to know that each game that from here on out is going to be a four quarter game with Big Ten teams,” LB Daniel Wingate said after the loss. “It's not going to be an easy game no more. So we need to be able to step up and play four quarters to our standard. We play with our standard, I like us every time. So we just got to continue to do what we do.”

“Just sticking to what we do. It's all about us. It's not about the opponent ever,” QB Malik Washington added. “So we're going to move on to next week. We're going to refine within ourselves. We're going to look inward, right? But it's not to point blame on anybody. We're just going to get closer as a team and come out better.”

Malik Washington and Daniel Wingate explain what went right – then wrong – during Saturday’s loss:

QB Malik Washington on the atmosphere

“We appreciate the fan support so much, from alumni to faculty and staff. Like we love everybody that was there, and we thank them for coming out.”

Washington facing first adversity

“I think we just take it, watch the tape back, get mistakes corrected, and move on to the next week. That's the only way to deal with it. Just come out next week even harder, because we know we're going to have to finish games.”

Wingate’s message to the team going through adversity

“My advice to them would to be, just remember, like, it's 24 hours after a win or a loss to forget about the game and worry about our team the next week. We have great talent on this team and we have the guys to be able to win these games so we just got to come back, watch the film and come back next week and perform better than we did this week.”

Washington on Locksley’s message ahead of final drive

“We just had to go out there execute, work the way down the field. It wasn't like we all had to get it in one play. We had opportunities to get down there, and we just got to finish.”

Malik Washington what Washington did defensively in the second half

“They made their adjustments just as we did coming out of halftime. I think we just had some plays that we left out on the field that we have to execute.”

“They just took away some of the stuff that was working early in the game. I have to watch the take back and see exactly what they did. But there was some stuff that we had early on in the game plan that they had changed up a look or something like that, and ran something maybe we weren't expecting. But at the end of the day, we just got to stick to our rules and keep playing.”

Whether Washington felt Maryland went conservative on offense

“No, I think we just went out there and we did what was working. In the first half, like you said, the first drives were methodical, taking what the defense gives us. I think we tried to do the same thing in the second half. It was just sometimes it just doesn't go your way. Like I said, there's plays left out on the field that we have to make as a unit.”

Wingate on what went well for Maryland’s defense vs. Washington in the first half

“I’ve seen our guys just stick to what the game plan was. We were able to stop the run, we were able to limit the explosives with the offense and just play up to the standard that we had set out. And we just got to continue to play to that standard throughout the whole game.”

Wingate on the defense’s mindset in the second half

“The collective feeling was to continue to go out there and play the game that we played in the first half. To go out there, do our job, play physical, play fast. We didn't need to do nothing special or extraordinary. We just had to continue to do what we do at the end of the day and we didn't do that. So we just got to get back, watch the film and fix our mistakes, fix our errors.”

On whether Washington provided words of encouragement to teammates like WR Jalil Farooq

“1,000%. We had talked after the game and what a lot of people aren't going to talk about is the crucial plays that he made in that game, the ability to keep us into the game, one down in the red area, right before the touchdown, making that huge catch right there in traffic. Those are the things that I'm going to talk to him about, being able to keep that up. Like one play doesn't define you and it doesn't define a game. That play didn't lose us the game or win us the game like it was. It's the whole unit having execute for all four quarters.”

Washington’s evaluation of his performance

“Could have did better really. I left some stuff out there, some moments where I feel like I kind of broke the pocket a little early instead of sitting in there and waiting and delivering. There was opportunities for plays being made, touchdowns to be scored, costly turnover before the half that I have to improve on. Just take it and add it to the toolbox and understand situations better and keep moving forward.”

What Wingate personally learned from the loss

“I learned that we got a lot of young guys that sometimes will have an up or and have a down. So I just got to be able to be there to make sure that they keep their head on straight and to not worry about something like a play before or nothing else. Like get the next play mentality, like the plays over. And we just got to be able to get to the next play and continue to play our game no matter what. I got to be a better leader.”

On Washington’s message to get fans back out

“Really, I think it's about us as a team. No matter if it's 100,000 people, 12,000 people or zero people in the stadium, we just have to play our game and give them a reason to come back. And I think this week we're going to look inward and find places we can improve as a team and keep continuing to put a good product out on the field and people will come to the games.”

Washington’s closing message

“I just want to leave y'all with a word. In times when people are down, I like to look to the Lord for my for my safety. So my verse was Jeremiah 29:11 and it reads, For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you, not to harm you. Plans to give you hope in the future. And in a moment like this, when everybody's down and people are pointing fingers and saying this, that [and] the third we just got to understand as a team and as a unit, that this is God's plan for us. We have to face adversity sometimes to come out of it stronger. Sometimes you got to break the stick to mend it back together, even stronger. Same thing with your bones. So we're just going to find a way to look inside and keep moving forward. Thank you.”

What was Wingate’s bye week prescription card from the staff

“My prescription card was pad level, and playing with my hands better, just being able to get off blocks better and to shed them and make better tackles.”

Wingate on whether the team handled success during the bye week

“I think we know we just need to stay together as a team, look out for each other as brothers and just hold each other accountable no matter what. Just because we're on a bye week doesn't mean that the season is over anything. We got to continue to live up to our standard on and off the field and we just got to be able to do better.”

Wingate’s key to finishing games

“Just being able to continue to play to our standard, to not get big headed, to not look at the scoreboard, to not let a player to distract us of continuing to finish the game no matter what. We were up on them the whole game like you just said, and just being able to finish it to the end till the clock hits zero, something we got to work on.”

Wingate on Sidney Stewart’s ejection

“It was a big impact, for sure. Sidney Stewart is a great player that contributes to our [defensive] line. But, you know, we need to have a next man mentality, and the next guy needs to be able to step up. We practice a lot of guys, and we have a lot of guys that know the defense. So it just got to be a next man up mentality and we got to be able to be there for our brother through times like that.”

Wingate on whether anything changed defensively with Stewart’s ejection

“Just beating ourselves. If we don't beat ourselves, then we're able to limit the explosives, limit the scoring, and that's pretty much it - just beating ourselves.”

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