UConn football overmatched in 38-14 loss to Maryland

EAST HARTFORD – The UConn football team was overmatched in its first power-conference game of the Jason Candle era and lost, 38-14, to Maryland on Saturday at Rentschler Field. After a promising start, Maryland wore the Huskies down with its spread offense and Big Ten size up front, scoring 24 unanswered points and out gaining UConn, 475 yards to 223, behind an impressive passing effort from quarterback Malik Washington. The sophomore had a stretch of 18 completions in a row that began late in the first half and finished the game 34 of 41 passing for 347 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Kalieb Osborne completed 10 of 21 passes for 156 yards and two touchdowns, and ran 13 times for 30 yards, after leading the Huskies to a school-record 671-yard performance in the 56-7 win Week One against Lafayette. “My biggest worry coming out of Week 1 was there wasn’t any adverse moments in our first football game. This team is a whole different animal. We were gonna have to toe the line and play a Big Ten football team,” Candle said. “We got hit in the mouth today. So we’re gonna have to bounce back. As I just told (the team), ‘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, you want to improve, you want to learn from today. You want to be able to address the tape and fix it, and that’s what we’re going to do.” UConn dropped to 2-8 all-time against Big Ten opponents, and will have two more opportunities for power conference wins at home with ACC foes Syracuse (Oct. 3) and North Carolina (Nov. 7) set to visit. The Huskies forced a punt on the opening series, moved the ball across midfield and pinned the Terps inside their own 10, where a 3-and-out gave the offense a short field. It only took three plays for Osborne to find JD Willoughby open in the end zone from 32 yards for the first score of the day. UConn wide receiver JD Willoughby (2) celebrates his touchdown with UConn running back Kenji Christian (3) during the first half of a football game against Maryland at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. (Jessica Hill/Special to the Courant) But Maryland answered quickly as Washington connected on a slant on 3rd-and-8 that went for 60 yards into the end zone. Two costly pass interference penalties gifted the Terps along a 92-yard series that ended with a short rushing score and started a stretch of four consecutive scoring drives that put the game out of reach. “That was a great team, but we also shot ourselves in the foot a little bit,” said linebacker John Lista. “Tried to pressure them a little bit, didn’t really get home which is kind of a big issue for us. When you’re gonna pressure the quarterback, you’ve gotta get to him.” UConn linebacker K'von Sherman, bottom, takes down Maryland running back Iverson Howard (24) during the first half of a football game at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. (Jessica Hill/Special to the Courant) The Terps had two receivers go over 100 yards in Na’eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding, who went for 130 on six receptions, and Chris Durr Jr., who had 103 on a game-high 10 catches. “They made some really tough catches at really critical times, pivotal times throughout the course of the game. And when you play man coverage damn near the whole game like we do, you’re gonna have some of those things where they’re 50/50 balls and credit their quarterback and their kids for making some plays on the football in some tough moments,” Candle said. Washington, only hurried and sacked once by a Huskies’ front that had six tackles for loss, threw just one incomplete pass in the second half against the heavy man coverage. “Those kids on the defensive front played their tail off, to be honest with you. Played hard throughout the whole time, I’m sure there’s going to be some stuff on tape that we’re gonna have to address and fix,” Candle said. “But they can’t just sit there and take punches the whole game. We’ve got to help them out in other phases of the game.” After its initial touchdown drive, 3 plays, 47 yards in a minute and 21 seconds, UConn’s offense went dormant. All momentum was lost with the strip sack on Osborne well into the following series and the Huskies punted their next three times out, gaining only 30 yards in the second quarter. They finished the game 3-for-11 on third down and never had a red zone opportunity. It was Shamar Porter, a third-year Husky, who provided a spark and got himself going with a 20-yard reception in the third quarter. He got open down the sideline two plays later and knocked over the pylon as he finished a 39-yard touchdown, which the Terps ultimately answered to maintain a three-score lead. Possessing the ball four more times, UConn didn’t convert another first down and Maryland served the final blow with a fifth touchdown early in the fourth quarter. “For me, it’s Week 2, we’ve got a long way to go. This certainly isn’t going to define us. We’ve got to see this as an opportunity to grow and continue to get better,” Candle said. “I think every team needs to face adversity at some point, and this is our adversity,” said Lista, the UPenn transfer and captain. “It’s better now than five games in. And how you respond is ultimately really what matters and that shows your character. And I think this team is gonna come back next week, shake it off, and it’s a next-game mentality.” UConn will hit the road for the first time this season for a 7 p.m. kickoff at Southern Miss on Saturday.