Down three points and needing a field goal to tie the game with just over a minute left, Maryland football and Malik Washington needed a signature moment to pull off a win.
Washington tried his best, but it wasn’t enough. After scrambling around frantically, he was called for intentional grounding before unleashing one of the best passes of his young career, a layered 20-yard strike to Shaleak Knotts.
But on fourth-and-4, Washington’s pass escaped the reach of Dorian Fleming and dropped incomplete.
For the second time in two weeks at SECU Stadium, Maryland suffered a disappointing demise, this time falling to Nebraska, 34-31.
“Nobody can watch what we did today and feel like it’s the same old Maryland, because I don’t see that,” said head coach Michael Locksley.
It was a slow start for Maryland. Though it stopped Nebraska on its first offensive drive, the Cornhuskers found an early identity on the ground. Running back Emmett Johnson gashed the Terps for multiple chunk gains, leading the offense into Maryland territory before being stuffed on fourth-and-2 in field goal range.
“There was too many explosives in the run game,” said Locksley. “The missed tackles, again, showed up in critical parts of the game.”
The Terps, however, failed to quickly establish an offensive identity of their own. Quarterback Malik Washington was bulldozed for a loss on a keeper on the very first play. Screens, quick-hit passes and simple runs characterized Maryland’s first-quarter offense, and it didn’t get very far — Washington came up short on fourth-and-5 in shallow Cornhusker territory.
In response, Nebraska took a page from Maryland’s playbook. Courtesy of Nyziah Hunter, the Cornhuskers executed a 64-yard screen pass touchdown on the first play from scrimmage.
Maryland didn’t come close to scoring for the remainder of the opening quarter, mostly because the Cornhuskers’ clock management limited it to just two drives. But that second drive was worse than the first — the Terps went three-and-out and allowed a sack in the process.
Maryland’s offense only began clicking when its ground game found a spark. Nolan Ray picked up the team’s longest run of the year, a 28-yard score to bring Maryland within three points just four minutes into the second quarter.
Ray finished with 11 carries for 62 yards and a touchdown on the ground, and four catches for another 29 yards. Both 62 rushing yards and 29 receiving yards were Ray’s season-highs.
“We needed to get the run game going,” said Locksley. “We’re still not getting enough explosives out of the run game.”
Then, the Terps compounded their success. The typically steady passer in Raiola tossed an interception to freshman Messiah Delhomme deep in his team’s own territory.
Maryland wasted no time in capitalizing. Just four plays later, Leon Haughton Jr. snagged an accurate seam-beating throw from Washington for a touchdown.
Suddenly, the Terps led. But it wasn’t for long.
An 85-yard Kenneth Williams kickoff return — Ricardo Cooper’s hustle saved a surefire touchdown — set up Raiola and company perfectly. And Raiola flashed his five-star high school talent, rolling out to his right and locating Luke Lindenmeyer for a back-corner toe-tap score.
Minutes later, after a stalled Maryland drive, Raiola needed just three more plays to find the end zone again and put the Cornhuskers up by 10 points.
Maryland was lucky to find itself down by just a touchdown at the half. Nebraska outgained the Terps both on the ground and through the air by a decent amount in the first two frames — it was Raiola’s two turnovers and failed fourth down conversion that gave the Terps a fighting chance.
Washington took things into his own hands to open the second half. He strung together passes of 22, 11 and 18 yards en route to the red zone. A replay-overturned fumble after a 12-yard rush nearly derailed the drive, but the Terps punched it in just a play later to tie the game.
On the Cornhuskers’ next drive, defensive back Dontay Joyner provided a much-needed splash play. He picked off Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola — Raiola’s third interception of the afternoon — and ran it back 67 yards to the house.
After getting called for a taunting penalty and giving up two touchdowns against Washington, Joyner handed Maryland its largest lead of the game.
“He’s one of those guys that a week ago, he’s penalized and not feeling real good,” Locksley said. “I love the way that the kid responded, the maturity level of being able to bounce back.”
Maryland led at the end of the third quarter by a touchdown, and this time, it was Nebraska to be lucky to be down by just seven heading into the final frame of play.
The Cornhuskers tried desperately to even the score on its lengthy drive with just under 10 minutes left, but a delay of game on fourth-and-goal forced a field goal attempt. The plan for Maryland was now clear: with eight minutes left and a four point lead, it needed to chew clock.
But after only chewing three and half minutes, Nebraska got the ball back. Raiola, who had been mistake prone all day long, didn’t make one on the Huskers’ seven play, 81-yard touchdown drive, leaving Maryland fans stunned.
“This is one of these opportunities where we’ve been in the fourth quarter, I’ve watched the other the other team make some plays, and I’ve watched us not make the play,” said Locksley.
Without a response, the Terps dropped to 4-2 on the season and remain searching for answers.
1. Penalties. In the first half alone, Maryland committed three unsportsmanlike penalties. Two came in a three-play span, and one was especially egregious. Cam Rice shoved Raiola to the turf as he was hobbling off the field following his second interception. Maryland had eight penalties for 84 yards across the game.
2. Maryland’s rushing attack improved. The Terps’ rushing offense has been an area of weakness this season, and one of the reasons it relinquished such a big lead against Washington last weekend. But with 31 total carries for 130 yards against the Cornhuskers, Maryland showed a clear improvement.
3. Negative progress. On Saturday, Mike Locksley’s crew had the chance to prove it could bounce back after a tough loss and early deficit. But it was a step in the wrong direction, as Maryland could not seem to find any answers late. With tough games against UCLA and No. 7 Indiana on the docket, and still two wins needed for a bowl berth, the Terps’ outlook suddenly becomes more dire.
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