Playing with speed, Maryland wears out Huskies in 38-14 win

UConn QB Kalieb Osborne (7) tries to get away in Saturday’s game against Maryland in East Hartford.

EAST HARTFORD, Sept. 12, 2026 – For a time, the UConn football team was able to compete with visiting Maryland from the Big 10 on Saturday at Rentschler Field.

But Maryland plays at a frenetic pace. It’s not out of control but it leaves the opposition with little time to recover.

Maryland’s short passing game from sophomore quarterback Malik Washington and their hard-nosed receivers and running backs were too much as Maryland wore down the Huskies with a 38-14 win over before 34,494 at Pratt and Whitney Stadium.

Washington completed 34-of-41 passes for 347 yards and two touchdowns. He completed 18 passes in a row at one point and the first 16 passes he attempted in the second half.

His receivers and running backs were hard to bring down, frequently breaking tackles.

UConn (1-1) was led by quarterback Kalieb Osborne, who completed 10-of-21 passes for 156 yards and two touchdowns. But UConn, who tried to play an up tempo contest in a similar style as the Terps, struggled to run the ball, gaining just 67 yards on 31 attempts. Osborn led the way with 30 yards on 13 attempts.

“Credit their quarterback (Malik Washington). He was able to hang in there, make some tough throws and those receivers did a great job making some contested catches in key moments,” UConn head coach Jason Candle said.

UConn was leading 7-0 and was looking to get some momentum in the first quarter. UConn linebacker Hayden Pegg knocked down a Washington pass forcing a third down. But Washington found Na’eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding on a short 10-yard pass and he broke two tackles on the way to a 60-yard touchdown reception to tie the game at 7-7.

On UConn’s next possession, Osborne’s 26-yard run moved the Huskies into Terp territory on the 44-yard line. On the next play, Maryland freshman linebacker Zion Elee got his sack of the year, hitting Osborne and forcing a fumble that Terp linebacker DD Holmes recovered.

UConn stopped Maryland on its next drive, stopping Washington one yard short on a fourth down and three play on the Connecticut 39-yard line.

The best thing about UConn’s next possession was pinned Maryland on their own four-yard line after a punt. But the Terps marched 96 yards on nine plays to take a 14-7 lead on a four-yard run from Iverson Howard.

Two pass interference penalties aided the Terps but a great one-handed catch from Chris Durr, Jr. and a 24-yard gain helped the drive, too.

Washington was 5-for-5 on a 94-yard, 15-play drive in the final 3:56 of the first half that helped Maryland take a 17-7 lead at the break with a 19-yard field goal.

UConn called three timeouts in the final minute to allow the defense to catch their breath and keep the Terps, who drove to the one-yard line, out of the end zone.

Maryland showed their control of the game with their opening drive of the third quarter with a 10-play, 71-yard match to take a 24-7 lead. Washington was 6-of-6 for 68 yards on the drive with two great catches from Kaleb Webb, including a 30-yard reception after leaping into the air with both hands to get the ball and take off.

“We’re always going to be a multi-temp offense. With a guy like Malik, getting him in the rhythm is really important. It is more flow than tempo,” Maryland head coach Michel Locksley said. “There will be times we want to play fast and keep people off the field in certain situations. But I think our goal is to get 80 plays (a game) and the only way you can get 80 plays in today’s game is you have to go with some tempo.

“When you have as many playmakers as we have on offense and the diversity of how we spread the ball around, you won’t get enough plays if you play slow,” he said. The Terps ran 78 offensive plays on Saturday.

On one play late in the third quarter, Durr caught an 18-yard pass from Washington and did a somersault as he dove to the ground. Washington completed his first 16 passes in the second half. Durr caught a career-high 10 passes for 103 yards and a touchdown. Teammate Na’eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding caught eight passes for 130 yards and a TD. Washington completed passes to nine Maryland receivers.

UConn added a second half score on a 39-yard touchdown pass from Osborne to Shamar Porter with 5:30 left in the third quarter.

“I think you’re ultimately going to be defined when when you get hit in the mouth. We got hit in the mouth today,” Candle said. “So, we’re going to have to bounce back. As I just told them, nobody’s coming to save us.”

“And if you’re a real competitor, you don’t want anybody to come save you. You want to get better,” Candle said.

Porter was the team’s leading receiver with three catches for 62 yards and a touchdown. Zion Paret led UConn on the defensive side of the ball with 12 tackles while K’Von Sherman had nine tackles and a tackle for a loss (TFL).

The Huskies travel to Southern Mississippi on Saturday for a 7 p.m. before heading to Miami of Ohio on Sept. 26.

UConn returns home to Rentschler Field on Saturday, Oct. 3, to host old Big East rival Syracuse in a noon start.

Maryland extended their non-conference winning streak to 20 games, the longest in the nation. UConn had their nine-game winning streak at Rentschler Field snapped. That streak dated back to a loss against Wake Forest in 2024.

Maryland 38, UConn 14
At East Hartford
Maryland (2-0)          7  10  14  7  — 38
Connecticut (1-1)        7  0  7  0  — 14
First quarter
C: JD Willoughby 36 pass from Kalieb Osborne (Jack O’Connor kick), 4:39
M: Na’eem Abdul-Rahim Gladdin 60 pass from Malike Washington (Sean O’Haire kick), 3:24
Second quarter
M: Harry Dalton III 4 run (O’Haire kick), 7:51
M: O’Haire 18 FG, 0:04
Third quarter
M: Howard 1 run (O’Haire kick), 8:43
C: Shamar Porter 39 pass from Osborne (O’Connor kick), 5:30
M: Dalton 3 run (O’Haire kick), 1:53
Fourth quarter
M: Chris Durr, Jr. 13 pass from Washington (O’Haire kick), 10:57
Individual statistics
RUSHING: Maryland – Iverson Howard 14-55, Harry Dalton III 17-48, Cardell Williams 2-19, Malik Washington 3-3; UConn -Kalieb Osborne 13-30, Kenji Christian 9-18, Cyncir Bowers 3-12, Trey Cornist 6-8
PASSING: Maryland – Malik Washington 34-41-0, 347, 2 TDs; Cardell Williams 1-1, 3; UConn – Kalieb Osborne 10-21-0, 156, 2 TDs
RECEIVING: Maryland – Chris Durr, Jr. 10-103 , Na’eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding 8-130, Kaleb Webb 5-60, Dorian Fleming 3-23, Iverson Howard 3-9, Preston Howard 2-20, Harry Dalton III 2-minus 14, Ryan Manning 1-16, Jayden Kitchens 1-7; UConn – Shamar Porter 3-62, Xavier Watson 2-27, Kenji Christian 2-14, JD Willoughby 1-36, Alex Godavitarne 1-9, Ryder Treadway 1-8