Maryland football survives scare vs. Northern Illinois, defense shows up in 20-9 win

jmcconn3
Sep 5
3 min read

Friday night lights did not disappoint for Maryland football, fending off the NIU Huskies 20-9, as they extended their non-conference winning streak to 17 games. But it didn't start pretty.

One week after Maryland's offense took a quarter to get going, it was a bit of a slow start for the Terps offense, only possesing the ball for 8:05 throughout the first half compared to the Huskies' near-22 minutes with the ground game the catalyst.

Quarterback Malik Washington and tight end Dorian Fleming did the heavy lifting for the offense in the first half, connecting for two big plays, starting with a 48-yard passing play between the two in the first quarter. This drive only ended up leaving the Terps to settle for a field goal to open up the scoring.

Fast forward to the second quarter and Washington connects yet again with Fleming for the first touchdown of the game.

"He's great. I feel like I try to be a reliable target for him. I know he’s a young guy,” Fleming said postgame about his connection with the true freshman quarterback. “I just want to be available for him.”

Consistent drives without converting a third down caused the Maryland defense to hold down the weight on their end. Linebackers Daniel Wingate and Trey Reddick took matters into their own hands, leading the team in total tackles with Wingate’s 11, and Reddick’s 9 in the first half.

“Daniel Wingate continues to lead us on the defensive side of the ball, showing tremendous leadership over there,” Locksley said. “I like the way that Daniel has really stepped up and playing physical in the front game today.”

The second half started with Maryland kicker Sean O’Haire converting his second field goal attempt while the offense went 3-3 in the redzone up to this point. Meanwhile, NIU wasted no time getting this game close again.

After largely eliminating the big plays on the ground, Northern Illinois broke loose for what proved to be the longest play of the day after running back Telly Johnson Jr. made a statement with a 74-yard touchdown, sending a message that this game is far from over, with it a one-possession game once again. The Terps' defense stood tall following the score, denying the Huskies' attempt for a two-point conversion.

Penalties then hurt the Huskies' defense, with two crucial mistakes to drive the Terps offense down the field all the way to the 19-yard line. The Terps would then go on to hurt themselves with their first turnover of the season, from Washington fumbling the ball and the Huskies pouncing on the loose ball to redeem themselves.

“You know these tough games, these gritty games, you kind of got to stay with it,” Washington said. “No matter how many possessions you get you got to make the best of them. We can’t have costly turnovers or anything like that.”

The Terps offense opened the fourth quarter aggressively as running back Dejuan Williams broke free for a 25-yard to set the tempo, which ultimately led to Washington’s second passing touchdown. The commitment to the ground game set up what Maryland fans had hoped a balanced offense would provide: the play action. Facing a 4^th-and-5 at the NIU 42, this time Washington linked with Shaleak Knotts for a 42-yard touchdown pass to secure a 20-9 lead with 9:20 to play, giving Knotts his second touchdown of the season and third of his career.

Maryland then continued to slow down the Huskies' offense and limit any momentum that they tried to create, holding strong on defense allowing zero fourth quarter points for NIU, finishing out strong and preventing an upset. Maryland closed the game allowing only 91 passing yards, the first time in nearly two seasons the defense has allowed less than 100 yards through the air after doing so vs. Nebraska in 2023.

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