Maryland football dominated 37-10 by Northwestern

Photo courtesy of Maryland Athletics

With just over 13 minutes left, Maryland regained possession down seven. On the second play of the drive, Billy Edwards was hit as he wound up to throw and fumbled. Aidan Hubbard recovered the ball in the end zone, putting Northwestern up 24-10 and ruining the Terps’ momentum.

“Our left guard totally missed the block. Obviously, we prepare our quarterback. Things like that happen. I hate that,” Mike Locksley said, “It happened to Ike Bunyun. He’s competed well for us up front, but got to be clean.”

Maryland outgained Northwestern by 72 total yards but inability to finish drives and four turnovers led to the loss. This was evident in the third quarter when the Terps had first and goal from the one and had to settle for a field goal after two negative runs and a sack.

Maryland’s (3-3, 0-3 Big Ten) 37-10 loss to Northwestern (3-3, 1-2) on Friday night in College Park marks the program’s first 0-3 conference start since 2015.

“It starts with me and making sure I’m doing the things that jump-start us,” Locksley said.

The Terps’ defense kept the game close until the fourth quarter and held Northwestern’s offense to an over 30-minute scoring drought following a field goal with 10:50 left in the second quarter.

“We just need to execute. We need guys to have the same mentality as far as playing hard and having pride,” Ruben Hyppolite said. “I think we need to continue to cultivate that and continue to hammer that amongst our team.”

The Wildcats opened the scoring midway through the first quarter when quarterback Jack Lausch scrambled for nine yards on third and five. A 40-yard completion to A.J. Henning set up the early touchdown despite the ball being underthrown.

Northwestern scored again on its next drive, going 92 yards and taking over six minutes off the clock. The drive was capped off by a three-yard Cam Porter rush where Lausch moved from under center and Porter took a direct snap.

It turned worse for the Terps on the ensuing kickoff when a fumble, recovered by Northwestern, helped it take a 17-0 lead.

However, the offense found an answer and scored on fourth and goal from the one on an Edwards sneak. Maryland went pass-heavy that drive and Edwards completed 7-of-10 passes for 73 yards.

The junior finished his night with 296 yards on a season-low 55% completion rate.

“We got to figure out what we can do. Obviously, I’m going to start with me. I’m the leader of the offense,” Edwards said, “I gotta figure out what I can do better, and then every guy in that locker room. We gotta make that decision and just continue to get better as a team.”

The other difference-maker that drive was the involvement of Tai Felton. The senior caught his first three passes of the night for 33 yards, 32 of those yards after the catch.

Maryland had two chances to cut into the lead in the two-minute drill but failed after a three-and-out and a missed field goal.

The offense found life at the end of the third quarter. Despite being backed up at its own one, Maryland drove 98 yards to the Northwestern one but had to settle for a field goal following a third down sack.

Following the fumble recovery touchdown, the Terps couldn’t convert a fourth and six at the Northwestern 19. An Edwards interception with six minutes remaining marked Maryland’s fourth turnover of the night and officially ended any hope of a miracle comeback.

“I’m confident that we can get this thing fixed and get it fixed sooner rather than later,” Locksley said.

Maryland will look for its first conference win next Saturday against USC at SECU Stadium.