MIKE BURKE
Allegany Communications Sports
Aside from losing my FOR AMUSEMENT ONLY football card on a push in the Miami-Florida State game, it wasn’t a bad weekend. It just would have been easier to have lost my AMUSEMENT on a blowout.
Speaking of which, just as recent Maryland football sellouts, which we can count on one hand, have played out, Saturday’s frustrating 24-20 collapse to Washington is the type of loss that could send the entitled Maryland fans who graced SECU Stadium with their rare presence back into hibernation.
It was such a bad loss, but head coach Mike Locksley and his staff must prevent it from becoming a demoralizing loss for this talented, yet thin, young football team.
Maryland (4-1 overall, 1-1 Big Ten) led Washington, 20-0, with 3:45 left in the third quarter before the Huskies reeled off 24 unanswered points to send Locksley-coached Terps teams to an inexplicable 0-10 in games following a bye week.
Maryland was out-coached, or at least out-schemed, the big plays that were made through the first four games were not made and tackling, particularly in the second half, was atrocious, mainly because the Maryland offense failed to keep its defense off the field for long periods of time. Plus, the ejection of freshman defensive end Sidney Stewart for targeting and some other nicks and limps, exposed the lack of depth in the young, talented Terps defense.
And just for old times sake, the Big Ten officials continued to do their best to rival Big 12 officials in taking over a game, as the targeting call on Stewart was a 50-50 – that is, unless you’re Penn State, who wasn’t penalized for the same play last week against Oregon. (And talk about bad days on Saturday … Penn State? Oy! Oh, well.)
The Maryland offense could not run the clock or sustain drives when it needed to the most. In fact, after using it effectively, the Terps abandoned their running game early, making their 20-0 halftime lead tenuous at best, as on their first three possessions on which they reached the red zone running the ball, they stopped and had to settle for field goals on the first and the third possessions, leaving points on the field that would come back to bite them in the end.
The Terps rushed for four yards per carry in the first quarter, six total yards in the second, eight in the third and two in the fourth. Leading 20-3 with 15 minutes left, Maryland ran the ball one time the rest of the way, while Washington piled up 12 first downs.
For me, the lack of a running game was the biggest issue. With such a big early lead, they should have done their best to keep the clock moving rather than throwing 49 times. Perhaps the quick-hitters were meant to simulate running plays. Perhaps Maryland doesn’t believe they can run the football. Then again, they can’t if they won’t try to.
Locksley said his team will have many lessons to take from this disaster, which, hopefully, will include not allowing teams to hang around. Settling for field goals early was a major blown opportunity for Maryland. And enough with the screens every other play, particularly with Octavian Smith as the lead blocker. Let quarterback Malik Washington, who finally looked like a freshman, push the ball downfield. He needs to use his legs more on the run-pass option to keep defenses honest as he did when he scored Maryland’s first touchdown of the game.
The Huskies deserve credit because they absolutely stole one that shouldn’t have been close enough to to steal, but once momentum shifted late in the second quarter, it was all Washington the rest of the way.
It’s a game Maryland can’t lose, especially in front of a sellout crowd when a win would have meant so much for the program and the university.
Glass half-full stuff is Maryland dominating a borderline top 25 team midway through the third quarter, showing one and all the possibilities that exist. Glass completely empty stuff is the Terps still not knowing how to finish an opponent.
The Big Ten, as it proved again on Saturday, is never going to do Maryland any favors, but Locksley continues to take the high road because his young team must do the same and not put themselves into the position of needing favors.
“Our players know we ain’t going to be given anything,” Locksley said. “So we’re going to take it or earn it, and we didn’t do that today.”
It’s a painful lesson, but Maryland can’t let it linger because there’s another big home game coming up against Nebraska. At the same time, they shouldn’t flush the Saturday collapse either. They should learn from it and grow from it.
With the arrival of new athletic director Jim Smith, there is more positivity surrounding Maryland athletics than there has been in a long time, beginning with football.
The spirit and pride that filled the campus on Saturday was real and should remain a constant. Maryland needs to keep pushing forward, not look back.
There is a future in College Park, and it can be a very bright one.
Mike Burke writes about sports and other stuff for Allegany Communications. He began covering sports for the Prince George’s Sentinel in 1981 and joined the Cumberland Times-News sports staff in 1984, serving as sports editor for over 30 years. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on X @MikeBurkeMDT