Maryland Terrapins fall at home in prime time

In prime time under the lights, it was expected that it was going to be a cold one, and many people thought that Michigan State would beat the Maryland Terrpains. The thoughts of the public were proven right as Maryland fell to Michigan State 37-15, ironically the same score the Terps beat the Indiana Hoosiers by in their inaugural Big Ten game.

One thing you could say about the Maryland Terrapins in this game was that their defense was very impressive despite the points they conceded. The Terps held the Spartans to nine points in the first 28 minutes of play, giving up just three field goals. The Terps red zone defense was stout in that span, while their offense struggled mightily from start to finish.

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The Terps did, however, score their first points on a 20-yard pass from C.J. Brown to Daniel Adams to cap off a five-play, 41-yard drive. The touchdown made the score 9-7.

Maryland’s struggles offensively continued after that, though. The Spartans would score again on a Jeremy Langford touchdown run late in the second quarter. The Terps, though, would go scoreless for the rest of the half, which ended when C.J. Brown threw his second of three interceptions on the day with two seconds left in the half.

Both teams went scoreless in the third quarter until a defensive score by the Spartans, as safety R.J. Williamson picked off a C.J. Brown pass for 22 yards and six points, making the score 23-7 after the PAT.  Turnovers were a constant for the Terps offense in this game. They consistently ended any momentum Maryland had built against a top-tier defense.

Jeremy Langford scored his second touchdown of the day with a 25-yard run to start the scoring for the Spartans in the fourth quarter, making the score 30-7. The score capped off an eight-play, 77-yard drive that took five minutes off the clock.  T

he Terps were able to copy that play/drive yardage combo with a pass touchdown thrown to wide receiver Juwann Winfree for 31 yards from C.J. Brown. They went for a two point conversion after the touchdown and were able to score, cutting the Michigan State lead to 15. The touchdown pass to Winfree was Brown’s second of the day.

Ending any comeback bid, the Spartans sealed the game with a 33-yard run by Spartan running back Nick Hill to give the Spartans a 37-15 lead, which was the final score.

Key Players I talked about that the Terps needed to stop: quarterback Connor Cook, running back Jeremy Langford and Tony Lippett at wide receiver. Connor Cook went 14 for 31 and had 240 passing yards, Jeremy Langford ran for 139 yards on 25 carries and got in the end zone twice, and Lippett had a quiet game with only four catches for 46 yards.

A combination of things led to Maryland losing this game but offensively the biggest contributor was Stefon Diggs not being on the field.

Despite the loss, the Terps are currently bowl eligible and have games against Michigan and Rutgers coming up November 22nd and 29th respectively.