xtroopersCOLLEGE PARK — Maryland football might have hit rock bottom.
In front of a reported 39,371 spectators at SECU Stadium on Friday night, the Terps stumbled to a 37-10 defeat over Northwestern, a club that is currently last in the Big Ten in a number of important metrics.
For the first time since 2015, Maryland (3-3, 0-3 Big Ten) fell behind 17-0 before the half was even halfway through. The team’s second-half rally was as pathetic as its first, as they lost their first three conference games.
While Maryland was returning after a week off, Northwestern was playing on little rest following a defeat to Indiana last Saturday. However, after trailing by at least 10 points at halftime for the first two quarters, the program lost for the 33rd consecutive game.
“It’s frustrating, especially when you had two weeks to prepare,” said fifth-year senior linebacker Ruben Hyppolite II, who finished with three tackles (one for loss) and one pass breakup for a defense playing without injured safety Dante Trader Jr. “Credit to Northwestern. They played hard. We played well on defense — well enough to win. We gave up a couple big plays, but it’s challenging losing like this in this fashion.”
On October 19 at 4:00 p.m., Maryland will try to win its first game against a Big Ten team when USC (3-2, 1-2) pays a visit. But with the team’s most recent blown opportunity, there wasn’t much to be optimistic about.
Redshirt junior quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. stated, “There’s obviously a lot of things I could have done better when I go back and watch the tape.“ Had a few throws go missing. We really only have one option at this point in the season—to go inward and make some corrections so that we can unite as a team and move on, even if it’s difficult and painful. Actually, it is all we know. That will be our only course of action. We’re going to keep trying to improve and taking the appropriate actions in the right way.
For his part, Locksley remained defiant about the team’s dwindling prospects at reversing course and qualifying for a fourth consecutive bowl game.
“Nobody can be tougher on us than we will be on ourselves, than I will be on myself,” said Locksley, who took over play-calling duties from offensive coordinator Josh Gattis. “That’s just how I’m built. We’re here to build this team to compete to win championships. Nobody ever said that it would be linear. Today, we took a step back, and we’re going to find a way to turn this frustration into something positive and productive this week. It starts with the next game, which we will hopefully use some of this from today as some motivation.”
The interceptions went against what seemed to be Maryland’s offensive edge—the team recorded 25 first downs compared to Northwestern’s nine and had possession of the ball for almost thirty-three minutes. For the first time this year, Edwards passed for 296 yards but only completed 28 of 51 throws, failing to finish with a touchdown pass.
For the team’s “Blackout” motif, fans and students dressed in black, and the Wildcats (3-3, 1-2) were meant to symbolize the lamb sacrificed.
In terms of points per game (18.6), yards per game (302.8), red-zone touchdown percentage (50%) and third-down conversion rate (29.7%), Northwestern’s offense was tied for 16th place in the Big Ten. Comparably outclassed, its defense finished 15th in yards per game (347.4) and 12th in points per game (20.8).
But someone forgot to give the script to the Wildcats, who opened the scoring on a 9-yard touchdown run by redshirt sophomore quarterback Jack Launch with 8:03 left in the first quarter. The series included a 40-yard pass from Launch to graduate student wide receiver A.J. Henning on second-and-6 at the offense’s 46-yard line.
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