Maryland Vs. UConn: Four Stats And What They Show

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Maryland fell behind early in Saturday’s contest with UConn, but after tying the game thanks to a 60-yard touchdown to WR Naheem Abdul Raheem Gladding, the Terps never looked back on the way to a 38-14 win. Things were timid for Maryland early in East Hartford, but the passing attack came alive, the defensive line held their own, and some new transfer receivers became stars in the making. The Terrapins now extend their nation leading non-conference winning streak to 20 games (a bonus stat for you); a great accomplishment for Mike Locksley and speaks to his domination of out of conference opponents over the last 8 seasons. We dive into some stats from Saturday’s contest and what to derive from them.

Portal WRs Live Up to Expectations

The struggles from the wide receiver room were apparent in 2025 with drops and lack of explosiveness the main issues. A large emphasis was placed on finding these attributes in the portal and Saturday those traits finally started to show. Both Chris Durr Jr. and Na’eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding were brought in with the idea of efficiency and explosion. After a solid but not outstanding from both last week, the pair broke out against the Huskies. Gladding finished with 8 receptions for 130 yards and a touchdown while Durr finished with 10 receptions for 103 yards and a touchdown. Both were fantastic pass catchers with the pair both bringing in multiple balls that seemed difficult to come down with; Durr with a highlight one-handed catch in the first half being the true eye opener. The duo was constantly getting open, fighting through contact, and making catches that would be drops last year. It is encouraging that Maryland may have potentially grabbed two diamonds in the rough out of the portal to make contested catches and make a true difference on the field. Kaleb Webb rebounded from last week as well with 60 yards of his own including an impressive one handed snag and another high-point 30-yard catch on third down. With Malik still a little inconsistent with ball placement, it was the wide receiver room that has shown that it may be a massive improvement from last year.

Maryland Has Allowed 77 Net Rushing Yards Through Two Weeks

The depth of the defensive line was a position group where confidence was high heading into the season. Last week the interior dominated Hampton with only 10 rushing yards allowed and 5 sacks. The question was how would the front look against increased competition and a mobile quarterback. The answer was again: dominant. UConn was only able to muster 2.2 yards per carry on 31 attempts with the interior of the defensive line swallowing a majority of running plays at or just around the line of scrimmage. Sidney Stewart was back to freshman self with 6 tackles, 1.5 TFLs, a sack, and a forced fumble. Stewart was also excellent in run support off the edge with excellent reach to slow the running back down multiple times for his teammates to clean up the mess. Derrick LeBlanc has been a monster through two games as well with 2 sacks added in this game and Eyan Thomas also mixed in some strong run tackles. The depth has really shown with Bryce Jenkins and DD Holmes combining for a sack, Joel Starlings with a strong run tackle, and the linebacking core putting up strong tackling numbers in support. Zion Elee flashed with his first superhuman play of the year with a crucial strip sack when the game was tied at 7. The depth really showed out as the game played on as the rotation really started to wear down the Huskies and quarterback Kalieb Osborne. Osborne had his moments on the run including a 26 yard run but was held to 30 yards rushing while the running backs only mustered 39 yards of their own. Depth is the name of the game and the front has smothered the run and got to the quarterback through two weeks.

Malik Washington's 82.9% Completion Percentage Ranks Fourth in Program History

Washington underwhelmed last week against a much inferior opponent in Hampton. Entering UConn week, Washington was looking to inspire more confidence going forward with some better play and accuracy. On paper, Washington did just that going 34 of 41 for 347 yards and 2 touchdowns. However, early on it looked suspect for Washington again as Maryland kept going with an RPO heavy approach where a lot of balls were off the mark and receivers began to drop balls and have to make impressive catches. Washington eventually settled in after finding Gladding for a 60-yard score. Throughout the game some balls were still out of the receivers catch radiuses which allowed for multiple impressive catches from Durr, Gladding, and Kaleb Webb. The receiver core did Washington no favors last year, but the new crop of pass catchers seem to have Malik’s best interest at play. Washington flashed some incredible ability including an acrobatic side arm throw at the end of the first half as well as completing 18 passes in a row, a new Marylnad record. Washington found a groove late in the first half into the second half and was efficient with his throws. As mentioned previously, his receivers helped keep the completion percentage high but Washington took a large step from last week’s performance. Dialing in some accuracy as the season progresses could lead to Washington being one of the elite quarterbacks in the conference.

Zero Touches For Zymear Smith

Zymear Smith was a top-100 recruit last cycle and got limited playing time as a freshman last year. The prized possession from the high-school ranks flashed with some real speed last week in one of his lone touches that ended up being called back. Smith is mostly unproven but has potential to be a true weapon for Maryland. Smith sat on the bench for Maryland with no touches against UConn. Finding creative touches for Smith may bring a unique element to the offense that is lacking a change of pace. With injuries to the running back room piling up perhaps Smith can get involved in the run game. In today’s age of the sport with NIL and the portal it is essential for a program like Maryland to find playing time for their highest rated recruits within their first few seasons. Maryland can not afford for a player such as Smith to transfer without seeing what he can offer.

Overall, a solid victory for Maryland after a somewhat shaky start. The defensive line overpowered the opposition as the game went on, Malik dialed in, and the receivers broke out in a big way. Next up, Virginia Tech comes to College Park next Saturday night in what is perhaps the biggest game in determining Mike Locksley’s future with the program.

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