Maryland football came into Saturday in need of a statement win. But ahead of them was an emerging juggernaut in No. 2 Indiana. 

After three consecutive one-possession losses, Maryland failed to keep it close this time, as it was dominated in all facets of the game in its 55-10 loss at Secu Stadium on Saturday. 

Here are the takeaways from the game. 

Malik Washington looked like a freshman

Through seven games this season, it was hard to notice that Washington was in his first collegiate season. Like every quarterback, the true freshman had moments where he struggled, but always made plays to keep the Terps in games. That was not the case against Indiana. 

Early on, Maryland was hanging around. The defense stepped up with an interception on the game’s first possession, handing the Terps an instant redzone opportunity. But they gained just two yards and settled for a field goal. 

From there, the offense did nothing positive. In the first half, Washington threw two interceptions. Both came on poor decisions with the ball, and could have been more as the Hoosiers batted multiple passes at the line of scrimmage. 

Maryland failed to put together a sustained scoring drive in the first half and gained just 86 total yards — only two came on the ground, as every yard gained continues to look difficult. 

After a 55-yard touchdown pass to open the second half, Washington had his worst play of the day. He rolled out to the right, and had the ball stolen from him, and the Hoosiers ran it all the way back for a touchdown. 

Maryland failed to score the rest of the game, but head coach Michael Locksley doesn’t want the blame on his freshman quarterback.

“I hate putting the kid in that situation where it’s all on him and it wasn’t,” Locksley said. “It’s on me as a coach to make sure we have the ability when he’s not at his best and have answers.” 

Hoosiers dominated the ground game

Maryland and Indiana have been complete opposites in the production of their ground games this season — and Saturday was the perfect encapsulation of that. 

The Terps came into the day averaging 101.3 rushing yards per game, good for 128th out of 134 FBS teams. The Hoosiers came in tenth in the nation with an average of 230.5 yards per game — and managed to blow past that number. 

The Terps have struggled all year to gain any consistency on the field, but Saturday was their worst showing yet. Indiana has proven its status as a top team in the country, but getting outgained by over 300 yards on the ground never gives a team a chance. 

From running backs pinballing off defenders to untouched quarterback sneaks leading to long gains, the Hoosiers ran for 367 yards and four touchdowns on the ground compared to Maryland’s 37.

“We weren’t very good running the football. We weren’t very efficient when we tried to run the football,” Locksley said. “The run game against Indiana’s defense wasn’t something that they’ve given … and that’s where there’s a lot of pressure on young quarterback to have to make some plays.”

Each score looked easy for the Hoosiers. Quarterback Fernando Mendoza ran untouched up the middle for the first touchdown. Running backs Kaelon Black and former Terp Roman Hemby pinballed their way for 31 and 16-yard touchdowns, respectively, while Khobie Martin put the icing on the cake in the fourth quarter. 

Maryland finally lost the turnover battle

The Terps had avoided beating themselves up with turnovers all season long. They came into the game with the best turnover margin in the country, plus 11.

But against the best team they’ve faced all season, the Terps offense caught the turnover bug, while the Hoosiers played a clean game after the opening drive interception. Maryland lost the turnover battle five to one, including costly fumbles that put the game out of reach in the third quarter. 

Indiana returned one for a touchdown, and on the very next offensive play, Octavian Smith Jr. had it punched loose, leading to another Hoosier score. 

“In that third quarter [Malik] put one on the ground, put the second one on the ground, and then we had the turnover on downs,” Locksley said. “When you play the number two team in the country … ​​this is what happens.”