Things aren’t looking too great for the Maryland Terrapins football team at the moment, despite a positive record to start the season.
The team may be 4-2 overall (1-2 in B1G Conference play), but their recent two matches have shown that they may have some big issues to work out, especially when the game is on the line in the fourth quarter. There has been a worrying trend to have emerged ahead of their game against UCLA, which daily fantasy sports players may have also noticed.
DFS players using promotions such as the Underdog Fantasy promo code from https://www.fantasylabs.com/articles/underdog-promo-code/ have found Maryland’s offensive players to be consistent point producers. But in their last two matches, fourth-quarter blowouts are causing concerns on the defensive side of the ball.
Indeed, it’s an issue that head coach Mike Locksley has been frustrated with, but it’s something he remains optimistic that they will sort out. In fact, he thinks they have figured out what’s going wrong and should be ready to deal with it in their upcoming games.
“We play very clean in games. We don’t turn the ball over,” he said. “What we gotta do now is figure out how to finish in the fourth quarter, and, you know, for the last two games, it’s my job to figure that out, and I think we’ve gotten to the gist of it.”
What’s Happened?
Back-to-back losses have occurred due to poor fourth-quarter play. In their recent games, Maryland was outscored 31-0 in the fourth quarter, struggling to maintain leads late in games. Notably, against Nebraska, they lost 34-31 after being scoreless in the fourth quarter and losing a critical lead.
In the game against Nebraska, the Terrapins held a 31-27 lead going into the fourth quarter but were outscored 10-0 in the final minutes, losing 34-31. Nebraska’s quarterback Dylan Raiola threw four touchdowns, and a crucial Maryland offensive drive fell short late in the game.
Similarly, in the game before against Washington, the team blew a 20-point advantage in the final quarter by giving up 21 points and allowing the Huskies to win 24-20. The Huskies’ only points of the game came in the second half, with their first three coming from a field goal deep in the third quarter.
UCLA are a dangerous proposition, as they have since found a way to win after a 0-4 start and firing their coaching staff. If another fourth-quarter blowout can be avoided in this game, then the Terrapins can go into the bye week with a little more confidence.
The schedule will only get tougher as the weeks roll on, although they are set to face just one ranked side in Indiana (immediately after the bye). Still, a boost of confidence and momentum could do Locksley’s team some wonders when they perhaps need it most, despite the strong start to the season that had been made.
