3 takeaways: Next task for Maryland football? Winning over fans.

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COLLEGE PARK — Home football games against Power 4 opponents have not been very kind to Maryland.

Saturday night’s 35-26 loss to Virginia Tech at SECU Stadium marked the third consecutive time the Terps have dropped their first game of the season to a Power 4 foe at home. Since a 42-14 rout of Virginia on Sept. 15, 2023, the team has gone 2-12 against Power 4 opponents at home, most of whom have been Big Ten rivals.

Sophomore quarterback Malik Washington acknowledged that the players thought they had learned from last year’s 24-20 setback to Washington on Oct. 4, during which the Huskies rallied from a 20-0 deficit.

“We talk about the finish in the fourth quarter, and that’s one thing we need to continue to improve on,” he said.

Here are three takeaways from Saturday’s game.

Maryland’s next task is winning over fans

Washington’s postgame conference opened with a question about how disappointing it was not to deliver for the droves of red-clad fans who packed the stadium, and what message he would offer them.

“Their support means a lot,” the Glen Burnie native and Spalding graduate said. “Of course, not the result that we wanted, but the energy that they bring, it means a lot to us as a team. So we just really appreciate the support. And as far as them coming back, of course we have to win games in order to make people want to come to games. We just appreciate the energy that they bring.”

In the latest instance of hyped-up games that produced more frustration than fun, the Terps (2-1) trailed 13-0 just nine seconds into the second quarter and trimmed the deficit to single digits by scoring two meaningless touchdowns in the fourth. After the Hokies scored a touchdown on their first series of the second half to assume a 35-14 advantage, many of the announced sold-out crowd of 46,185 began leaving.

Coach Michael Locksley, who can’t afford many more losses in the penultimate year of his contract with the school that pays him $6 million annually, said Maryland has to perform well enough to persuade fans to remain positive. Senior inside linebacker Daniel Wingate vowed that the team would earn back supporters’ trust.

“We’re a real resilient team,” the Laurel resident and Pallotti graduate said. “We don’t let one loss define us. We don’t let one win define us. We’re going to bounce back the right way. We’re going to come back with a better mindset, better energy, and better play.”

Maybe DeJuan Williams is more important than we thought

The redshirt sophomore running back sat out his second straight start after getting pulled in the second quarter of a 62-0 thumping of Hampton on Sept. 5 with what Williams described as a “clicking” in his knee.

The absence of the Baltimore resident and St. Frances graduate was most noticeable Saturday. Sophomore Iverson Howard and redshirt freshman Harry Dalton III totaled just 48 yards and one touchdown on 17 carries, and Howard caught one pass for 11 yards.

The Terps’ inability to run the ball put the onus on Washington and the pass offense to be effective. Washington finished with 359 yards and three touchdowns, but he dropped back 25 times in the second half (completing 17 throws) and passed for two scores in the fourth quarter.

Still, Washington refused to blame the running backs or offensive line for Maryland’s troubles on the ground.

“When it comes to the run game, it’s about angles, double teams, hand placement, all that stuff, which the O-line did really well,” he said. “There were opportunities there for some plays to be made. Some execution could have been better on everybody’s part – the receivers, offense line, me carrying out my fakes, things that add up when they don’t show up on the stat sheet, but they do when the run game is working.”

The defense played like it was 2025

The miscues that plagued Terps last fall cropped up again Saturday.

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Maryland allowed Virginia Tech to convert 10 of 15 third-down chances, excluding a kneel-down in the fourth quarter when the Hokies ran out the clock. The Terps’ defense also committed a season-high four penalties, including three for pass interference. The Hokies turned those three infractions into touchdowns, helping build their significant lead.

The Terps missed several tackles, including four on sophomore running back Jeffrey Overton Jr.’s 49-yard catch-and-run score midway through the second quarter. Another egregious example was junior quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer’s touchdown scramble on third-and-goal from the 18-yard line during which he bounced out of a collapsing pocket, evaded one diving tackle and ran through an arm tackle before crossing the goal line.

“Usually when we miss tackles, it’s closing the distance, it’s making sure we’ve got our eyes up, it’s wrapping,” Locksley said. “But also, it’s running to the football and having a bunch of guys there. So if you do miss, you have the ability to get [the runner] on the ground. Today was just one of those days where we did not tackle the ball very well.”

Have a news tip? Contact Edward Lee at eklee@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/EdwardLeeSun.

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