Maryland football was embarrassed in its homecoming game Saturday by No. 2 Indiana, 55-10. A brief flash of hope to open the game gave way to 55 minutes of domination by the Hoosiers.
The Terps have now
lost four games in a row, with a road trip to Rutgers up next. Head coach Michael Locksley is running out of time to right the ship and salvage a bowl game appearance, sitting at 4-4 with four games to play.
Here are three takeaways from Saturday’s blowout.
No answers for a shorthanded Hoosiers offense
Indiana’s top wide receiver, Elijah Sarratt, entered the game leading the nation in receiving touchdowns with 10. He left early and didn’t return, with a towel over his head on the sideline for the rest of the game.
That didn’t matter one bit. Indiana recorded an astounding 367 rushing yards Saturday, the most it’s had in a game all season and 330 more than the Terps had. Five Hoosiers had at least 50 rushing yards, and three had at least 80.
The Hoosiers were efficient on the ground in the first half, but not world-breaking. They had 27 carries for 131 yards. Then in the second half, everything fell apart for Maryland’s defense, in particular its tackling ability. Indiana rushers bounced off defenders with ease, racking up 236 yards on 25 second-half carries.
That rushing output wasn’t because the pass game couldn’t produce. Even without Sarratt for most of the game, Fernando Mendoza looked like the Heisman candidate he is outside of the first-quarter interception — which, ironically, was thrown at Sarratt.
The Cal transfer was 14-of-21 for 201 yards and a touchdown. His backup and brother, Alberto Mendoza, added another passing touchdown and 20 yards, going 2-of-2.
It’s virtually impossible to be competitive, let alone win, while giving up 588 total yards to an opponent. Missed tackles and shaky coverage are nothing new for Maryland’s defense this season. But this was a new low.
Malik Washington’s regression continues
“He’s a freshman” isn’t as convincing of an excuse after eight weeks, and multiple games where his performance has trended the wrong way. It’s time to have a conversation about Malik Washington.
The athleticism and arm talent are still there. Two of Maryland’s three longest plays — a 25-yard strike to Kaleb Webb between four defenders and an under-pressure scramble resulting in a 55-yard DeJuan Williams touchdown reception — were plays very few quarterbacks have the ability to execute.
But that was about it for his positives Saturday. Washington, once again, had his worst game as a Terp. Even Locksley said it was the first time he saw his quarterback “not be settled” in a halftime interview with CBS.
Indiana’s defense created consistent pressure, and the freshman had no answers. His footwork was very inconsistent, he didn’t read defenses well and he had serious accuracy issues. Washington was 16-of-31 for 242 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions and a lost fumble. He was 7-of-20 on passes that travelled past the line of scrimmage.
Washington had his first multi-interception game in college. His first interception was thrown directly at a defender and his second was thrown to a well-defended deep crosser. Washington’s fumble was a direct result of poor ball security, and was returned for a backbreaking third-quarter touchdown.
There’s still plenty of time for Washington to improve. But for the sake of his long-term confidence, that improvement has to come sooner rather than later.
“I hate putting it all on having a freshman to have to carry us through there, and that’s where we’re going to need to have some answers for taking pressure off of him when he’s not at his best,” Locksley said. “And again, this isn’t on Malik Washington. This is on me as the head coach.”
Maryland dominated for exactly three drives
The Terps were outperformed and outclassed in every facet of the game for 55 minutes. The first five minutes, though, were a very different story. Maryland’s opening script worked to perfection.
The Hoosiers opened the game on offense. Their first drive lasted just three plays. Jamare Glasker jumped an out-breaking route perfectly on third down, returning Fernando Mendoza’s fourth interception of the year into the red zone.
The Terps’ couldn’t turn that into a touchdown, but Sean O’Haire’s field goal gave them the game’s first lead.
That momentum continued just a bit longer. Eyan Thomas and Sidney Stewart executed a stunt to perfection and met at the quarterback for a second-down sack. Then on third down, Daniel Wingate screamed into the backfield to blow up a draw play before it began.
Maryland got the ball back inside Indiana territory and couldn’t do anything with it, punting away. It was all downhill from there.
