Maryland football and UCLA brought two teams with opposite seasons together at the Rose Bowl Saturday.
The Terps had lost two in a row in heartbreaking fashion, while the Bruins program found new life. After firing their head coach, they delivered back to back statement wins against Penn State and Michigan State after looking like the worst team in the country. .
The Big Ten foes stayed on their respective paths, as UCLA defeated Maryland 20-17 to hand the Terps their third straight one possession loss.
Here are the takeaways from the game.
Another late-game collapse
Same script, different Saturday. For the third consecutive game, Maryland squandered a fourth-quarter lead to fall in stunning fashion.
After intercepting UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava and returning it for a touchdown in the third quarter, the Terps had control of the game. The offense hadn’t scored a touchdown itself, but three defensive turnovers against a Bruins squad that hadn’t committed one in its previous two games allowed Maryland to jump ahead.
The Terps have outscored their opponents in every quarter but the fourth this season. Once again, Maryland’s fourth-quarter struggles cost the game. UCLA outscored the Terps 13-7 and made more plays in crunch time.
Malik Washington looked to have his statement moment in his freshman season in the fourth quarter. The true freshman took the ball while trailing for the third straight game with a chance to win. He delivered after failing to do so against Washington and Nebraska, leading a nine-play 75-yard drive to tie the game.
But the defense fell apart again. Iamaleava led a 68-yard drive in 40 seconds to set up the game-winning chip shot field goal to hand the Terps their third consecutive one-possession loss in Big Ten play.
“[We’re] obviously disappointed, but not discouraged,” head coach Michael Locksley said. “We’ve lost three Big Ten games by a combined ten points in the last three weeks. I’m not gonna ask what is the issue or why this keeps happening. Why is a victim question.”
Offense fails defense
Maryland’s defense has had issues in the fourth quarter, but it did more than enough to help its struggling offense on the road Saturday. The Terps have proven their defense travels. They forced three turnovers, including a defensive touchdown, to keep the game within striking distance until the very end.
With the offense failing to generate consistency, the Terps needed to convert on their redzone opportunities — they failed to do so. Washington led a 17-play, 88-yard drive in the first half but only came away with three points, highlighted by two unsuccessful run plays, including a three-yard loss.
The next redzone trip resulted in no points, as the offense turned it over on downs despite starting inside the five-yard line. The Terps’ only offensive touchdown came in the final minute, but they left too much time on the clock. UCLA made 40 seconds feel like an eternity, and ended the Terps’ hopes of fixing their previous late-game miscues with a lead-taking drive.
“Our defense played lights out,” Locksley said. “They scored points, got turnovers, stopped the bleeding before the half. They played well enough for us to win. The other two phases didn’t play complimentary football. Our lack of offense in the first three quarters is disappointing.”
Early on, Maryland tried to get its non-existent run game going, but still failed for the seventh straight game. The offense designed several first and second-down run plays in the first half, but couldn’t string together positive plays. The constant negative plays outshined the few positive gains highlighted by DeJuan Williams’ 23-yard run in the first half, but managed to enter the locker room with 22 yards rushing.
It was fitting for a night where Maryland failed to string consecutive positive drives together, and punted a season high eight times with six three and outs.
“We have to finish games,” Washington said. “There’s drives that the offense and defense is doing their thing. We gotta figure out a way to put it all together. “The past two weeks, we couldn’t get that last drive. This week, we got it, but we needed something earlier in the game.”
Same old Terps
Locksley was adamant after the Terps blew their second consecutive fourth quarter lead that this team wasn’t the “same old Maryland.” But now after three consecutive losses, it’s impossible not to believe that is the case.
Maryland made a statement in its 27-3 beatdown at Wisconsin to open Big Ten play, but has failed to build upon the progress it looked to have made. Locksley’s winless record after bye weeks combined with the inability to close out three games in a row don’t breed much hope for fans.
After a disastrous 2024 season, the Terps looked to be a lock to return to a bowl game and reach the six win threshold after the 4-0 start. With a bye week next week followed by No. 3 Indiana coming to College Park, the Terps will likely be right back at .500 with multiple touch games on its schedule.
Three road games and home games against perennial Big Ten teams like Michigan and Indiana make it hard to trust the Terps to get back to a bowl game. They set that as a program standard winning three straight from 2021 to 2023 and are in danger of taking a step back for the second straight season.
