Preview: Maryland football looks to end two-game slide at UCLA

diggsreport
Oct 17
3 min read

Maryland (4-2, 1-2 B1G) at UCLA (2-4, 2-1 B1G)

When: Saturday, October 18 | 7:00 p.m. ET / 4:00 p.m. PT

Where: The Rose Bowl

Watch: FS1 Noah Reed, Robert Smith

Listen: 105.7 FM (Balt) / 980 AM (DC) - Johnny Holliday, Steve Suter

Betting: Maryland +3 | O/U: 51.5 (DraftKings)

Over the last two weeks, Maryland has been outscored 30-0 in the fourth quarter and is now heading into a road game against UCLA on a two-game losing streak. UCLA, meanwhile, has seemed to hit its stride, winning its last two games following a 0-4 start. Their first win was an upset of the then-number-two team in the country, Penn State.

Now, the two teams meet for just the third time in history, and the first since 1955, as Maryland is set for its first game inside the Rose Bowl. The winner of this game will have a 2-1 advantage in the series, but more importantly, will the Terps stop their losing streak and sit at 5-2 going into the second bye week, or can the Bruins come out of the game with their third straight win?

Both teams came into the season with a new signal-caller with high expectations. While one was off to a roaring start, the other looked like fool’s gold. UCLA’s Nico Iamaleava was off to a rough start as the team started 0-4. However, following the firing of head coach Deshaun Foster, he and the team found their footing in their wins over Penn State and Michigan State. Iamaleava, for his part, has had five touchdowns to zero interceptions combined in those games. Freshmen edge rushers Sidney Stewart and Zahir Mathis might be facing their biggest challenge yet in making him feel uncomfortable. Nico is also the team’s leading rusher, having 335 yards on the ground and four of the team’s six rushing touchdowns. Javian Thomas and Jalen Berger hold the other two, while Anthony Woods is second on the team in rushing. With the Bruins rushing for almost five yards a carry on the season, Maryland’s rushing defense gets a chance to redeem itself following Emmett Thomas’ 176-yard performance against them last week. Wide receiver Kwazi Gilmer is the only Bruin to have over 20 catches and 200 yards.

As for Maryland quarterback Malik Washington, the freshman and midseason freshman All-American selection has continued to impress since his first college start, having over 1,500 yards with ten touchdowns and just two interceptions through the first six games. However, the bigger news for Maryland last week was that they finally got their running game going. Against Nebraska, the Terps rushed for 130 yards and had their first run of over 20 yards. They will have a chance at a repeat performance, as UCLA is giving 195.8 yards on the ground, the worst mark in the Big Ten this year. Look for running back Nolan Ray to be a factor in this game early and often as Maryland looks to capitalize against a Bruin run defense that ranks last in the conference and 126^th nationally in yards allowed per game.

Linebackers JonJon Vaughs and Isaiah Chisom will have something to say about that, though. Both are in the top 25 nationally in tackles per game and are ready to cause havoc when the opportunity arises. In the secondary, Rodick Pleasant leads the team in passes defended, while Key Lawrence is the veteran who leads the unit. One more note on UCLA’s defense is that they have not picked off a pass in 2025.

The last two weeks have been stressful for everyone involved with Maryland football, as they could easily be 6-0 going into this game. The key for this week will be to finish.

“We went over things that we already talked about as a team, just finishing [in] the fourth quarter, giving it our all, having guys step up from younger guys stepping into bigger roles. Just having guys be able to be ready for that opportunity when it’s called,” said linebacker Daniel Wingate ahead of the week eight matchup.

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