Quick takeaways: Maryland football grinds out 20-9 win vs. Northern Illinois

Ahmed Ghafir
4 days ago
3 min read

It wasn’t pretty, but Maryland football did just enough on Friday night to move to 2-0 after taking down Northern Illinois, 20-9. Quick takeaways from SECU Stadium:

QB-TE connection

Maryland’s offense started slow on Friday night, punting on two of its first three drives of the game, but it’d be TE Dorian Fleming to provide the spark. That started on the second offensive drive after QB Malik Washington connected with Fleming on three consecutive successful passing plays, first an 8-yard gain before picking up two yards for the first down. Then came Fleming on over the middle, shedding the first two tackling attempts before barreling into just outside the redzone.

Fleming then went quiet the rest of the night, though nearly recorded his second receiving touchdown of the night after a miscommunication in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter led to a drop by the transfer tight end in the endzone with WR Octavian Smith wide open behind him.

Washington, who nearly matched his week one passing total after finishing 19-of-35 for 254 yards and a pair of TDs, found WR Jalil Farooq for a team-high five catches on seven targets while Shaleak Knotts, who found the endzone for a 46-yard TD on fourth down, recorded his second touchdown of the season and third of his career as he makes his case for WR3. But in a game where the passing game wasn’t asked to do a lot, Fleming cemented his case as a playmaker through a quiet night

Run game remains a question mark

One week after Maryland’s passing attack found its groove to lead the offense to a blowout win, week two marked the chance for the rushing attack to gain momentum with Big Ten play gradually approaching. RB DeJuan Williams drew his first career start as he and RB Nolan Ray spearheaded duties all night, but the big plays were missing all night. WR Octavian Smith accounted for one of two runs over ten yards all night after picking up the first down to spark the offense on what proved to be the first touchdown of the day, but beyond that, the backs struggled to break free.

The good news? Maryland produced just two negative plays on the ground, but the balance that head coach Mike Locksley and OC Pep Hamilton have routinely pointed to as a goal is still missing. Maryland also used QB Malik Washington on just one designed run play, a four-yard gain in the third quarter, with all eyes on the running backs emerging after averaging just 3.2 yards per carry in the win.

Run defense has ebbs and flows

The headline on defense for Maryland football in week one was the strength of the secondary after six different players reeled in an interception. In week two, it was the run game who needed to step up with a chance to prove themselves against a run-dominant NIU team.

For the most part, Maryland’s defense held up after allowing just two runs over ten yards and allowing under two yards per carry in the first half. With Cam Rice and Eyan Thomas drawing the start for the second consecutive week, Maryland linebackers came up big as both Daniel Wingate and Trey Reddick reset career marks. Wingate secured his third consecutive game with at least ten tackles, while Reddick set career highs in both solo and total tackles – through just 30 minutes.

Wingate would go on to record a new career-high with 14 total tackles as Reddick notched his first double-digit tackle game, though it was freshman DL Zahir Mathis who flashed early with 1.5 TFLs and four tackles. Still,

The first blemish came midway through the third quarter when NIU RB Telly Johnson broke loose on an inside zone, shedding initial contact and breaking free of Jalen Huskey’s pursuit for a 74-yard touchdown to turn the game back into a one-possession game.

Notes

CB Jamare Glasker left the game early with a lower leg injury, per the broadcast, and did not return to the game
K Sean O’Haire missed his first career field goal, moving to 16-of-17 in his career
NIU converted seven of their 20 third down attempts, but converted four of their six fourth down attempts
One week after finishing with 14 penalties for 100 yards, Maryland posted just three penalties for 30 yards
Maryland’s 16 points allowed over the last few weeks marks the fewest points allowed by the program since 2001

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