With just under 10 minutes remaining Friday, Maryland football head coach Michael Locksley faced a critical fourth-down decision on Northern Illinois’ 42-yard line. 

After Maryland struggled to find any momentum offensively all night, Locksley entrusted freshman quarterback Malik Washington with the game in the balance. It paid off. 

On fourth-and-five, Washington found Shaleak Knotts wide open downfield and trotted into the endzone for a critical touchdown to extend its lead to double digits. After struggling to pull away much of the second half, the Terps gained some much-needed insurance en route to a 20-9 win over Northern Illinois.

“Simple high-low match concept, put it a bit on the outside. Had a one-on-one opportunity up top. And I trust [Knotts],” Washington said. “I like him as a player, I love him as a person and I just trusted him on that play. He made an amazing play.” 

Maryland’s defense led the way Friday night as the offense struggled, neutralizing the Huskies’ offense aside from one explosive touchdown run. 

Washington did his defense no favors after he dropped the ball while going down for a sack and fumbled it away. But the defensive unit stood tall as it did all night and forced a punt.

“I saw Malik [Washington] when the ball goes on the ground, the defense coming over saying, we got you,” Locksley said.

Northern Illinois’s ground game was deafening. The Huskies ran the ball constantly with 45 rush attempts compared to only 17 through the air. 

Maryland’s defense filled all of the running lanes for Northern Illinois’ rushing attack — except when Telly Johnson Jr. found a gap and exploded for a 74-yard touchdown in the third quarter — cutting Maryland’s lead to four.

Maryland’s defense kept the Huskies’ offense in check, totaling four sacks and nine tackles for a loss to maintain its lead throughout. 

The Huskies were very aggressive on fourth down, attempting to convert six times. Despite converting four of those attempts, the Terps shut them down when it mattered most in the fourth. 

After sticking to the run game and refusing to call any of its timeouts, Northern Illinois quarterback Josh Holst missed his receiver on fourth down — putting the game on ice. 

Junior linebacker Daniel Wingate had a career-high 14 tackles and was a factor all over the field. Trey Reddick added 11 tackles for his own strong performance. 

“Daniel Wingate continues to lead us on the defensive side of the ball, showing tremendous leadership over there,” Locksley said.

The Terps did not have a pretty win Friday night, but never relinquished the lead after big plays in the first half. 

After a three-and-out on their first offensive drive, the Terps’ second drive showed promise. Dorian Fleming broke several tackles after the catch for a 48-yard reception — bringing the Terps inside the 25-yard line. Maryland would have to settle for a field goal as Washington couldn’t find the end zone in the early going. 

“I wanted to go out there and make a play. That’s my goal at all times when I’m on the field, go make a play,” Fleming said. 

Despite Maryland gaining an early lead, Northern Illinois had more offensive momentum. The Terps’ defense got to Huskies’ quarterback Josh Holst, holding him to 56 passing yards in the first half. 

Northern Illinois was also very aggressive offensively, attempting four fourth-down conversions – converting three times in the first half. 

Maryland was much more reliant on its run game offensively than in the opener against Florida Atlantic. Nolan Ray, who didn’t receive many of the carries last week, looked to be Maryland’s lead back in the first half. Ray had six of Maryland’s 10 carries in the first half. 

Ray had a better game on the ground, but shared an even amount of rushing attempts with DeJuan Williams. 

“We’ve got good running backs that have to sometimes navigate an unblocked guy,” Locksley said. 

On an extraordinary play by the freshman quarterback, Maryland’s first touchdown Friday night came through the air. Washington recovered from a stumble and found Fleming in the end zone for a 12-yard touchdown, giving the Terps a 10-point lead. 

Signs against Florida Atlantic last week pointed to it, but Friday showed that Fleming emerged as Washington’s top target. Fleming had 70 of Washington’s 75 first-half passing yards. 

“I feel like I try to be a viable target for him. I just want to be available for him at all times,” Fleming said. 

The Huskies ended the first half with an eight-minute and 40-second drive that concluded with a 20-yard field goal to bring Maryland’s lead to one score at halftime.

After troubling mishaps in the opener, Maryland only committed one penalty in the first half — that penalty came on the opening kickoff — emphasizing Lockley’s comments Wednesday about playing more disciplined. 

“When you make mistakes it’s a disguise for progress,” Locksley said. “If you get the lesson out of it, and we were able to fix some of the issues that happened last week.”

Washington’s first drive of the second half was strong. He started to spread the wealth to multiple receivers. But once the Terps got into the red zone, they stalled out and were forced to settle for a field goal. 

Maryland’s offense struggled for most of the second half, but its defense held strong just long enough until Locksley’s gutsy fourth-down call paid off. 

The Terps improved to 2-0 on the season and extended their 17th consecutive nonconference game win streak, which remains the longest in the nation.