NFL
By: Nathan Snell
Reader, when you think of blowing a double-digit lead, what word(s) come to mind? Implosion? Choke? Comeback? Collapse? Demoralizing?
Saturday afternoon, everything seemed to be clicking for the Terrapins after taking a 13-0 lead into halftime. Then came the second half, and the Huskies appeared to have all the answers. By the game’s end, Washington had scored 24 unanswered points in the second half to hand Maryland their first loss of 2025.
“What we learned today as a team is you’ve got to learn how to put people away, outstanding teams like Washington, when you have them here at home.” Head Coach Mike Locksley said post presser
While most were, and every right, so disappointed in the loss. This group is young, and they were given their first taste of what adversity looks like. In front of a sold-out crowd at SECU, the Terrapins had all the momentum in the first half, and after that, what went wrong? Let’s break it down.
Nathan’s Takeaways
Mike Locksley has officially been put in a “box.”
Maryland has reason to be proud. They were once twenty points down against a team that played in the NCAA championship two years ago. This season, many would say Locksley has assembled a strong core—a level of team stability he hasn’t achieved in his seven years. However, some ignore the broader context of what has happened with the program over those seven years.
What cannot be defended 0-10 out of a bye week.
This was the fifth game of the season, and many had high expectations. The reactions have made it seem like Maryland blew its chance after Saturday. A young team that has not faced adversity can most certainly use this game as a building block for how to put it all together.
The play-calling in the second half made zero sense
Saturday’s game revealed the Terrapins have flaws, and unfortunately, these issues have been apparent since the non-conference games. The running game has been mostly ineffective. 16 carries for 43 yards? The longest run was eight yards.
While Maryland runs RPO, offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton has found ways to help Malik Washington. The stats won’t reflect how play-calling affects him. In the game Saturday, Washington threw 24 passes in the second half, going completely away from the run game with just four rushing attempts. There were three drives where, offensively, the Terrapins showed that they can thrive, but again with a freshman quarterback and virtually no running game. Saturday gave us a taste that can’t happen against Nebraska.
Maryland’s “poise” was tested, and the second half showed it failed
“We just take it, watch the tape back, get the mistakes corrected, and move on to next week. That’s the only way to deal with it.” That was Malik Washington’s perspective post-game.
Midway through the third quarter, the Terrapins could smell and even taste victory. Then the Huskies’ mix of run and pass took advantage of a Maryland defense that had no answers. We have allowed the most points in the first five games. To be a successful football team, there are three phases of the football game you must execute, and that did not occur Saturday. In the red zone, six points were left off the board.
The game at SECU Stadium shows how “A Tale of Two Halves” can affect any team. That happened for the Maryland Terrapins, fresh off their bye week. Unfortunately, since 2016, Maryland has now lost eleven games out of the bye week.
