Maryland football ends Big Ten losing streak, holds off Purdue in 34-29 win

19 hours ago

4 min read

Immediately after his postgame interview, Maryland football interim head coach Aazaar Abdul-Rahim darted toward his players. Tight end Preston Howard hoisted Abdul-Rahim in the air, a horde of Terps swarmed them and a tub of Gatorade splashed on Abdul-Rahim’s back.

The losing streak was over.

The Terps claimed a 34-29 win over Purdue at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana, on Saturday, their first Big Ten victory since Sept. 20, 2025, and Abdul-Rahim’s first win as a head coach. Maryland quarterback Malik Washington overcame a third-quarter injury to total 285 yards and four touchdowns.

Under a defensive-minded leader — Abdul-Rahim was formerly Maryland’s defensive backs coach and was primed to be the defensive coordinator before he was promoted to interim head coach — the Terps’ defense was dynamic.

Defensive back Lavain Scruggs blindsided Purdue quarterback Ryan Browne in the third quarter, forcing a fumble that Daniel Wingate recovered at the Boilermakers’ four-yard line. It set up the Terps for a pivotal touchdown and a two-score lead, which they held onto to claim a long-awaited conference win.

Interim coach Aazaar Abdul-Rahim repeatedly mentioned technique and discipline as areas of improvement he was impressed with in Maryland’s 20-17 loss to Illinois on Oct. 31 — and for good reason. The Terps' tackling was mostly clean and they committed only one penalty.

On Saturday, Maryland’s defense again faced those issues early in the first quarter.

Cornerback Dontay Joyner threw a punch at a Purdue player, drawing a flagrant personal foul penalty and an ejection less than two minutes into the game. The Terps reinstated Joyner midseason after he and the Terps parted ways following Joyner being sentenced to three years probation on harassment and telephone misuse charges.

Joyner, a full-time starter last season, missed the first five games this season. The Terps were again forced to play without him against the Boilermakers. But even without one of its starters in the secondary, Maryland’s defense had perhaps its most impressive showing this season.

Purdue took four trips to the red zone in the first half, but the Terps’ defense held strong on each one. The Boilermakers settled for four field goals in the half on 41 total plays. Maryland’s offense, however, struggled to reciprocate that level of play.

In the brief time the Terps had the ball — they possessed it for about 10 minutes, while Purdue controlled the ball for just over 20 minutes — they largely failed to find a rhythm. They ran 21 plays and totaled 108 yards in the first half.

Maryland had totaled 40 yards about halfway through the second quarter before it broke through. Defensive back Ricardo Cooper Jr. swooped in to unexpectedly return a kickoff for 45 yards into Purdue territory. Quarterback Malik Washington followed with a 31-yard completion to Chris Durr Jr and capped the drive with a 15-yard touchdown scramble.

After an anemic start, Maryland’s offense found the end zone on a 36-second drive to enter halftime trailing 12-7. It was a sign of things to come in the second half.

Washington hit a wide-open Na’eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding on a crossing route on the Terps’ opening drive of the second half. Gladding streaked to the opposite sideline and dashed 44 yards to the end zone, giving Maryland its first lead of the day.

The drive wasn’t perfect though. Two plays earlier, Purdue defensive back Don Saunders drove Washington out of bounds as the sophomore quarterback scrambled. Washington limped back onto the field and remained in the game, but later donned a knee brace.

An injury to Washington seemed especially costly for a team that has heavily leaned on their quarterback. But as they’ve rarely done this season, the Terps took the pressure off Washington.

Maryland’s defense forced a turnover that set Washington and the offense up in the red zone to extend the Terps’ lead to two scores. After Purdue narrowed Maryland’s lead to 21-19 with a touchdown, DeJuan Williams and the offensive line took the reins.

A massive hole opened up in the middle of the line and Williams dashed through it, going 75 yards for a touchdown to restore Maryland’s two-possession lead.

The Terps accomplished something else they rarely have in the past two seasons: responding to adversity. Purdue inched closer to Maryland with a field goal to cut the Terps’ lead to 28-22 at the 12:13 mark in the fourth quarter. Maryland’s leading receiver Chris Durr Jr. answered with the Terps’ play of the year.

Durr caught a swing pass and the Boilermakers' defense swarmed him, but Durr somehow slithered out. The junior reversed course and darted to the other sideline, forcing several missed tackles on his way to an 87-yard touchdown. It marked the longest play by a Terp since DJ Moore's 92 yard touchdown back in 2016, in addition to clinching Durr's fifth 100-yard receiving game in 2026.

As they did all game, Maryland’s defense closed the game by bending, but not breaking. Purdue started its final drive on the five-yard line with no timeouts and about a minute remaining. The Boilermakers advanced the ball to the Terps’ 22-yard line before Zion Elee and Sidney Stewart combined for a sack to seal the game.

Elee's 2.5 sacks marked the most by a Terp since Yannick Ngakoue in 2015, while the duo combined for three of the team's seven sacks, marking the most since Maryland matched that total in the 2020 win vs. Penn State. Maryland's 13 tackles for loss also mark a program record in Big Ten play.

Maryland’s sideline poured onto the field, releasing more than a year’s worth of emotion.

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