Maryland football’s defense legitimized itself against a conference opponent in its 27-10 win over Wisconsin on Saturday with flying colors.

“Big Ten road wins are not easy to come by, really like the physicality that we play with on defense,” head coach Michael Locksley said. “Hate that we gave up the cheap touchdown there at the end.”

Maryland’s defensive front had impressed through nonconference play, but didn’t face a formidable opponent. On Saturday, however, for all intents and purposes, although Wisconsin’s offense looked abysmal, the Terps dominated against a power-five offense.

Maryland’s offense has been good under true freshman quarterback Malik Washington, but it has relied on the defense’s impact. The defense is the motor of the ship that the offense uses to thrive. 

Despite Wisconsin’s historically strong ground game, Maryland held the Badgers to 61 net yards on 42 attempts. But the stat is misleading because the Badgers gained a total of 146 yards, but they lost 85 yards due to Maryland’s front holding firm for most of the day.

The Terps’ freshmen defensive linemen, Sidney Stewart and Zahir Mathis, passed their first real test. Mathis, who didn’t participate in Spring practice, has come into his own early in the season. He had seven total tackles and a blocked field goal on Saturday — he was all over the field making plays. Stewart had four total tackles, but also recorded a sack in his fourth consecutive game. 

“They have shown consistency, like most true freshmen. Typically, you don’t see it this early. I’ve seen it when you’ve had some special players, and both [Mathis] and [Stewart] are really special players,” Locksley said.

Jalen Huskey had one of his best games in his two seasons with Maryland. He recorded nine tackles and had a massive interception that led to Maryland’s first touchdown. 

Huskey was supposed to be one of Maryland’s top defensive backs when he transferred in from Bowling Green before last season and showed glimpses of it last season. Saturday could be that breakout game for Huskey to blossom into one of Maryland’s defensive leaders alongside Daniel Wingate. 

“We just came into this game super confident. Wanted to show everybody that this isn’t the same old Maryland that we’ve been,” Huskey said.

Wingate has proven to be Maryland’s most impactful defensive player at linebacker this season. After a down game last week against Towson, he bounced back on Saturday. Wingate led the Terps with 11 total tackles, recording a sack and 1.5 tackles for loss. Wingate leads the Big Ten with 39 total tackles on the season and is tied for the fifth most nationally. 

This type of performance has become the standard for Wingate, but Saturday showed that his performance isn’t limited exclusively to lesser opponents. He proved how essential his defense is to Maryland’s 4-0 start.

Maryland’s special teams had its best performance of the season. The Terps had a blocked punt and a blocked field goal. Freshmen facilitated both plays; Mathis had the early blocked field goal to prevent Wisconsin from scoring on the opening drive. Messiah Delhomme blocked a punt, which led to a touchdown — that touchdown put Maryland up by 14, a lead that was enough for the Terps to win. 

“Special teams really set the stage for us early with the two big block kicks, the block field goal and then the block punt,“ Locksley said. “When you talk about knowing and understanding the character of a team. You watch how they play special teams, and I think we’ve done that the last three weeks at a high level.”

Delhomme blocked his second punt in as many games and has been a key playmaker on defense and special teams for the Terps.

On Saturday, Maryland totaled 10 tackles for a loss and six sacks — its most in a Big Ten game since 2021. Saturday was one of Maryland’s best defensive performances in a conference game over recent years.

Locksley has said that the Terps lack the defensive depth they’ve had in recent years. But with the players who have played on defense, Maryland has shown no signs of slowing down. The Terps have dominated, even without one of their top defensive backs in Jamare Glasker

New defensive coordinator Ted Monachino deserves lot of credit, he has reinvented this side of the ball for Maryland. 

“It’s not the same defense as last year, like it’s a new defense,” La’Khi Roland said after the win against Towson. “I feel like the Brotherhood is special this year, everybody’s closer and everybody’s doing things together, so we all hold each other accountable, like I said, and it’s working on the field.”

Maryland’s defense looks to continue its hot start to help the Terps qualify for a bowl game and other possibilities beyond that.