Takeaways: Maryland snaps 13-game Big Ten losing streak with win at Purdue

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The Purdue Boilermakers (3-6, 2-4) had the ball on the Maryland (3-6, 1-5) 11-yard line with five seconds on the clock, down by five points, and a chance to spoil Maryland’s best chance of a Big Ten win this season.

Maryland freshman edge rusher fought through a double-team on the right side of the line and hit Purdue quarterback Ryan Browne, while sophomore edge rusher Sidney Stewart cleaned it up and brought him to the ground.

Maryland’s sideline erupted onto the field Saturday as the Terrapins snapped their 13-game Big Ten losing streak and earned interim head coach Aazaar Abdul-Rahim his first win with a 34-29 road victory over the Boilermakers.

The Terps had a handful of standouts, but Elee stood out as the player of the game. The five-star freshman finished the game with a career-high 2.5 sacks, and they couldn’t have come in bigger moments.

His first two sacks came on the last two plays of the first half, where he put Purdue out of field goal range and then spoiled their Hail Mary attempt to close the half.

Abdul-Rahim said he made a bet with Elee, who said he would get four sacks in Saturday's win.

"I'm not gonna tell y'all what it was, but I'm glad he got 2.5, not four, because I was not ready to complete that bet," said Abdul-Rahim.

Maryland’s defense exemplified bend-don’t-break

Maryland’s defense continues to play hard for Abdul-Rahim, who was a defensive backs coach and defensive coordinator before earning the interim head coaching job.

Purdue reached Maryland’s red zone seven times and scored just two touchdowns. Maryland forced three different field goals from inside the 10-yard line.

The relentless Maryland defensive line caused problems in short-yardage situations. Maryland finished with 13 tackles for loss and seven sacks.

Purdue had three explosive runs that combined for 107 yards. Still, Maryland was able to limit the Boilermakers to just 3.1 yards per carry.

When Maryland’s offense struggled to produce in the first half, the defense kept the Terps in the game by forcing the Boilermakers to settle for four field goals.

"When you can hold an opponent to four field goals and zero touchdowns, that's huge. It's not only it's huge for our defense, but it's huge for the momentum of the game and keeping our offense who sputtered a little bit," said Abdul-Rahim.

The bend-don’t-break mindset also showed up on the last drive. Purdue got the ball at the five-yard line with just over a minute remaining and no timeouts and marched down to the 11-yard line, where they’d ultimately get stopped.

Maryland finally showed up in the explosive play department

Maryland’s star receiver Chris Durr Jr. caught a 2nd-and-19 screen pass three yards behind the line of scrimmage at the Maryland 10-yard line, and broke four tackles while reversing the field. Once he reached the opposite sideline, it was a footrace, and nobody was catching Durr, who gave the Terps a 34-22 lead in the fourth quarter.

"He just kept going. He looked tired, but he kept going. He kept going," said Abdul-Rahim. "I try to keep a stoic look on my face on the sideline. But internally, I was excited as I don't know what."

The 87-yard touchdown was both Durr’s and quarterback Malik Washington’s career-long plays.

Maryland has been outplayed thoroughly in explosive plays through their first five games of Big Ten play. That wasn’t the case against the Purdue Boilermakers.

Maryland had three plays go for more than 40 yards compared to zero for Purdue.

Outside of Durr’s catch-and-run, the Terps put together numerous more big plays. Washington threw a 3rd-and-7 pass underneath to Na'eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding, who blazed down the sideline for a 44-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter.

Also in the third quarter, defensive end Nasir Taylor sniffed out a Purdue screen pass, and while Browne was holding onto the ball, safety Lavain Scruggs came from behind and knocked the ball loose. Maryland recovered on the Purdue two-yard line, and the offense took advantage with a touchdown.

To end the third quarter, running back DeJuan Williams took a handoff on the first play of the Maryland drive and went practically untouched on his way to a 75-yard touchdown.

That was his second-longest run of the season, behind a 94-yard touchdown in the season opener against Hampton.

Cornerback and kick returner Ricardo Cooper Jr. also got involved in the big plays. He had a 45-yard return in the first half that contributed to a Maryland touchdown drive, and a kick return touchdown that was called back due to a block-in-the-back penalty.

Malik Washington has dialed in

This was one of Washington’s cleanest games this season. He finished with 285 total yards and four total touchdowns.

He has gotten a lesser load through the air in the two games under Abdul-Rahim, and in Saturday’s win he finished with his lowest career pass attempts.

"He doesn't have to do the miraculous things if he just does his job to a high level," said Abdul-Rahim. "He allowed the talent, the other individuals, to kind of make plays."

He finished 13-for-18 with 253 yards, two touchdowns and an interception through the air. His interception was on a beautiful pass that bounced off Dorian Fleming's hands into the hands of a Purdue linebacker.

Washington got banged up midway through the third quarter and limped through most of the last quarter and a half. Still, he finished the fourth quarter with 121 passing yards–largely due to the catch-and-run by Durr—and made a clutch throw to Gladding on a third-and-long to extend Maryland’s last drive.

“As long as I have the ability and I’m able to walk, I’m going to go out there and fight for my guys every time,” said Washington.

Washington finished the game with seven consecutive completions and will look to carry that momentum into its next game, a home matchup against the Wisconsin Badgers on Saturday, Nov. 14, at noon. Maryland needs to win its next three games to become bowl eligible.

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