Taulia Tagovailoa stepped back into the pocket and looked downfield. He cocked back his arm to launch the throw, but the rain made the ball slip out as it left his fingertips. The play went dead, and Maryland realized this would not be an easy football game.

Maryland traveled to face the Wisconsin Badgers this week in yet another Big Ten conference matchup. The Terps were on the hunt for their first win against Wisconsin, having not played the Badgers since 2017. 

Unfortunately for Maryland, Wisconsin was slightly favored heading into the game and managed to hold onto its four-game win streak against the Terps.

The rainy weather conditions in Madison made for an especially tough football game. Throwing the ball was an apparent struggle for both Maryland and Wisconsin early in the first quarter, with both quarterbacks having to combat wind speeds reaching 25 mph.

“We’ve studied the weather all week long, and it’s not like it was a surprise to us,” head coach Mike Locksley said in his post-game presser. “But we did not handle it as well as we thought we should, [Wisconsin] did a better job on their end.”

It wasn’t until Wisconsin’s third drive that points finally appeared on the scoreboard. RB Braelon Allen broke free with a 9-yard rush into the endzone. The extra point was made, putting the Badgers up 7-0 with under two minutes to play in the first quarter.

With the weather forcing both teams to rely heavily on the ground game, a handoff from QB Graham Mertz to RB Isaac Gurendo led to an 89-yard touchdown run that put the Badgers up by two scores later in the second quarter. 

Wisconsin’s pass rush proved too overwhelming for Maryland early in the game. At the half, Tagovailoa only managed 22 passing yards in three of six completed pass attempts. He had already been sacked three times.

Maryland’s running back corps failed to come out of its shell in the first half. The Terps averaged just 1.5 yards per carry and totaled 34 yards. Wisconsin, on the other hand, averaged 8.1 yards per carry and racked up a whopping 211 yards.

“They’re a good team,” defensive lineman Greg Rose said. “They scheme the same; they block the same no matter what defense you’re in. They played hard for all four quarters, and I give them all the credit.”

With about a minute left in the half, a pass interference penalty put Wisconsin on Maryland’s 30-yard line with a first down. Wisconsin managed a field goal attempt from Nate Van Zelst to put the Badgers up 17-0 at the half.

A series of run plays to start the second half placed Maryland in Wisconsin’s red zone. A sack on Tagovailoa backed up the Terps for a third and long, but the drive ultimately ended with a kick from Chad Ryland to finally put points on the board for Maryland.

After the rain let up in the second half, Wisconsin became far more confident in its receiving corps. Another pass interference penalty put the Badgers in the red zone late in the third, and the drive ended with another kick from Van Zelst to bring the score to 20-3.

Tagovailoa started the fourth quarter with his first interception of the game, which was picked off by safety Hunter Wohler. Wisconsin had the chance to increase their lead, but the Terps prevented a score. 

“I tried to step up in the pocket and tried to get the ball over number 24, and he made a great play on it,” Tagovailoa said. “On those things, I have to make the decision to take off and run or take the sack instead of forcing something like that.”

A field goal from Van Zelst gave Wisconsin a 20-point lead with six minutes to go in the game. Maryland’s chances of winning were grim in what may have been its most quiet performance of the season.

With under a minute left to play, Tagovailoa completed a 5-yard pass to WR Tai Felton to give Maryland its first and only touchdown of the game. 

Maryland took the extra point, bringing the final score to 23-10.