Malik Washington’s career night not enough to push Maryland football past Michigan State

Photo courtesy of Maryland Athletics

On Nov. 30, 2024, Maryland football ended its season with a demoralizing loss. No. 7 Penn State demolished the Terps, 44-7. 

364 days later, the Terps ended their 2025 campaign in similar fashion. Maryland football lost to a Michigan State team that hadn’t won a conference game all season, 38-28, ending the season on an eight-game losing streak. 

“This year wasn’t good enough,” head coach Michael Locksley said. “Let’s start with that. Did not meet the expectation that any of us set inside of Jones Hill House. Not good enough, not coached good enough, not played well enough. And that starts with me, and it’s my job to quality control this season and make any and every necessary change for us to get this program back to where we all needed to be.”

Quarterback Malik Washington had his best game of the Terps’ conference slate, and of his young career. The true freshman was 38-for-61, finishing the game with 459 passing yards – the second most in a single game by a Maryland quarterback – along with three touchdowns. 

Senior Jalil Farooq was Washington’s favorite target on Saturday. The Oklahoma transfer was targeted 13 times and caught 10 passes for two touchdowns. 

Michigan State’s run game has been one of the worst in the Big Ten. Against Maryland’s run defense, you couldn’t tell. The Spartans came into the game averaging 119.4 rushing yards per game.They had 98 in the first half alone. Michigan State finished with 161 rushing yards – Elijah Tau-Tolliver led the way with 95

The Terps had no answers for Alessio Milivojevic either. Michigan State’s freshman quarterback threw for four touchdowns and 292 yards, completing an impressive 27-39 of his passes

In the final game of the season, Locksley took an aggressive approach. Late in the second quarter, trailing by 10, he elected to go for it on fourth-and-two from the Spartans’ 25-yard line. Washington couldn’t connect with Shaleak Knotts, and Michigan State proceeded to go the length of the field in under a minute for a back-breaking touchdown to end the opening half. 

Washington came out of halftime looking to bring the Terps back. Trailing by 17, Maryland abandoned the run and put everything in the hands of its freshman quarterback, and he delivered. He marched the Terps down the field on back-to-back drives, finishing both with touchdowns and bringing Maryland within a score. 

It seemed like the Terps had all the momentum. They lost it just as quickly. Alante Brown returned the ensuing kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown, putting the Spartans back up two scores. 

Washington wasn’t done. He responded in a little over a minute with a four-play, 75-yard drive capped by a 24-yard touchdown pass to Farooq to bring Maryland within three. 

After three straight punts, the Terps had the ball early in the fourth quarter with a chance to take the lead. Washington drove Maryland to within the Spartans’ 10-yard line, but the Terps were forced to settle for a field goal. Sean O’Haire missed the 27-yarder – his first missed field goal shorter than 30 yards and only his third miss overall this season  

Maryland’s defense answered beautifully. Jamare Glasker jumped a throw from Milivojevic and picked it off, giving the Terps the ball and excellent field position. They couldn’t capitalize. Three incompletions and a sack later, the Spartans had the ball back after a turnover on downs – an aggressive call from Locksley considering Maryland had all three timeouts and the two-minute warning. 

That wasted opportunity would be the last one the Terps would get. Michigan State scored a touchdown six plays later, going for it on fourth down from deep in Maryland territory and converting with a pass to a wide-open Omari Kelly in the end zone – effectively ending any chance of a Terps comeback. 

The loss – Maryland’s eighth straight – marks the most consecutive losses in a season under Locksley. 

“Obviously there was no progress in terms of wins and losses, but if you peel back at the layers of the program, we played a lot cleaner,” Locksley said. “We created turnovers, we got some young players, valuable experience that will lay a foundation that I think we’ll be able to build upon, but the end results are, we didn’t win enough games.”