In spite of everything that happened last weekend - a defensive disaster at the hands of UCLA, Malik Washington's worst career game, and a thundering cry from fans to fire head coach Mike Locksley - the Maryland Terrapins came to play at Nebraska.
The previously nonexistent run game was rejuvenated with the return of DeJuan Williams. Chris Durr Jr. continued to cement himself as the team's WR1 with another 100+ yard game. The defense forced three three-and-outs and a pair of turnovers - including one on downs.
As unlikely as it seemed entering the game, Maryland had gone from two score underdogs to holding a two-score lead midway through the second quarter.
Then the bottom dropped. Or in this case, was jumped.
Washington, who had been playing better to that point, was played perfectly by Nebraska defensive back Dwayne McDougle III, who dashed right in front of a bullet pass and took it the other way.
Washington turned around and nearly got his hands on McDougle as he went by, but like every big moment in recent Maryland memory, it was just out of reach.
That 81-yard return was his third pick-six and sixth overall interception in his last six quarters of football. And it was more than enough to completely kill whatever momentum the Terrapins had going.
The Huskers scored 34 unanswered points , dominating the Terps on all fronts in the process. In doing so, they all but shattered one of Maryland's top goals entering the season.
Before the season began, Washington stressed the importance of playing a complete 60 minutes . These second half falloffs were a common sight last fall, and ultimately the reason for losses against University of Washington, Nebraska, UCLA, and Rutgers.
Across those four games, Terps were outscored in the final 15 by a combined mark of 51-10. They lost by a combined 25 points.
Maryland's loss to Washington, in which they blew a 20-0 second half lead, catapulted into eight straight losses to end the 2025 season. Photo by Jamie Sabau | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
But this issue was not just a one-year wonder. Maryland has been outscored in the fourth quarter in 15 of their last 18 conference games. The latest exception was matching Wisconsin's seven points in their only Big Ten win last season.
Before that, they had two games where they outscored the opposition: in garbage time during a blowout at Minnesota, and their last home Big Ten victory - October 19, 2024 against USC. But the three prior also involved Maryland deficits, and all three were defeats.
This is all important to note because during the program's relative success from 2021-2023, these late droughts didn't happen so frequently. The Terps were winning games without needing last minute heroics, and even when they did, they managed to convert most of them.
Over that three-year period, Maryland only lost *one* fourth quarter lead: October 8, 2022 vs Purdue. And that was due in part to a rare blocked PAT, forcing the Terps to attempt (and fail) a two-point conversion on their final possession.
The only other times they lost a lead in the entire second half were both against Ohio State. In 2022, they led by a field goal at halftime before allowing a 17-point swing, and the following year, an early third quarter go-ahead score was erased by 27 unanswered.
While missing out on two chances to upset a Top 5 team was disappointing, those Terps still finished with winning record and three consecutive bowl victories. There was hope that the program would continue to build off those positive seasons and claw their way out of the basement of the Big Ten.
Instead, the pendulum has swung hard in the other direction. A change is sorely needed, and that is likely to come in the form of moving on from Mike Locksley .
But that may not come until the end of the season, at which point Maryland would have to pay a lesser chunk of his buyout. Until that point, Terps fans can hope for the baby steps of scoring points at all in the final quarter of conference games, as opposed to their current 40-0 disadvantage.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/maryland as Maryland Football Keeps Status Quo With Latest Second Half Collapse Against Nebraska .
