Takeaways from Maryland's season-closing 38-28 loss to Michigan State

Chase King
6 days ago
4 min read

The Maryland Terrapins (4-8, 1-8) played their final game of the season against the Michigan State Spartans (4-8, 1-8) in Ford Field, where they lost 38-28, extending their losing streak to eight.

Entering the game, both the Terps and the Spartans were looking for a strong finish to a disappointing season, as neither team had lived up to preseason expectations and both were in the midst of losing streaks.

Michigan State lost all eight of its conference games entering the game against the Terps, after having a flawless non-conference schedule, and the Terps lost seven straight conference games after a 4-0 start, entering the game.

Three takeaways from the Terps losses:

Malik Washington can still bring this program to new heights

Freshman QB Malik Washington led the Terps ' offense to its second-best point total against a high-major team this season, and it all came with minimal production in the run game.

Washington ended the loss, throwing 38-for-61 with 459 passing yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

His 459 passing yards are the second most in a single game in Maryland football history, and the most from a freshman in program history.

The four-star, highly touted QB was hoped to be a program-building piece, and despite the rough year, Washington has shown promise in his true freshman year.

“We got some young players, valuable experience that will lay a foundation, that I think we will be able to build upon,” said Head Coach Mike Locksley.

Washington ended his freshman campaign with 2963 passing yards, 17 touchdowns and 9 interceptions.

“Just listening to him talk, the maturity and the poise. And his overall classiness that he has, um, just really excited for his future, and the rest of this Terps offense,” said redshirt senior offensive lineman Isaiah Wright on Malik Washington.

Defensive inconsistencies

Maryland has allowed 34 points per game during its eight-game conference losing streak and once again struggled against a Michigan State team that is averaging 21 points per game on the season.

The defense once again struggled against the run, allowing 161 rushing yards on 5.1 yards per carry, including two explosive runs.

Maryland’s defense was in a key spot after the offense failed to convert on fourth down near the end of the second half. The defense went onto the field with 59 seconds left in the half and needed to maintain their 10-point deficit.

But instead, Michigan St. drove 75 yards in 55 seconds and scored a touchdown, extending the Terps' deficit to 17.

Once again, with two minutes left in the game, the defense was leaned on to make a stop, this time with the game on the line. Maryland was down by three points and needed to stop Michigan State from getting into the end zone to extend the game.

They got Michigan State into a fourth-down situation, but they decided to go for it on fourth-and-seven from the Maryland 10-yard line. The defense couldn’t get the stop, and Michigan State would leave with the win, scoring 38 points in the process.

The defense, a strong point at the start of the season, had a lack of depth and saw a decrease in play as the season went on due to injuries and wear and tear.

Key pieces of the defense, like junior linebacker Daniel Wingate and freshman edge rushers Sidney Stewart and Zahir Mathis, faced injuries throughout the season that they had to fight through.

“That's through recruiting. We have a plan in place to try to build our depth. It starts today. Most of it for building depth starts with retaining the current roster,” said Locksley.

Penalties and undisciplined play

Maryland, which had fewer than 47.2 penalty yards a game and 38.3 penalty yards a game in its last three games, ended the loss with eight penalties for 75 yards.

Penalties killed the Terps, as they kept the Michigan State offense going and put the offense in a bad spot.

Early in the game, a holding call wiped out a 20-yard rush by Nolan Ray, and the drive would halt. The drive following that one, a false start, would give the Terps a third-and-14, which would kill their chances of converting, effectively halting the drive.

The Terps also had two costly illegal blindside blocks. One of them came in the second half when Nolan Ray delivered a blindside block that put the Terps in a 2nd-and-20. The Terps would fail a 4th-and-2 after the penalty.

Another blindside block occurred as the Terps got an interception in the fourth quarter, which pushed the Terps' starting field position back.

One of the biggest penalties of the game occurred with less than three minutes left in the game, while Michigan State was driving down the field for the eventual game-closing touchdown. Sophomore linebacker Trey Reddick received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, which put Michigan State on the 13-yard line and in a better position to put the game away.

The Terps had only had more penalties in a game once this season, in their season opener against FAU, where they ended with 14 penalties and 100 penalty yards.

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