The Terps enter their bye week on a two-game losing streak.
Facing a third-and-6 with under two minutes remaining, Maryland football turned to its running game, which has struggled this season.
After taking a handoff, Antwain Littleton II lost a yard, forcing Maryland to settle for a game-tying 48-yard field goal.
The failure to convert came back to bite the Terps just over a minute later when Illinois nailed a field goal of its own: a 43-yard game-winner to push the Illini over the Terps, 27-24.
“Anytime we make calls like that its easy for us to second-guess them,” head coach Mike Locksley said of the third-down run. “We didn’t make a play on third-and-medium, which we have to be able to do, and we’ve been really good at it.”
Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer was the catalyst in the game-winning drive, completing both of his pass attempts for 41 yards and rushing for six yards. He finished the game with 235 total yards and two passing touchdowns.
The Terps had multiple chances to pull out a win, mirroring many of their mistakes from last week’s 37-17 loss at Ohio State. Illinois entered Saturday 0-3 in Big Ten play, but Maryland ultimately allowed a weaker opponent to hang around for too long.
“What happened today had very few things to do with Illinois. It goes back to what I always say, it’s gonna be us versus us, and we didn’t play very well,” Locksley said. “We did not play to our standard, and it’s frustrating to watch because I still have a lot of faith and belief in this team.”
The Terps were marching down the field looking for their third unanswered touchdown as the second-quarter clock ticked under two minutes. However, wide receiver Kaden Prather fumbled at Illinois’ 27-yard line, sparking a string of miscues.
On the ensuing drive, Quashon Fuller and Jaishawn Barham each picked up personal fouls, which moved the Illini into the red zone, and they eventually score a 2-yard rushing touchdown.
Illinois held a 24-14 lead late in the third quarter, but both of its third-quarter scores were facilitated by Maryland penalties. A facemask penalty on Fuller led to Isaiah Williams’ first touchdown of the season — a 15-yard reception — and then a pass interference on Corey Coley Jr. helped set up a 40-yard field goal.
Maryland’s defense finished the game with four penalties for 54 yards.
“We got to play smarter and cleaner, but these competitive type penalties like that, I mean, it just happened at some inopportune times,” Locksley said.
A 12-play, 65-yard drive capped off by a 4-yard rushing touchdown by Littleton cut the lead to three at the end of the third quarter, which eventually set up the game-tying field goal.
But Maryland’s defense could not get the stop it needed to force overtime on the final drive, and Illinois was able to outlast the Terps.
“It’s nothing scheme-wise that’s, you know, messing us up or tripping us up. It’s all about execution and effort,” Ruben Hyppolite II said. “We beat ourselves today in The Shell.”
“I just told them, you know, ‘The adversity that we find ourselves in today, we put ourselves there,’” Locksley added. “‘So the only people that can get us out of it is us.’”
Three things to know
1. The Terps battled injuries. Cornerback Tarheeb Still, tight end Corey Dyches, safety Dante Trader Jr. and offensive lineman Corey Bullock were all sidelined due to injury Saturday. The absence of four starters was apparent, as the Terps rarely looked in control.
2. Maryland’s rushing game continues to struggle. Illinois entered Saturday with the worst rushing defense in the Big Ten, allowing 176 yards per game, yet the Terps could not take advantage. They tallied just 30 rushing yards in the first half and 93 yards in the game on 3.2 yards per rush.
“We had some plays where we looked unstoppable and some plays where we looked stoppable,” running back Roman Hemby said. “… We just got to take the good with the bad, and try to make the good happen more than the bad.”
3. Tagovailoa kept the ball out of harm’s way. Following his two-interception performance at Ohio State, Tagovailoa understood the implications of his mistakes and vowed to play better. A week later, the fifth-year quarterback avoided turnovers, and completed 27 of 39 pass attempts for 266 yards and two touchdowns.