Maryland football got absolutely clobbered at home, taking a stunning 54-3 defeat from UCLA. This isn’t just a loss, it’s a nightmare that drops the Terps to a disappointing 2-2, a record they haven’t seen this early since 2019. Head Coach Michael Locksley has won only three games after the opening loss of the season during his eight-year tenure, leading to prolonged skids in each of the last three years. Promises that this year’s team was better equipped to respond? Yeah, the 54-3 score says otherwise. Pressure is mounting on Locksley to somehow avoid another disastrous season, and after this brutal showing, who can blame anyone for feeling the heat?
UCLA Imposed Its Will, Maryland’s Defense Crumbled
It was always gonna be a daunting task for Maryland’s defense. They missed *19 tackles* last week, and then they faced the nation’s fifth-best rush attack. Seriously? How do you prepare for that? Their shorthanded running back room didn’t help either, with only three healthy options, two of whom hadn’t even played football since high school. Despite an emphasis on establishing the ground game early, Maryland had absolutely zero success. We’re talking negative rushing yardage in the first half despite 16 rush attempts. Three consecutive Iverson Howard carries on the second drive led to one of Maryland’s eight punts. That’s just rough.
UCLA just flat out dominated the trenches, an area Locksley himself said at Big Ten Media Day needed improvement. Maryland had allowed only three sacks during nonconference play, but the Bruins racked up two in the opening 19 minutes alone. They generated seven tackles for loss, ensuring Malik Washington couldn’t operate in a clean pocket. UCLA overwhelmed Maryland’s linemen, and it wasn’t even close. Wayne Knight, one of the nation’s premier running backs, who already had 345 rushing yards and eight touchdowns through three games, absolutely torched them. He finished with 100 rushing yards on just 10 carries, breaking loose for a 45-yard touchdown to start the scoring. Locksley admitted, “They made a couple of plays there in the run game where those explosives showed up. You got to get in the right calls with the right checks and make sure you get the ball down.” UCLA had three first-half rushing touchdowns, exceeding Virginia Tech’s two from last week. Maryland tied its season-low with one sack and produced two tackles behind the line of scrimmage, allowing a staggering 266 rushing yards. Brutal.
Malik Washington’s Nightmare Outing
Quarterback Malik Washington, a sophomore, came into this Big Ten opener with back-to-back 300-yard passing performances. The pressure was on him to deliver, but what we got instead was the worst outing of his career. “What we wanted to do was obviously get him into a little bit of a rhythm,” Locksley said, “Today was one of those games for us on offense where nothing we called worked, nothing that Malik did was right, and what we got to do now is go watch the tape.” Nothing right? Yeah, four picks will do that. Washington, who hadn’t committed a single turnover all season, threw four interceptions on Saturday, with two of them getting returned for touchdowns! He even nearly fumbled in the second quarter on a play that looked eerily similar to last year’s giveaway against Northern Illinois. On a 14-yard sack, Washington tried to throw the ball away as he went to ground. He was ruled down before the ball came loose, but man, talk about a close call on top of an already awful day.
This kind of performance cannot become the new normal if Locksley wants to turn this season around. The Terps have to clean this mess up fast, because falling to 2-2 this early after a crushing home defeat like that is a massive red flag. They need to find some answers, and quickly.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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