The Terps never held a lead against the Hoosiers.
Maryland football quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. took a deep shot to Kaden Prather in the end zone midway through the fourth quarter. Down 14 points to Indiana, a touchdown would have brought the Terps within striking distance late.
Initially, Prather appeared to catch the ball in-bounds for a score. But replay showed his knee was out of bounds when he came down, and the play was overturned. To make matters worse, Prather suffered an injury on the play and left the game. With Tai Felton also leaving the game earlier, Maryland was without both its star receivers.
Three plays later, Edwards went deep on fourth down to redshirt freshman Ezekiel Avit — who had not yet recorded a reception in his career — but the pass was broken up. Indiana scored on the ensuing drive to put the game on ice.
The Hoosiers then cruised to a 42-28 win over Maryland on Saturday in Bloomington, Indiana.
Indiana (5-0) came into the game as one of just four FBS teams eclipsing 50 points per game. It didn’t slow down against the Terps, finishing with 510 total yards. Quarterback Kurtis Rourke continued a stellar campaign, going 22-for-33 for 359 yards and three touchdowns.
But at first, he didn’t look in line for a good game. Rourke threw interceptions on each of Indiana’s first two drives, first to Jalen Huskey and then to Glen Miller.
But Maryland (3-2) didn’t score off either turnover. Edwards, whose quick decision making was a strength in the team’s first four contests, looked indecisive. He was sacked twice on those drives — holding the ball for a long time on both plays — and finished the first frame with just 12 passing yards.
The Terps hurt themselves with penalties repeatedly throughout the afternoon. They finished with 10 — costing 93 yards — compared to Indiana’s four.
The Hoosiers finally found the end zone early in the second quarter, topping off a 12-play, 83-yard drive with a 1-yard run by Myles Price.
Maryland responded with a touchdown of its own on a 33-yard deep ball to Kaden Prather. Prather finished the game with a team-high 66 receiving yards on five catches. Felton had 38 yards, failing to eclipse 100 yards for the first time this season.
The second quarter was a sloppy one for both teams. Maryland didn’t pick up another first down until after halftime. Indiana didn’t do anything with its three drives following the early touchdown, but scored right before halftime to go up, 14-7.
“This is the third game we’ve given up points right before the half,” head coach Michael Locksley said. “I’ve got to look at that. It’s on the tape. We’ve studied it. … I’ve got to get that fixed.”
After catching just two balls for 7 yards in the first half, Felton caught back-to-back passes for a combined 28 yards on Maryland’s opening drive of the third quarter. Shaleak Knotts made an incredible catch to convert a third-and-17, and Dylan Wade caught a twice-deflected pass to cap off the touchdown drive.
Edwards, despite his shortcomings reading the field at times, threw for 289 yards and three touchdowns without a turnover. It was another strong afternoon for him on paper.
Roman Hemby burst free for a 75-yard touchdown the next time Maryland touched the ball. He finished with 117 rushing yards — his highest mark in 15 games — along with a 12-yard receiving touchdown in garbage time.
The Hoosiers’ offensive line dominated Maryland in the second half. Indiana averaged 4.8 yards per carry in that span, and Rourke had ample time in the pocket. That culminated in 167 second-half passing yards on just 14 throws. Four of Indiana’s seven second-half drives, excluding kneel-downs to finish the game, ended in the end zone.
“[When the] defense did a really good job getting us turnovers, offense struggled,” Locksley said. “Offense got going to tie it up, and then the defense struggles.”
Three things to know
1. Injuries piled up. Felton, Prather, Andre Roye Jr., Dante Trader Jr. and Brandon Jacob all left the game with injuries. Cornerback Jalen Huskey was moved to safety — a position he’s never played in college — for most of the game. Without Felton and Prather, Maryland didn’t have the weapons to keep up late. Maryland losing four starters — Felton, Prather, Roye and Trader — in the first game of the bulk of its Big Ten slate is a bad break, and it will need those four to get healthy fast.
2. Maryland could not capitalize on turnovers. The Terps intercepted Rourke twice and recovered two fumbles. However, they didn’t pick up a single first down on the four resulting drives. In a game where Maryland gave up 42 points, turnovers are only valuable when they result in points. They didn’t against the Hoosiers.
3. First 0-2 Big Ten start under Locksley. The “September Maryland” tag has followed every team led by Locksley. This is the first time since 2019 — his first year at the helm — where the Terps have multiple losses before October. With USC, Oregon, Iowa and Penn State still on the schedule, any hopes of competing for a Big Ten championship look lost.
“We’ve got to move on,” Ruben Hyppolite II said. “We got more games to play, so we got to take the coaching, make the corrections and move on.”