Takeaways From Maryland First Road Victory Of The Season

Another convincing victory by the Maryland Terrapins football team this past Saturday on the road against the UConn Huskies, where they ran away with the contest in the second half to win by a score of 38-14 at Pratt and Whitney Stadium.

Despite a slower start than they'd like in the first quarter, the Terps found their rhythm in the second quarter and onwards to build off a dominant performance the week before against Hampton.

Sophomore quarterback and captian, Malik Washington had an improved perormance this week where he tossed over 300+ passing yards, two touchdowns, and no turnovers. The Terps also had two of their new weapons on offense: wide receiver Na'eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding (130 receiving yards) & wide receiver Chris Durr Jr. (103 receivng yards).

Maryland's defense made life difficult for the Huskies offense, which only accumlated 223 yards total and found the endzone twice on the afternoon.

Saturday's win, now pushes Maryland's winning streak against non-conference foes to 20 straight which is one of the longest active streaks in the FBS.

Let's take a look at what stood out in this contest.

Washington & The Offense Was Sharp

For the second-straight week in a row, the Maryland offense eclipsed over 400+ of total yards. Malik Washington and the passing game where clicking. Washington went through his reads well to take the underneath routes that were provided, pushing the ball down the field, and when the pocket broke down extending plays outside of it for explosive plays.

The aforementioned receivers Gladding and Durr Jr. both finished with 100+ receiving yards and a touchdown each. Nine different Terps finished with at least one reception on the game. It capped off a day where Washington completed 82.9% of his passes which set a new career-high and was the fourth-highest mark in program history.

Another dazzling mark that Washington set on the day, was by completing 18-straight passing attempts without an incompletion from late in the first half into the final minutes of the contest. Washington also completed 10 passes in the first quarter alone; which was the most since Billy Edwards Jr. back in the 2024 season.

The Defense Continues To Play Strong

Here's some stats for you that showcased the dominance of the Maryland defense:

UConn third-down conversions: 3-for-11

UConn gained 223 total yards (156 passing yards and 67 rushing yards)

The Terps had five sacks

The Huskies punted the ball six times

UConn fumbled twice

UConn had no room to make any explosive plays down the field, outside of quarterback Kalieb Osborne's touchdown strikes to receiver's JD Willoughby and Shamar Porter in the first and second quarter. The run game was non-existent with the Terps defensive line constantly in the backfield plugging lanes, and also neutralizing Osborne's rushing ability.

Special Teams Mishaps

Punter Bryce McFerson missed the mark on his punts today. Two out of three of McFerson's punts carried to much in the air netting only distances of 28 yards, and 36 yards which is not up to his career standards.

Starting kicker Sean O'Haire converted on five of his extra point attempts but went 1-for-2 on field goal attempts. On a 37-yard attempt in the fourth quarter, O'Haire pushed it to far left missing what should've been a chip shot.

It's not to find error within the special team's unit but to point out errors that can't happen when you face stiff Big Ten competition.

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