Maryland football made its first mistake of the day at the opening of the second half. Quarterback Malik Washington threw his first career interception, and it was almost returned for a touchdown by defensive lineman JR Stegall.
As Towson looked poised to score, freshman quarterback Andrew Indorf returned the favor, tossing La’khi Roland a 100-yard pick-six, the Terps’ first interception return of that length since 1962.
Even Maryland’s mishaps had a positive spin Saturday, as it cruised to its nation-leading
18th consecutive nonconference victory over Towson, 44-17.
Washington started hot, passing for 219 yards and rushing for 29 more in the opening half. He finished 16-of-22 for a career-high 261 yards and one touchdown.
It didn’t take Maryland long to put points on the board. After forcing Towson to punt out of its own end zone on its first drive, Washington and company began the game situated in Tigers’ territory. Kicker Sean O’Haire was perfectly placed for a 37-yard field goal, which he drilled to get the scoring started just over three minutes in.
Maryland’s defense kept its stronghold, forcing a second consecutive Towson three-and-out. The Terps made no mistake on their second drive, though. Starting on its own 27-yard line, Maryland coupled a few runs with quick-hit passes to the flat before Washington unleashed a bomb to Octavian Smith Jr. for 53 yards. Running back DeJuan Williams punched in the score one play later.
Up two scores with six minutes still left in the opening quarter, head coach Michael Locksley inserted some of his second-string wideouts, including Ryan Manning and Kaleb Webb. And while Manning made a nice first down sideline snag, it was starter Shaleak Knotts that drew attention, making a superb 33-yard back-shoulder catch just yards away from the end zone. Washington capped the drive off with a read-option plunge for a touchdown.
Towson didn’t get a single first down until there were under two minutes left in the first quarter. It didn’t matter, though — the drive abruptly ended in a Zahir Mathis sack.
A Knotts 32-yard touchdown catch, followed by a Towson fumble — its first turnover of the day — deep in its own territory effectively put the game out of reach just three minutes into the second quarter. That was exacerbated after Nolan Ray drove his way into the end zone to give the Terps a 31-0 lead.
34-0 was Maryland’s largest halftime lead since 2021, when it entered the break up 38-0 against Howard.
After the theatrics to open the third quarter, the game slowed a bit, with Towson still struggling to move the ball and Maryland opting to take a less aggressive approach on offense.
Smith remained a bright spot all afternoon, racking up a career-high 103 receiving yards. He, Knotts and Jalil Farooq — who finished with five catches for 53 yards — have all solidified themselves as viable targets heading into Big Ten play.
Towson opened its scoring on a clinical drive from Indorf, in which he strung together passes of 38, 18 and 19 yards, the last of which was a touchdown with freshman safety Messiah Delhomme in coverage.
With backup quarterback Khristian Martin in, as well as a litany of other typical bench players, Maryland’s offense didn’t travel far. His first two drives spanned just six plays total; a three-and-out on both.
Thirteen points were scored in the fourth quarter — all could be categorized as garbage time scores, as Maryland left no doubt in its final action before conference play.
Three things to know
1. Multiple quarterbacks saw action. Aside from Washington, redshirt freshman Khristian Martin also saw time at quarterback. His stint was not all that productive, as he went 5-of-7 for just 15 yards. Roman Jensen saw the field after the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter, recording one rush for -1 yards.
2. Zahir Mathis is a game-wrecker. The true freshman was all over the place Saturday, and continued his stellar start to his college career. He finished with three tackles, one sack and a tackle for loss, and looks to be a force in conference play.
3. Quiet day for Dorian Fleming. Fleming was a popular target for Washington in Maryland’s first two games, racking up 10 catches, 102 yards and two scores. But the versatile tight end failed to record a catch Saturday afternoon.