Coming off of a 51-point defeat against UCLA, Maryland football was in dire need of an emphatic response.
For one quarter, the Terps appeared to be making that response. But old cracks widened once again, and Maryland’s early lead against Nebraska crumbled into dust.
Technically, the Terps did make progress — their 25-point margin of defeat is only half of what they suffered last week. But the 48-23 loss to the Cornhuskers in their Big Ten road opener sets the scene for an ugly few weeks ahead.
Here
are three takeaways from Saturday’s game.
Major mistakes early
In many ways, the Terps cleaned up their act early in the game against Nebraska. Maryland tackled better — for the most part — and found some success creating holes in the running game, which helped the passing attack settle into a rhythm.
But when things went wrong for Maryland, they went wrong in a major way.
When Nebraska nearly blocked Maryland’s punt attempt in the first quarter, getting home to Bryce McFerson but hitting leg instead of ball, it should have been a warning sign for special teams coordinator Matt Barnes and company.
Instead, the very same rusher got to McFerson on the Terps’ second punt.
Block me once, shame on you. Block me twice… and Nebraska got to start a possession from the 19-yard line, scoring one play later to set a previously stagnant offense alight.
The Terps continued to invite their opponents back into the game. A CJ Smith sack on Nebraska’s Anthony Colandrea late in the first quarter seemed to be a remedy to Maryland’s problems. But Nahsir Taylor’s late jump onto Colandrea, who’d already given himself up, was needless. When Taylor pulled the helmet off the prone quarterback, he turned a looming 3rd-and-27 into a fresh set of downs that resulted in a touchdown.
Maryland scored its second touchdown of the night to stifle the Cornhuskers, but freshman phenom Zion Elee committed an unsportsmanlike conduct on the ensuing kickoff. He was later liable for an egregious hands-to-the-face penalty — the first of four flags tossed on the drive that restored the Nebraska lead before halftime.
Laundry fest all around
The three accepted penalties that assisted Nebraska’s final drive of the first half only comprised about 10% of the total flags thrown during the game.
Twenty-eight penalties were accepted between the two teams. The Terps were actually the better-behaved team in comparison, drawing only 12 flags that were accepted.
But when Maryland was flagged, it often came in critical situations. Aside from the Taylor incident, Na’eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding was charged with a devastating block in the back that neutralized one of the Terps’ field goal drives.
The worst offender for Maryland was offensive lineman Tellek Lockette, who was penalized three times during the game — including twice on one play, where he held a rusher before becoming an ineligible player downfield — on a difficult day overall.
Maryland has now committed 37 penalties for 346 yards through five games. Its mark of just under 90 penalty yards against per game would have ranked the fifth-worst of all FBS teams headed into the weekend.
Third down’s the charm — or curse
Maryland’s inability to convert third downs since entering Big Ten play has been staggering.
The Terps went over 50% on third downs in each of their first three games; they finished 8-of-14 against Hampton, 8-of-15 against UConn and 7-of-12 against Virginia Tech.
But against UCLA, Maryland attempted 16 third downs and converted just one.
And facing Nebraska on the road, Maryland again converted only one third down, this time on 14 attempts. The Terps’ average third down to-go distance was over eight yards. The sole conversion came on a third-and-1 with roughly five minutes remaining in the game.
Three early failed third-down attempts, with five, seven and eight yards to go, led to the Terps kicking three field goals fewer than 25 yards away from the end zone. Those nine first-quarter points could have been 21; going the distance on even just two of those could have put the game quickly out of reach.
Beyond each of those, the most backbreaking third down was Washington’s interception late in the second quarter that was returned for a touchdown. That gave Nebraska the first six of 34 consecutive points to end the game.
