After an anemic first half, Maryland football found life with an improbable 75-yard touchdown drive as DeJuan Williams’ 55-yard touchdown explosion cut the deficit to 10. 

As quickly as the Terps found a spark, it flew away. No. 2 Indiana scored 21 points in the span of over two minutes. A stifling drive, followed by fumbles on back-to-back possessions, allowed the Hoosiers to never look back.

Maryland’s fate was sealed, falling 55-10 Saturday at SECU Stadium. 

Saturday’s contest was always headed to its expected result, but Maryland had life at certain points. Every time Maryland gained momentum, it would fall into a deeper hole in the blink of an eye.

Early on, Maryland’s defense set up its offense with a chance to gain momentum. Jamare Glasker jumped on a Fernando Mendoza pass and returned the interception into the red zone — his third interception in as many games. 

But the Terps failed to find the endzone and settled for a field goal. That was a sign of struggles to come for Maryland’s offense.

“I didn’t coach us very well. We got to do a better job when we get those opportunities. I can’t say it enough, but we have had opportunities to seize momentum,” head coach Michael Locksley said. “I thought we started really fast on defense the last few weeks and we’ve been really inefficient on offense. It typically starts with being able to have balance.”

Maryland’s defense held Indiana in check early on, but the offense squandered it away. 

The Terps were anemic offensively on Saturday and turned the ball over five times. 

“Really, for the first time, the turnover bug hit us,” Locksley said. “Number one in the country in turnover margin, we had three straight turnovers… And then the wheels kind of fell off.”

Indiana’s defense made Malik Washington look like a freshman — he threw two interceptions early and had several other throws that could’ve been picked off. Washington had 242 passing yards and one touchdown through the air. 

Maryland’s offense gained only 86 yards in the first half. Maryland had a total of two rushing yards — it ended with 37 rushing yards. Indiana had 367 yards on the ground. Maryland had no answer for the run and couldn’t establish a run game of its own.

After spending four seasons with the Terps, Indiana running back Roman Hemby returned to College Park. He found the endzone to cap off Indiana’s 21-point burst in the third quarter and finished with over 100 yards from scrimmage. 

It was a matter of time until the Hoosiers would beat the brakes off Maryland’s solid start. The defense could only hold Fernando Mendoza for so long. The Hoosiers took advantage and from there, the Terps couldn’t come back. 

Mendoza finished with 201 yards and one passing touchdown before being benched for his brother at the start of the fourth quarter. 

In Maryland’s first three losses, the Terps held a fourth-quarter lead. That wasn’t the case on Saturday.

Maryland opened the game with two encouraging defensive drives, but the Heisman candidate Mendoza exposed all the weaknesses in the defense. The redshirt junior had no trouble marching down the field and conducted four consecutive scoring drives. The Hoosiers started their first two drives, gaining -11 yards and proceeded to break out for 296 yards over the next four. 

The Hoosiers finished Saturday scoring 34 points unanswered and put the Terps away like they’ve done to teams all season. Maryland’s touchdown was the first touchdown Indiana had allowed in the second half since the first week of the season. 

Indiana finished Saturday by scoring on eight consecutive offensive drives before entering victory formation en route to continuing its undefeated season to nine wins. The Terps, on the other hand, suffered their worst loss of the season, allowing their most points in a game since 2021. 

After starting the season with four consecutive wins, four consecutive Big Ten losses have put a bowl game in jeopardy.

“I’m hanging in with them. I’ve done that work. It ain’t a year ago. That’s why I want to talk about not the same old Maryland, it ain’t,” Locksley said. “I’ve got a coach better. Obviously, my staff’s got to coach better…. we’re not young, we’re just inexperienced.”