Maryland walked into Nebraska with a few signs of life and still walked out with the same old problem.
The Terps had reasons to feel better early. DeJuan Williams’ return helped revive a run game that had been missing.
Chris Durr Jr. kept piling up production, topping 100 receiving yards again and strengthening his case as Maryland’s top target. On defense, the Terps put together three three-and-outs and forced a pair of turnovers, including one on downs.
For a while, it looked like the visitors had flipped the script entirely, turning two-score underdogs into a two-score lead midway through the second quarter.
Then everything changed in a flash.
Malik Washington, who had been playing better up to that point, tried to thread a bullet pass and Nebraska defensive back Dwayne McDougle III read it perfectly. McDougle jumped the route, took the ball the other way, and Washington nearly caught him from behind as he raced past. It was the kind of moment Maryland has seen too many times lately: close, but not close enough.
That 81-yard pick-six lit the fuse for Nebraska’s surge. It was McDougle’s third pick-six and sixth interception overall in his last six quarters, and it wiped out Maryland’s momentum almost immediately. From there, the Huskers rolled off 34 unanswered points and took control on every level.
The collapse also cut straight into one of the biggest goals Washington had talked about before the season: playing a full 60 minutes. Maryland has made a habit of fading late, and this one fit the pattern. The Terps were outscored in the final 15 minutes of their losses to University of Washington, Nebraska, UCLA, and Rutgers last season by a combined 51-10, and those four defeats came by a total of 25 points.
That fourth-quarter drop-off has stretched beyond last year, too. Maryland has been outscored in the fourth quarter in 15 of its last 18 conference games.
The exceptions include matching Wisconsin’s seven points in their only Big Ten win last season. Before that, the Terps managed to outscore an opponent late in garbage time at Minnesota, and in their last home Big Ten win, on October 19, 2024 against USC.
The three conference games before that all featured Maryland trailing and all ended in losses.
It wasn’t always this way. During Maryland’s better stretch from 2021 through 2023, those late-game breakdowns showed up far less often.
The Terps were winning without leaning on frantic finishes, and when they did find themselves in a tight spot, they usually handled it. In that three-year span, they lost only one fourth-quarter lead, on October 8, 2022 against Purdue, when a blocked PAT helped force a failed two-point try on the final possession.
The only other second-half lead they surrendered came against No. 4 Ohio State in 2023, when Maryland went up by seven on the first drive after halftime before the Buckeyes answered with 27 straight points.
Even with that Ohio State loss, Maryland still finished 8-5 and won its third consecutive bowl game, and there was real belief the program could keep climbing. Instead, the slide has gone the other way. The current state of things has fueled calls for a change, and that likely means firing head coach Mike Locksley.
That move may not happen until the end of the season, when Maryland would owe a smaller piece of his buyout. Until then, the Terps are left hoping for something much smaller: scoring at all in the fourth quarter of conference games, rather than staring at a 40-0 deficit.
In Other News...
Maryland Has A Third Down Problem That Keeps Making Everything Worse
Marylands latest Big Ten trip followed a familiar script, with the Terps coming home from Nebraska after a 48-23 loss that stretched their conference skid to 10 straight games. The offense showed a little more life with Dejuan Williams back in the mix, but the ground game alone was not enough to keep the pressure off a unit that spent too much of the afternoon chasing the game.
The biggest problem was the same one that has been sinking drives for weeks. Maryland went just 1 of 14 on third down and has converted only 2 of 30 over the past two weeks, leaving too many possessions dead before they ever had a chance to matter. Add in a defensive front that could not consistently bother the quarterback, and the Terps were left with little margin anywhere on the field. [Read more 🡒]
Maryland Let Nebraska Flip This Game In A Brutal Second Half
Maryland had enough early success to keep things interesting, but the game changed fast once Nebraska settled in on defense after halftime. The Terrapins were held to just 95 yards after the break and never found the end zone again, a sharp turnaround for a Nebraska defense that also forced three turnovers and steadily tightened its grip on the game.
The swing really started before halftime, when defensive back Dwayne McDougle turned an interception into a pick-six that gave Nebraska a lead it would not give back. Even with some missed tackles along the way, the Cornhuskers closed it out and moved to 5-0 for the first time since 2016, another sign that this start is looking a little more real by the week. [Read more 🡒]
Pharrel Payne Just Raised The Pressure On Marylands New-Look Roster
Pharrel Payne is back in the spotlight before Maryland has even tipped off its new season. The veteran big man was named to the Preseason All-Big Ten Team by the league office, a recognition that underscores how much the Terrapins are counting on him after he missed most of last season because of injury. Now entering his fifth year, Payne is expected to be one of the anchors for a roster that has been reshaped around him.
Marylands lineup will look different this fall, with several new faces joining the mix and an early schedule that will start revealing how quickly the pieces fit together. The preseason honor only adds to the attention around Payne and the pressure on the Terrapins, who also have ticket sales underway as interest builds for what could be one of the more closely watched seasons in the Big Ten. [Read more 🡒]