Maryland made UConn spend Saturday afternoon dealing with the kind of pressure it didn’t have to face a week earlier.
After a 56-7 win over Lafayette, Huskies head coach Jason Candle said his only complaint was that his team hadn’t run into adversity. That changed fast at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, where Maryland beat UConn 38-14 and ended the Huskies’ nine-game home winning streak.
The loss also kept Maryland rolling in nonconference play. The Terrapins have now won 20 straight nonconference games, the longest streak in the country.
UConn actually drew first blood. Sophomore quarterback Kalieb Osborne guided a three-play, 47-yard touchdown march that took only 81 seconds, finishing it with a 36-yard strike to JD Willoughby with 4:39 left in the first quarter.
Maryland answered right back. The Terrapins covered 75 yards in four plays, and Malik Washington capped the 75-second drive with a 60-yard touchdown pass to Na’eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding.
The Huskies opened the second half needing a steady possession to settle things down, but they went three-and-out and lost four yards. Maryland then pushed its lead to 24-7 before UConn briefly tightened things up. Osborne found Shamar Porter for a 39-yard touchdown to pull the Huskies within 24-14 midway through the third quarter.
That was the last real threat.
The numbers told the story of a UConn offense that never found its rhythm. After piling up a program-record 671 yards against Lafayette, the Huskies were held to 223 total yards by Maryland.
Osborne finished 10 of 21 for 156 yards, and UConn managed just 67 rushing yards on 31 carries, with 30 of those coming from Osborne. Kenji Christian had nine carries for 17 yards, a 1.9-yard average.
The Huskies never got into the red zone, and both touchdowns came on throws longer than 20 yards. They also finished with only 12 first downs, went 3 for 11 on third down, and failed on both fourth-down attempts.
Communication issues showed up, too. Osborne and his receivers were not always on the same page, and with 87 new players on the roster plus a first-year starting quarterback, the offense looked like a unit still learning how to move together.
Ball security, which had been a strength during the 2025 season, was another concern. Joe Fagnano threw just one interception and UConn lost only one fumble during a nine-win season, but the Huskies had two turnovers against Lafayette and added a lost fumble Saturday.
Maryland’s offense was far cleaner and far more explosive. Washington went 34 of 41 for 347 yards and two touchdowns, and at one point he completed 18 passes in a row before finally missing.
The Terrapins finished with 475 total yards and scored on five of six red-zone trips. Their lone empty possession ended with Sean O’Haire’s 37-yard field goal attempt going wide left with 5:18 remaining.
The damage came through the air in big chunks. Chris Durr Jr. finished with 103 yards and a score, while Abdul-Rahim Gladding piled up 130 yards on eight catches, highlighted by his 60-yard touchdown.
UConn’s defense had its own problems, including missed tackles that kept turning manageable plays into bigger gains. Maryland’s receivers also added 222 yards after the catch, while the Huskies managed 64 in that category.
The penalties only made the gap wider. UConn was flagged eight times for 90 yards, compared with five penalties for 37 yards on Maryland.
The loss was UConn’s second straight against the Terrapins, who beat the Huskies 50-7 on Aug. 31, 2024, in College Park, Md. It also left UConn 2-8 all-time against Big Ten opponents. The Huskies are 2-1 against Indiana, 0-3 against Michigan, 0-2 against Maryland, and 0-1 against Illinois and Purdue.
UConn is now 1-1 and will play its first road game on Sept. 19 against Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Miss., at 7 p.m. The Golden Eagles were 1-0 and playing Saturday night at Auburn.
In Other News...
Tar Heels Face A Huge Recruiting Test In Crowded 2027 Battle
UConns recruiting footprint in the 2027 class got another look this week when DeMarcus Henry Jr., the Arizona Compass Prep standout, made a visit to Storrs as he works through a rapidly moving process. The rising wing has drawn multiple offers and picked up momentum off a strong stretch of performances across the spring and summer, the kind of rise that has put him firmly on the radar of blueblood programs and made every stop on his tour feel meaningful.
Henrys path is still unfolding, which is what makes the Huskies involvement worth watching. He has already narrowed his options and plans to see the rest of his finalists this fall, so the next few months will tell a lot about where UConn stands in a crowded chase for one of the countrys top young prospects. In the meantime, the staff also stayed busy on the road with Class of 2028 guard Michai White, who picked up a Syracuse offer after the teams visit to Prolific Prep in Florida. [Read more 🡒]
Illinois Just Lost A Major Guard Target Now What For The Backcourt
Illinois had been working to keep its footing with five-star guard target NaVorro Bowman Jr., but the 2027 pursuit ended when he committed to UConn. For a program trying to map out its future backcourt, losing that kind of high-end target before the class even takes shape is a sharp reminder of how quickly recruiting boards can change.
The Illini still have options to chase, with King Gibson remaining on their radar after putting Illinois in his top 10 schools. Even so, there is no Champaign visit on his schedule, which leaves the staff to weigh how much more runway it has with top-tier prep guards versus leaning harder into the transfer portal or developing the players already on hand. [Read more 🡒]
UConn Just Got The Early Reality Check Fans Feared
The first home game of the season brought UConn back to earth in a hurry, as Maryland controlled the night from the opening stretches and left the Huskies searching for answers on both sides of the ball. The Terps passing game repeatedly found space against a UConn defense that had little margin for error, turning what had looked like a promising early-season setting into a lopsided 38-14 loss.
Maryland quarterback Malik Washington was the engine behind it all, carving up the secondary with a steady rhythm that never let UConn settle in. And while the defense was being stressed snap after snap, the Huskies offense never found much traction either after the explosiveness it showed in the opener, a reminder that this group still has work to do before it looks like a finished product. [Read more 🡒]