With its loftiest preseason ambitions long off the table, the Maryland football team entered its showdown with No. 18 Michigan on Saturday seeking an improbable upset. The Terrapins not only aimed to preserve flickering bowl aspirations, but also to gift the senior class a day to remember for its final home game.
Instead, a 45-20 loss left the reeling Terps (4-7, 1-7 Big Ten) without the possibility of reaching the postseason for the second consecutive year. Their seven-game losing streak matches the longest for Maryland since Coach Michael Locksley took over in 2019.
Locksley’s record fell to 0-20 against ranked Big Ten opponents. After dropping its ninth in a row in the series against Michigan, Maryland has lost all four games this month by an average of nearly 26 points. Over the past two seasons, the Terps are 0-8 in November games.
“I know this team will keep fighting as long as there is time left,” Locksley said. “We’ll keep showing up and working. We have one more opportunity next week in Detroit [against Michigan State] to send our seniors out with a win, and I know this team, because of the character they’ve shown over the last seven weeks here, will continue to do that. We just weren’t good enough today. That starts with me as the leader.”
The Wolverines (9-2, 7-1) amassed 443 yards of total offense, went 12 for 14 on third down and 6 for 8 in the red zone. They extinguished all but the faintest hopes for a Maryland comeback by scoring touchdowns on consecutive possessions in the third quarter to extend their lead to 35-13.
The second of those touchdowns came on Bryson Kuzdzal’s one-yard run. The junior finished with 100 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries in place of Justice Haynes and Jordan Marshall, Michigan’s top two running backs who are both out with injuries. Marshall had been a game-time decision, but he sat out presumably with the aim of playing against top-ranked Ohio State in next weekend’s regular season finale.
“We had a great opportunity in front of us today, and I was hoping to put my best foot forward,” Maryland senior safety Jalen Huskey said. “Obviously didn’t get the result we wanted, but we have one more game. I plan on finishing that one the right way.”
Maryland’s lone touchdown when the game was still competitive came on its opening possession. Malik Washington’s one-yard pass to tight end Dorian Fleming on fourth and goal gave the Terps a 7-0 lead less than five minutes into the first quarter. Washington finished 19 for 39 for 210 yards and the one touchdown. His lone interception led to a Wolverines touchdown in the second quarter.
Maryland’s beleaguered defense permitted touchdowns on the Wolverines’ first three possessions, two of which came on touchdown passes from freshman Bryce Underwood, the top-rated quarterback prospect in the country last year.
Underwood’s production helped put Maryland into a 21-10 hole at halftime, although fan discontent seemed nowhere near as pronounced as it was in the Terps’ previous game in College Park, when chants of “Fire Locksley!” repeatedly emanated from the student section during a 55-10 homecoming loss to No. 2 Indiana.
Locksley addressed the calls for his dismissal several days later, saying he probably would have demanded the same if he were watching from the stands, given how poorly the Terps played in their most lopsided result this year.
Then, last Sunday, he received clarity on his future when Athletic Director Jim Smith announced Locksley would be back beyond this season. The “Letter to Terp Nation,” which Smith shared online to officially announce his decision, included assurances that additional financial resources would be allocated to the program to bring it more in line with its Big Ten rivals.
Last year, for instance, Maryland spent $37 million for football operating expenses, which includes the cost of student aid, according to the Knight-Newhouse college athletics database. The average for schools in the conference was more than $58 million. National champion Ohio State spent close to $80 million last season.
The Wolverines, the 2023 national champions, spent roughly $72.4 million last season, contributing to far greater depth throughout their roster than Maryland has. Locksley has often pointed to that deficiency when assessing what measures the Terps can take to realistically compete in the highest rungs of the conference.
A dearth of blue-chip depth was glaringly apparent on defense this year when top starters such as linebacker Daniel Wingate and edge rusher Zahir Mathis were either unavailable or played with ailments. Neither made it out of the first half in last week’s 24-6 loss to Illinois, but both were back on the field against Michigan, still far from completely healthy.
Their presence did little to stop the Wolverines from marching 47 yards for the tying touchdown midway through the first quarter after Maryland failed to recover an onside kick. Underwood delivered a deftly placed 12-yard scoring pass to freshman wide receiver Andrew Marsh in the corner of the end zone.
Michigan went ahead 14-7 on Kuzdzal’s first touchdown run from two yards out 43 seconds into the second quarter. The Wolverines led for good from there.
“There were definitely some opportunities left on the field,” Washington said. “We talked about it before halftime, during halftime and then of course after the game. We need to execute and make those plays.”
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