By W. Wade DeVinney

When Maryland football went into the locker room at halftime against Rutgers, it held a 10-point lead built from a defense creating turnovers and an offense capitalizing off of them.

Two hours later, the Terps stared dejectedly at the scoreboard as the officials upheld an out-of-bounds call erasing a potential game-tying touchdown by Dorian Fleming. 

Maryland allowed 24 unanswered points in the second half to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and extended its embarrassing losing streak to five games, dropping the contest 37-30. 

But after a second-half defense collapse, Maryland’s game came down to the final three minutes of the game, now down by 14. The Terps got a score, and for the only time in the second half, a stop after a Rutgers offensive lineman was called for a false start. 

The Terps had two chances. First, a third-down pass to Williams, who had nobody between himself and the end zone – it was dropped. Then, what would have been a heroic fourth-down touchdown catch from Fleming, his foot looked to be less than an inch out of bounds. 

Had the call on the field been a touchdown, it is possible the Terps would’ve forced overtime. 

Washington acknowledged that the fact that the game came down to the final play was a failure on the team’s part.

“At the end of the day, you don’t want to leave it up to the officials,” Washington said. “You want to go out there and play the game, execute, and not let it be in anyone else’s hands.”

Head coach Michael Locksley also acknowledged getting outplayed, particularly on offense.

“They executed. They limited explosive plays, and they used the clock,” Locksley said. “We had drive opportunities in the third and fourth quarter, but when they shrink the game on offense, you can’t afford the three-and-outs.”

However, it was the defense that collapsed under the Rutgers run game in the second half. The Scarlet Knights gained 99 rushing yards in the second half alone and scored twice on the ground.

This happened despite the defense knowing that Rutgers was planning to run the ball more in the second half.

“We knew they really had a few options; it was run the ball or run the ball,” Sydney Stewart said. “So we knew they were going to run the ball.”

Zion Elee was a non-factor in the second half of the game.

It was Washington’s fourth consecutive game passing for under 53%. Though he seemed comfortable delivering short passes and attacking the flats, he made some poor throwing decisions on his deep throws both against the sidelines and over the middle of the field.

It was a “tale of two halves,” according to Locksley. It’s true, the Terps had a good first half on all three phases. It didn’t have time, possession, or the ability to get a stop or execution in the second half. 

Everything was clicking for Maryland on both sides of the ball for the first two quarters. Malik Washington threw for two touchdowns and threw a daring block against a Rutgers linebacker to clear the way for Chris Durr Jr. to score a third touchdown on a double reverse.

Even the defense was strong in the first half. 

Despite allowing two passing touchdowns to KJ Duff, the Terps defense not only looked strong in the first half but actually helped extend the lead.

Early in the second quarter, Longeran threw a pass to his left intended for Duff, but it bounced off Duff’s hand as the ball sailed behind him and into the arms of cornerback Jamare Glasker. The Terps needed less than three minutes to capitalize on the turnover, ending with Washington finding Dorian Fleming in the end zone for a two-yard passing touchdown.

Glasker continued his strong game after an extra point attempt from Rutgers. KJ Duff had caught his second touchdown of the day on a nine-yard out route, but linebacker Trey Reddick blocked the extra point attempt, allowing Glasker to scoop up the ball and run 97 yards into the other end zone for two points. 

And then the second half happened. First, Sean O’Haire missed a field goal. Then Daniel Wingate got turned around in the back of the end zone and gave up a passing touchdown to running back Clay Thevenin. Then, two more rushing touchdowns. It was too much to handle, but the result is still a second-half collapse and yet another loss. 

It’s been bleak, and Saturday was another example of how Maryland’s been a disaster.

The Terps are approaching their bye week, which may be the toughest seven days for Locksley’s Maryland head coaching career to survive. Locksley, however, refused to entertain the idea.

“I won’t keep getting into that,” Locksley said. “The only thing I’m concerned about is doing my very best for them until they tell me I can’t.”

Under Locksley, the Terps have now been outscored in the second half 92-13, and in four Big 10 games his defense has given up an average of 43 points. Chants of “Fire Locksley” have sprung up from among the student section. But even Locksley admitted that things have not changed.

“Talking about what we need to do isn’t the answer,” Locksley said.

Whether Locksley will retain the headset in two weeks remains to be seen.