Maryland football misses opportunity to change narratives after deflating 24-20 loss vs. Washington

Chase King
Oct 5
4 min read

With a nearly completely revamped roster between the portal and high school class, Saturday marked the latest chance for Maryland football to move the needle among the fanbase - and nationally. Getting big wins in October and winning after bye weeks is something that head coach Mike Locksley has struggled with during his tenure at Maryland.

The Terps entered the game 7-13 in October and 0-9 after a bye since 2019, when Locksley took the helm of the Terps. Facing a Washington team coming off a 24-6 loss vs. top-ranked Ohio State and Maryland fresh off a bye, Saturday marked a chance to change the narrative.

Instead, what appeared to be a breakthrough win after the first 45 minutes of game action quickly melted into 15 minutes of familiar agony, eventually falling 24-20 after allowing Washington to score 24 unanswered points over the final 18:44 of regulation.

“I think what I have to do is focus on evaluating kind of what happened, why it happened, and how I can get it fixed,” head coach Mike Locksley added. “And to me, that's what good coaches do. I'd like to say I want to be defined by how we move forward, not by the history of what we've done here.”

Early, the plan worked. Maryland limited RB Jonah Coleman, one of the nation’s best backs, to 17 rushing yards in the first half.

WR Denzel Boston, who is a projected first-round pick and has 275 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns entering the game, was held to one catch for six yards in the first half.

Maryland’s defense allowed only six first downs on their six offensive drives and allowed zero points, which was something the Terps’ defense couldn’t replicate in the second half.

Stopping Coleman and the Washington rush attack was emphasized in the Terps’ defensive game plan.

“Our guys were able to stick to what the game plan was, and were able to stop the run,” LB Daniel Wingate said.

Maryland true freshman QB Malik Washington faced his biggest test against a defense that held Ohio State, the number one team in the country, to only 24 points.

Malik Washington started the game slowly, with only 38 passing yards in the first quarter, despite leading a touchdown drive that he capped off with a four-yard rushing touchdown.

He would see some success in the second quarter and third quarter, especially in an impressive, 75-yard touchdown drive where he threw for 71 yards and capped it off with a two-yard passing touchdown to junior TE AJ Szymanski.

But overall, Malik Washington struggled to find his footing. He threw 30-for-49 with 219 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT.

Head coach Mike Locksley said the true freshman quarterback “didn't play his best game,” a sentiment that Washington agreed with postgame.

“Ryan Walters did a really good job of mixing man [coverage], zone [coverage], cover two, cover one, and this was the first time he faced it.”

The Terps held a 20-0 lead following the touchdown to Szymanski, but the Huskies wouldn’t go away.

Before the half, true freshman edge rusher Sidney Stewart, a key piece of the defense, was ejected due to targeting, and his presence was missed on the defense in the second half.

“It was a big impact for sure, you know, 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 man needs to be able to step up,” said Wingate.

In the second half, Washington was able to score on every possession, including three straight touchdown drives in the fourth quarter.

A main reason for the sudden shift was that the Maryland defense couldn’t contain the Washington stars in the second half, along with allowing explosive plays that just weren’t happening in the first half.

“Just beating ourselves, you know, if we don’t beat ourselves then we’re able to limit the explosive [plays], limit the scoring,” said Wingate on what changed in the second half for the defense.

Jonah Coleman, who was mainly shut down in the first half, was able to end the game with 104 all-purpose yards. Through the air, Denzel Boston, who had only two catches in the first three quarters, finished the game with six receptions for 71 yards and 1 TD.

Washington sophomore QB Desmond Williams was also able to unleash, finishing the second half 18-for-22 with 205 passing yards, 2 passing TDs, and 41 rushing yards.

Both of those touchdowns came on junior cornerback Dontay Joyner Jr., who had only allowed 30 yards in coverage all season via PFF.

But the biggest question mark? The offense avoided the run game at all costs, only having four rush attempts for ten yards in the second half despite a 20-point lead.

“I think for us it goes back to we’re a RPO system,” Locksley said when asked about the second half run game.

The Terps ended the game with only 20 rushes for 2.75 yards per carry after averaging 4.3 in the first quarter, their best since week two. The ground game continues to be the biggest problem for the young Maryland team.

Now, Maryland is once again tasked with overcoming the narratives with the team back in SECU Stadium next Saturday to host Nebraska, which moved to 4-1 after a 38-27 win vs. Nebraska. For Maryland, a chance to secure bowl eligibility at home now vanishes as fans look for the team to stay above .500 in conference play.

While Maryland’s new administration will now work through its first wave of adversity among fans following the loss, the team will look to get back on track for another 3:30 PM kickoff next Saturday.

“We just take it, watch the tape back, get mistakes corrected, and move onto the next week. That’s the only way to deal with it, just come out next week even harder cause we know we’re going to have to finish games.”

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