Takeaways from Maryland football’s loss to Illinois

The Terps fell at home for the first time this season.

A 5-0 start for Maryland football has quickly dissipated into a 5-2 record following back-to-back losses.

The Terps came into Saturday’s game against Illinois as overwhelming favorites and had a chance to clinch bowl eligibility, but instead put forth their least impressive performance of the season in a shocking 27-24 loss.

As time expired, Illinois kicker Caleb Griffin nailed a 43-yarder to give Illinois its first conference win of the season.

Here are three takeaways from Saturday’s game.

A humbling defeat

Year after year, Maryland football has done the same thing — fall flat after a fast start to the season. Maryland replicated that type of performance against Illinois, with a sluggish start and an overall uninspiring display.

“It goes back to what I always say: it’s gonna be us versus us, and we didn’t play well in any of the three phases,” head coach Mike Locksley said.

In so many years of recent, the Terps have provided a palpable sense of hope, which reigns false as the season flips into its latter half.

Between a skilled roster and a gift of a schedule, Maryland had the opportunity to thrive on a national stage and collect a nine-win season. It can still do that, but the path became that much harder after Saturday’s loss.

Confidence was lost in the Terps after Saturday’s performance, and it remains to be seen what results are waiting in games against Northwestern, Nebraska and Rutgers — the most winnable games left on the schedule.

“I still got a lot of faith in this team,” said Locksley. “Still a lot of football left to be played and all of our goals are still ahead of us. But we’ve made it a little more difficult for us.”

Prather’s fumble flipped momentum

Kaden Prather finished the game with seven catches for 60 yards and a score. That looks great on the stat sheet, but he was a huge factor in the loss.

Maryland was up 14-7 late in the second half, and was creeping its way into the red zone.

If the drive was executed properly, Maryland would have almost certainly taken a two-score lead into halftime. But after hauling in a catch for a first down, Prather fumbled the ball at the 27-yard line.

Instead of having a potential two-score lead, the Terps allowed the Illini to eventually even the game heading into the half.

“You know, in those crunch-time situations, and sort of crunch-time moments, you got to execute the plays,” linebacker Ruben Hyppolite II said. “We have special playmakers. You got to go out and make the plays, so that’s what it comes down to at the end of the day — just making the plays.”

Peculiar coaching decisions proved costly

Offensive coordinator Josh Gattis and Locksley will do a lot of reflecting this week, and multiple decisions left many scratching their heads.

After Prather’s fumble with time expiring in the second half, Illinois faced a fourth down from inside Maryland’s 2-yard line. With the Illini set to receive the second-half kickoff, Illinois head coach Bret Bielema understandably decided to roll out the field goal unit for a short kick.

The Terps would have gone into the break with a lead, but Locksley instead called a timeout, allowing Bielema to rethink his decision and take 40 extra seconds to come up with a play. Locksley said that he called the timeout to remind his defense to not jump offsides.

Illinois running back Kaden Feagin then easily found the end zone, giving the away team momentum headed into the second half.

Next, down three late in the game, Maryland was creeping toward the red zone. Taulia Tagovailoa was in a groove, completing his 27th pass of the game shortly before the Terps ran the ball three straight times, despite the Illini struggling to defend the pass on the drive.

Electing to run the ball three times instead of putting the ball in the hands of a fifth-year quarterback with a chance to take the lead was an interesting choice, to say the least. The Terps then had to settle for a game-tying field goal by Jack Howes.

Also, the coaching staff elected to attempt an onside kick to start the second half. Is the risk worth the reward with the game tied and 30 minutes remaining?

Illinois recovered the kick and scored a touchdown shortly after.