UConn football overmatched in 38-14 loss to Maryland

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EAST HARTFORD – The UConn football team was overmatched in its first power-conference game of the Jason Candle era and lost, 38-14, to Maryland on Saturday at Rentschler Field.

After a promising start, the Terrapins’ Big Ten size and sideline-to-sideline offensive attack wore the Huskies down as they produced 475 total yards to UConn’s 223. Sophomore quarterback Malik Washington had a stretch of 18 completions in a row that began late in the first half as he finished the game an impressive 34 of 41 passing for 347 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Kalieb Osborne went 10 of 21 for 156 yards and two touchdowns, and ran 13 times for 30 yards, as UConn fell to 2-8 all-time against Big Ten opponents.

“My biggest worry coming out of Week 1 was there wasn’t any adverse moments in our first football game. This team is a whole different animal. We were gonna have to toe the line and play a Big Ten football team,” Candle said. “We got hit in the mouth today. So we’re gonna have to bounce back. As I just told (the team), ‘Nobody’s coming to save us.’ And if you’re a real competitor, you don’t want anybody to come save you.

“You want to get better, you want to improve, you want to learn from today. You want to be able to address the tape and fix it, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

The Huskies (1-1) benefitted from complimentary football early after pinning Maryland at its own 10-yard line with a punt and forcing a quick 3-and-out on its second offensive series. Taking advantage of the short field, it only took three plays for Osborne to toss the ball up to JD Willoughby, who beat his defender on a deep post route and was wide open in the end zone from 32 yards out for the first score of the day.

UConn’s defense was on the verge of forcing its third straight punt to start the game before Washington connected with Na’eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding over the middle on 3rd-and-8 and he raced into the end zone for a 60-yard answer.

“Those kids on the defensive front played their tail off, to be honest with you. Played hard throughout the whole time, I’m sure there’s going to be some stuff on tape that we’re gonna have to address and fix,” Candle said. “But they can’t just sit there and take punches the whole game. We’ve got to help them out in other phases of the game.”

Maryland’s pressure got to Osborne for a strip sack, his second turnover of the season, late in the opening quarter, but the defense was able to get off the field with a turnover on downs. It wasn’t until the next drive that the unit had to pay for its mistakes. The series starting on Maryland’s own 4, a pair of costly pass interference calls gifted the Terps a boost down the field for their second touchdown as Harry Dalton III took it in from the opposite 4-yard line.

Energy was waning for UConn’s defense as the half came to a close, but the unit managed to hold strong on the goal line, leaving the Terrapins with a chip shot field goal to head into the locker room with a 17-7 lead.

The Huskies, penalized eight times in the game, five on defense, were outgained 158 yards to 30 in the second quarter.

“That was a great team, but we also shot ourselves in the foot a little bit,” said linebacker John Lista. “Tried to pressure them a little bit, didn’t really get home which is kind of a big issue for us. When you’re gonna pressure the quarterback, you’ve gotta get to him.”

Avoiding another strip sack, UConn’s offensive dormancy continued with a three-and-out to start the second half and Maryland continued to wear the defense down, picking up 71 yards along a 10-play drive that was capped by a 1-yard rushing touchdown for Iverson Howard. Washington threw just one incomplete pass in the second half.

“They made some really tough catches at really critical times, pivotal times throughout the course of the game. And when you play man coverage damn near the whole game like we do, you’re gonna have some of those things where they’re 50/50 balls and credit their quarterback and their kids for making some plays on the football in some tough moments,” Candle said.

It was Shamar Porter, a third-year Husky, who woke the offense after four consecutive fruitless drives. Porter got himself going with a 20-yard gain across midfield and found himself open down the sideline two plays later, kicking down the pylon for a 39-yard score that cut the deficit to 14.

But it didn’t take long for Maryland to march down the field with an answer as Dalton crossed the goal line for his second rushing touchdown of the game. The Terrapins found the end zone again in the final quarter with Washington’s 17th-consecutive completion, this time from 13 yards out to Chris Durr Jr. to serve as the final blow.

“For me, it’s Week 2, we’ve got a long way to go. This certainly isn’t going to define us. We’ve got to see this as an opportunity to grow and continue to get better,” Candle said.

UConn will hit the road for the first time this season for a 7 p.m. kickoff at Southern Miss on Saturday.

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