Two plays into Nebraska’s first drive Saturday afternoon, the Maryland football team forced the Cornhuskers into a 3rd-and-9 look. After consecutive weeks of blowout losses, both of which featured opening-drive touchdowns to put the Terps in a hole, coach DJ Durkin’s squad had a chance to reverse the trend.
Instead, Cornhuskers quarterback Ryker Fyfe laced a 26-yard pass for the conversion, and the possession ended in seven points. It foreshadowed the success Nebraska would have on late downs for the remainder of its 28-7 victory.
The Cornhuskers went 8-of-17 on third down and 2-of-3 on fourth down. The defense’s failure to halt the drives left Durkin admitting to reporters after the game he wanted to “puke” on the sideline.
Nebraska magnified the Terps’ struggles on third down with a 16-play, 78-yard march to extend its lead to 21 points with 17 seconds left in the second frame. The Cornhuskers made three third-down conversions on the drive, two of which went for at least 10 yards.
Durkin preached during the week for his squad to focus on its technique and effort. He felt the players strayed from their scheme and responsibilities in their previous losses and hoped they could improve in their third consecutive top-20 matchup.
“Our team is self-aware,” Durkin said in his weekly press conference Tuesday. “We know what our talent level is. If and when we learn to play consistently, a lot will be different for us.”
But his team failed to showcase better discipline, leaving its leader to watch from the sideline in disgust.
