The Terps dropped their final game of the season.
Maryland football’s disappointing 2024 campaign ended in appropriate fashion. No. 4 Penn State dominated the Terps in every facet Saturday, running away with a 44-7 victory in Happy Valley.
The Terps will finish the season 4-8 overall and 1-8 in conference play, both their worst marks since 2019.
Here are three takeaways from the season finale.
MJ Morris disappointed in first Maryland start
Billy Edwards Jr. was listed as questionable before the game, but was held out against the Nittany Lions. Redshirt sophomore MJ Morris, who transferred to Maryland this past offseason from NC State, got his first start as a Terp in relief.
His outing started off hot. Following a Nicholas Singleton fumble that gave Maryland the ball well inside Penn State territory, Morris floated a perfectly-placed ball over two defenders to Kaden Prather in the end zone for a 25-yard score.
But that throw represented nearly 25% of his passing yards all game. Morris lacked confidence, repeatedly missing open receivers and taking too long to process the defense. Part of these struggles can be attributed to a quick and relentless pass rush that was in his face all game, but Morris — a relatively mobile quarterback — failed to create with his legs.
He finished 14-of-24 passing for 112 yards, the touchdown to Prather and three interceptions. All three were due to Morris seemingly not seeing a defender in his throwing lane.
Edwards is expected to return to College Park next season. With four-star 2025 quarterback prospect Malik Washington also likely in the fold, there may not be an avenue for Morris to win a starting role for the Terps next year.
Offensive and defensive lines struggled mightily
Penn State’s pass rush is one of the best in the nation, but Maryland’s offensive line did virtually nothing to stop them.
A Nittany Lion pass rusher got to the quarterback unblocked on seemingly every play. Morris struggled, but had barely any time to let plays develop. Six Nittany Lions recorded sacks, including two from phenom linebacker Abdul Carter. Left tackle Marcus Dumervil — starting in place of an injured Andre Roye Jr. — and right tackle Alan Herron had particularly poor performances. Neither kept up with Penn State’s speed off the edge, resulting in constant quarterback pressure.
And outside of garbage time, Maryland’s running backs had very little space to work with as well. The Terps ran the ball 25 times in the first half — they picked up 26 yards on those tries, although that total includes sack yardage lost. Either way, the run game was stagnant when things mattered, and that was due to a lack of push up front.
“We’ve got to be able to run the ball efficiently to help take some of the pressure off of the protection,” head coach Michael Locksley said.
It was the opposite story for the Nittany Lions’ offensive line. The Terps’ defensive front was bullied all afternoon, leading to 219 Penn State rushing yards on an efficient 4.5 yards per carry. Quarterback Drew Allar was neither sacked nor hit.
The Terps have a long offseason ahead of them
Saturday was Maryland’s last chance to make an impression on the 2025 recruiting class. Headlined by four-star quarterback Malik Washington, its class currently sits at No. 26 nationally — the highest for Maryland since 2019 — but in the NIL era, things can change for the better or worse ahead of National Signing Day.
The Terps now must wait and hope they can retain recruits that may receive larger NIL offers from other schools. Maryland is not positioned to compete with many top-tier programs in that field. That’s a bad restriction to have coming off a 4-8 season.
The same problem arises in the transfer portal, which Locksley will have to try and be aggressive in to replace starters at numerous positions. That task is made even harder if current starters decide to leave — especially with Tai Felton, Kaden Prather, Glen Miller, Dante Trader Jr. and Ruben Hyppolite, among others, set to leave the team.
“I keep talking about the senior group, and the way they’ve led us,” Locksley said. “They put the work in. When you have an inexperienced group like we have at certain positions, these are unfortunately the growing pains that you have to go through.”
A win — or even a close fight — against Penn State would have left a lasting impression on those groups. Instead, Maryland fans have to play the waiting game and hope the roster can be replenished ahead of 2025.