Takeaways: Malik Washington leads Maryland to a statement win vs. UConn

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Malik Washington reminds everybody why he is so highly touted with a dominant performance in Maryland football’s 2026 road opener.

Maryland made a statement in their first big test of the season on the road against UConn, winning 38-14 behind a dominant second half.

Washington completed 18 passes in a row in the second half on his way to a 347-yard performance. His 34-of-41 (82.9%) completion percentage was the highest of his career, while it ranks fourth in program history among quarterbacks with minimum 30 attempts.

The last time the Terrapins and the Huskies met was in the shell for the season opener in 2024. Maryland easily handled the Huskies in a 50-7 win.

UConn is in its first season with new head coach Jason Candle. Candle coached Toledo from 2015 to 2025 and has won at least eight games in each of his four seasons. He has brought over 21 players from the Toledo program, and the team has 65 new players in total.

Maryland entered the game as just 11.5-point favorites but took control of the game in the second quarter and never looked back.

Malik Washington looked in control

Washington was one of Maryland’s weak points in the 62-0 week one win. He completed just 61% of his passes despite throwing a lot of screens and swing passes. He missed passes that he wouldn’t have missed last season.

The sophomore shut down any concerns that were starting to build with one of his best performances of his career. While offensive coordinator Clint Trickett still relied on a lot of screens and swing passes, Washington did a great job of executing the offense and looked great when he threw it past the sticks.

He finished the first half passing 18-of-24 for 209 passing yards. He connected with Na'eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding for a 60-yard touchdown and the second-longest completion of his career in the first quarter.

He was 11-of-11 for 139 passing yards in the third quarter. This helped Maryland complete two touchdown drives and extend the lead to 31-14.

Washington threw his second passing touchdown of the day to Chris Durr Jr. before being pulled in the fourth quarter, showing himself to be much more comfortable within the offense in an encouraging week two jump.

Maryland’s run game struggled without DeJuan Williams

DeJuan Williams went down with an injury in the second quarter of the season opener against Hampton. He finished the game with 116 yards on just three rushes. He is expected to get the most touches out of the backfield and has become a threat in the pass game as well.

Maryland rushed for 125 yards on 3.5 yards per carry against UConn after going for 365 yards on 9.1 yards per carry against Hampton.

Sophomore Iverson Howard took over the starting running back duties and ran for 55 yards and a touchdown on 14 attempts. He went down with an injury in the third quarter after scoring a touchdown, which gave the Terrapins a 24-7 lead.

Though head coach Mike Locksley said postgame that Howard was available to return and will be available for next week, all of the rushes went to redshirt freshman Harry Dalton III. He was primarily being used as a short-yardage back before the injuries to Williams and Howard. He finished the game with 17 rushes for 48 yards and two touchdowns. He averaged just 2.8 yards per rush.

Maryland continues to show an improved rushing attack in the red zone, adding three touchdowns against the Huskies. Maryland has already matched their 2025 total of nine rushing touchdowns on the season.

Maryland’s wide receivers had a dominant outing

Maryland’s wide receiver core was a problem in the 2025 season. No quarterback in the country threw more dropped passes than Washington last season.

They added transfers Na'eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding from Old Dominion University and Chris Durr Jr. from the University of Wyoming in the offseason, who dominated against the Huskies.

Gladding finished the game with 8 catches for 130 yards and a touchdown. He also helped Maryland get out of their own 10-yard line with a pass interference call in the second quarter.

Durr had four completions of over 15 yards and was a big part of the success from Maryland’s wide receiver screens. He finished with 10 completions for 103 yards and a touchdown.

Gladding and Durr became the first set of wide receivers to gain 100 receiving yards each for Maryland since 2023, when Tai Felton and Jeshaun Jones did it against Indiana.

Kaleb Webb also had a good game, making two beautiful catches in a third-quarter touchdown drive. He finished the game with five catches for 60 yards. Yet the portal duo accounted for just over half of the team's catches in addition to just shy of two-thirds of the receiving yards, proving why they've drawn consistent buzz as playmakers since the spring.

Maryland's defense continues to control the line of scrimmage

The defense showed cracks against the Huskies, but the defensive line continued their dominance.

Five-star freshman Zion Elee made his first big play as a Terp. He showed off his speed around the edge in the season opener, recording two pressures. Against UConn, he used his explosiveness to get around the left tackle and force a strip sack that the Terps recovered.

Sophomore Sidney Stewart also made his first big play of the season similarly, getting around the left tackle and stripping the ball. The Terps weren’t able to fall on it for a second time.

Junior transfer Derrick LeBlanc had another dominant game, recording two sacks. LeBlanc played just 12 snaps in the season opener but recorded a tackle for loss and a pass deflection.

In the season opener, Hampton finished the game with just 10 rushing yards on 31 carries. UConn finished with just 67 rushing yards on 31 carries, for just 2.2 yards per carry. The defensive line finished with five sacks, two tackles for loss and two forced fumbles.

UConn’s two touchdowns came on defensive breakdowns in the secondary, where receivers were left open behind the defense. Besides those two plays, Maryland’s defense has looked absolutely dominant through its first four quarters.

Now Maryland prepares for one of their biggest non-conference games in recent memory against Virginia Tech. That game will take place at home at 7:30 p.m. EST.

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