Maryland football coach Michael Locksley said in August that setbacks, failure and adversity are “part of the deal” during a campaign — they shouldn’t limit the goal of competing for a Big Ten title, he said.
But the Terps’ 37-10 loss to Northwestern on Friday was another blow to the season. They dropped their third straight conference game off a bye week, making it unlikely they’ll be in contention for a Big Ten championship.
“We’re here to build this team to compete, to win championships,” Locksley said. “Nobody ever said that it would be linear. Today we took a step back.”
While the game resulted in a 27-point defeat, Maryland was within a touchdown just three seconds into the fourth quarter. It had numerous chances throughout the night to find success, but costly errors piled up.
After Northwestern started the game with a punt, the Terps faced a third-and-four on their opening drive. Quarterback Billy Edwards Jr., sensing pressure in the pocket, rolled to his right but couldn’t evade defensive lineman Michael Kilbane, who recorded the sack.
[Maryland football falls to Northwestern, 37-10, gets off to worst Big Ten start since 2015]
Instead of capitalizing on Northwestern’s slow offensive start, Maryland punted the ball. The Wildcats took a 7-0 lead on the ensuing drive.
The Terps’ next possession brought them past midfield. A wide receiver screen to Kaden Prather on first down picked up two yards, a Nolan Ray rush lost those yards and an incomplete pass forced from pressure resulted in a punt, wasting a 10-play drive.
Maryland also faced a two-score deficit in the game’s first half for the first time this season. Ricardo Cooper Jr. fumbled the next kickoff on the first kick return of his career.
Maryland’s offense finally struck for a touchdown on its next drive — needing 16 plays on a night when the offense lacked explosion. Trailing 17-7, it had multiple opportunities to get within one score entering halftime.
While a Wildcats three-and-out gave possession back to the Terps with just under two minutes left, all Maryland amassed was three yards. A second Northwestern punt provided another chance, but Jack Howes missed a 54-yard field goal.
“We weren’t far off from having successful plays in that first half,” Edwards said.
The Terps started the second half on offense — another chance to trim the deficit.
They found similar success to their second drive of the game, advancing into Wildcats territory, but couldn’t convert a fourth down pass. Prather dropped Edwards’ throw on a slant.
Maryland reached the red zone for just the second time on its next drive, and it had first-and-goal at the one-yard line.
[Maryland women’s soccer tops Nebraska, 2-0, for first Big Ten win in two years]
Roman Hemby ran for a loss of three, Edwards rushed for no gain and then was sacked on third down. An 18-play drive that went 98 yards resulted only in a field goal.
A Northwestern punt gave possession back to the Terps down a touchdown. Edwards was sacked on the second play of the drive as left guard Isaac Bunyun was instantly beaten off the line. The hit caused Edwards to fumble, which the Wildcats scooped in the end zone.
That’s when Maryland crumbled.
The next drive was a turnover-on-downs. Tight end Preston Howard fumbled. Edwards threw an interception. The seven-point deficit ballooned to 27 within nine minutes.
“When you turn it over and you don’t come away with points, then you start chasing points,” Locksley said. “That’s not who we are.”
The loss was the Terps’ third-largest to an unranked opponent in Locksley’s tenure. In a game they were favored by 10.5 points, they lost by nearly four touchdowns.
Maryland’s failures on Friday left it as one of three Big Ten teams yet to win a conference game this season. Still, the Terps’ message is the same — they’ll control what they can.
“We’re definitely better than the part we put on the field,” linebacker Ruben Hyppolite II said. “As a leader, I’ll get that job done. They’ll hear from me and we’ll get on the right track.”
