Maryland football made it 7-for-7 — and not in a good way.
For the seventh time during coach Michael Locksley’s seven-year tenure, the Terps absorbed a three-game losing streak. This time, they were defeated by host UCLA, 20-17, on Saturday night before an announced 35,561 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
After senior wide receiver Jalil Farooq’s 8-yard touchdown catch from freshman quarterback Malik Washington tied the score at 17 with 40 seconds left, the defense allowed the Bruins to move 68 yards in just four plays to set up a 23-yard field goal by junior kicker Mateen Bhagnani as time ran out.
The latest setback came on the heels of close losses against Washington on Oct. 4 and Nebraska on Oct. 11. And like the previous two results, Maryland (4-3, 1-3 Big Ten) coughed up a lead in the fourth quarter as the Bruins (3-4, 1-3) rallied from down 10-7 to secure their third straight victory.
Redshirt junior cornerback Jamare Glasker gave Maryland its first touchdown when he intercepted Bruins redshirt sophomore quarterback Nico Iamaleava and returned it 8 yards for the score with 4:40 left in the third quarter. Senior safety Jalen Huskey recorded his team-leading third interception — giving the Terps a nation-leading 14 for the season — and freshman defensive end Sidney Stewart upped his team lead in sacks to 5 1/2.
The Terps remained winless in October and dropped to 7-16 in this month during Locksley’s time as coach. And the enthusiasm and momentum generated from their season-opening four-game winning streak has largely evaporated.
But Locksley remained hopeful about the team’s prospects.
“Obviously disappointed, but can tell you not discouraged,” he said. “We’ve lost three Big Ten games by a combined 10 points the last three weeks. And here’s what I’m going to tell you so that your questions, you can word them however you want. I’m not going to ask what is the issue or why this keeps happening? I’m not going to ask why. Why is a victim question, and I’m not a victim. I’m going to ask what I need to do to get us to be able to finish these games, and to me, that’s a growth mindset that this team has. That’s how I’m coaching them, and that’s what my job will be the next week.”
UCLA (3-4, 3-1) is 3-1 since firing coach DeShaun Foster on Sept. 14 and handing the reins over to interim coach Tim Skipper. Redshirt senior running back Anthony Frias II sparked the Bruins on Saturday with four carries for 97 yards, including a 55-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter and a 35-yard run to set up the game-winning kick.
Here are three takeaways from the game.
The fourth quarter doomed Maryland — again
This is beginning to sound like a broken record.
For the third consecutive game, Maryland squandered a late lead. Iamaleava’s 14-yard pass to junior wide receiver Mikey Matthews with 3:33 left helped the Bruins turn a 10-7 deficit into a 14-10 lead, and junior cornerback Scooter Jackson intercepted a pass off of redshirt junior wide receiver Kaleb Webb’s hands to set up a 42-yard field goal by Bhagnani.
Blame can be shared by both the offense and defense. Before Farooq’s touchdown catch, the offense failed to create some cushion despite beginning its first two possessions of the period in UCLA territory. And the defense looked like a matador on the Bruins’ final drive that predicated Bhagnani’s game-winning field goal.
Locksley stated the obvious when he said that the team must do better to close out games.
“I thought our defense played lights-out,” he said. “They scored points, they got turnovers, they stopped the bleeding before the half with a turnover there. They played well enough for us to win. I know they gave up the touchdown there at the end, but the other two phases, we didn’t play complementary football. Our lack of offense in the first half and first three quarters was disappointing because it’s an execution thing that we’ve got to get fixed.”
The fourth quarter continues to befuddle the Terps, who have been outscored 61-24 in the final period for a point differential of minus-37. Conversely, they have a plus-30 differential in the first quarter, plus-59 in the second and plus-25 in the third.
Despite the lopsided margin in the fourth quarter, Washington said that the players aren’t panicking.
“We’ve been talking about it,” he said. “Sometimes that’s just the way the game goes. We’ve been fighting our butts off. We’ve kept it close. Losing by a combined score of 10 points, sometimes you just get a little unlucky with it, but we have to finish games.”
Maryland has proven it can play three quarters with anyone. Unfortunately, the team wilts all too frequently in the fourth.
The offense took a step back
After scoring 51 points in the past two games, Maryland looked toothless Saturday.
The Terps sputtered early and often against the Bruins. The unit went three-and-out six times and misfired on 11 of 17 third downs.
The rushing offense not named Washington averaged a paltry 3.0 yards per carry (20 attempts for 60 yards), forcing the Glen Burnie native and Spalding graduate to carry the load. Not only did he lead the team in rushing yards with 67, but Washington also threw for 210 yards, but he had more incompletions (25) than completions (23).
Maryland’s ineffectiveness was especially galling in the red zone. On two first-and-goal opportunities, the unit managed only three points and turned the ball over on downs after a failed fourth-down attempt at UCLA’s 2-yard line in the third stanza.
The Terps manufactured some of those explosive plays Locksley has clamored for — a 41-yard catch by redshirt freshman running back DeJuan Williams, a 32-yard reception by senior wide receiver Shaleak Knotts and a 23-yard run by Williams, a Baltimore resident and St. Frances graduate. But what good are those big gains if the offense can’t turn goal-to-go situations into touchdowns?
For the second consecutive game, Washington looked jittery and uncertain. He overthrew and threw behind his receivers on several occasions, and the interception by Jackson was a result of Washington’s inaccurate throw to Webb on a crossing route.
Washington credited the Bruins with playing sound defense.
“They were playing over the top,” he said. “Some of the stuff we’ve been seeing the last couple weeks. Just making us take the underneath stuff, and you kind of live with it, and you try to make the adjustment.”
Locksley said that Washington missed some easy throws to his receivers.
“It’s just out of sync and out of rhythm,” he said of the offense. “In the past, what we’ve done earlier in the year to get Malik going, we’ll go back and evaluate those things. What we’re seeing is not allowing us to get the explosives over the top, and a young quarterback having to continue to find the rhythm. Every play for us, we’ve got to execute to the best of our ability.”
The bye would seem to be a timely proposition for offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton, Washington and the rest of the offense to review and address whatever has been plaguing the unit.
Penalties continue to plague Maryland
The Terps actually finished the game with fewer penalties (five) and penalty yards (60) than the Bruins, who were flagged 10 times for 85 yards.
The problem was the nature of Maryland’s infractions. For the second time in three games, the defense was cited for targeting.
And the Terps lost two players because of targeting. Sophomore linebacker Trey Reddick was ejected for his helmet-to-helmet hit on sophomore wide receiver Kawzi Gilmer in the second quarter. Huskey was disqualified for nailing Gilmer during the fourth-quarter drive that UCLA used for the go-ahead touchdown from Iamaleava to Matthews.
After the game, Locksley indicated that he did not agree with at least one of the ejections and questioned the Big Ten’s review of video replay from the conference’s headquarters in Chicago.
“It’s the second week Chicago called in, and I lose a player because of not the flag on the field, but coming from Chicago,” he said. “I’ll probably get in trouble for saying that, but it’s one of those things I’ll keep asking.”
Junior defensive tackle Dillan Fontus acknowledged that losing Reddick and Huskey took a toll on the defense.
“It’s hard because these are our playmakers,” he said. “These are our guys that are going to make a play. But we definitely play with a next-man-up mentality. So we have guys that are trained exactly how they are. They know where they’re supposed to be, and they know what they’re supposed to do. Everybody came in, and when it was their time to play, they played hard.”
A pass interference call on junior cornerback Dontay Joyner also contributed to Matthews’ touchdown. Call it a lack of focus or discipline, but Maryland’s troubles might continue to linger if the players and coaches can’t find a way to avoid giving away free yards to their opponents.
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