Maryland set to test Nebraska’s top-ranked pass defense
If not for some recent painful home losses, Nebraska and Maryland would be meeting as unbeaten teams for a Big Ten Conference game Saturday afternoon in College Park, Md.
The host Terrapins (4-1, 1-1) are coming off a 24-20 setback to Washington, a game they led 20-0 late in the third quarter. That finish continued a season-long trend for Maryland, which has struggled in the final periods of games.
“You gotta play the game for four quarters and we played it for three,” Maryland coach Mike Locksley said. “Last week’s loss will have no bearing on what we do this week. Last week is over, we have to make the corrections that we will make.”
Visiting Nebraska (4-1, 1-1) beat Michigan State 38-27 last week, but in its previous game, it dropped a three-point decision at home to Michigan. In those two games, the Cornhuskers gained a combined 110 yards on the ground, though that number is misleading because it includes 12 sacks of quarterback Dylan Raiola.
“Emmett Johnson is third in the league in rushing, so that narrative that’s out there that we can’t run the football is silly,” Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said.
Raiola has thrown for 1,331 yards and 12 touchdowns, and he’ll be countered by Maryland freshman Malik Washington, who has thrown for 1,257 yards and nine TDs and also run for three scores.
“When you have that combination of you’re a passer first, but you’re also athletic, it extends plays,” Rhule said of Washington. “It’s the passing game for them that’s really opened up. We’re a pretty good pass defense, so it should be a good matchup.”
Nebraska leads FBS in pass defense, allowing 91.8 yards per game, but has yielded nine rushing scores, including six in the last two games. Maryland is last in the Big Ten in rushing, at 93.2 yards per game, but Locksley believes that’s where the game could be won.
“When we study people, we try to figure out what they do well and don’t do well,” he said. “They’re also probably a team that gives up some stuff in the run game.”
Nebraska holds a 2-1 edge in the series, though Maryland won the most recent game in 2023 in Lincoln. The Cornhuskers won 54-7 in College Park in 2019.
–Field Level Media
