Defense shredded again in Terps’ rout
Surrenders 712 yards as 21-game streak of forcing turnover ends
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Illinois’ defense had been destroyed by high-profile offenses lately, allowing 63 points to Penn State, 46 to Purdue and 49 to Wisconsin over a four-game stretch.
The Illini hoped to see massive improvement against a Maryland team that came into Saturday’s game ranked 119th out of 130 FBS teams in total yards per game.
That did not happen. In fact, the Illinois defense looked worse than ever in a 63-33 loss.
The Terrapins gained 712 yards, more than double their average of 330. They scored touchdowns on eight of 12 offensive possessions, including on plays of 46, 64, 43, 43 and 54 yards. A week earlier, they gained 115 yards in a 23-0 loss to Iowa.
The Illini’s ability to force turnovers has been their one positive attribute on defense, but their streak of 21 straight games with a takeaway ended.
“It’s kind of beyond words the feelings we have right now,” coach Lovie Smith said. “There’s been some cracks that we’ve seen, but not like this. We knew what was at stake, just thought we would play a lot better. I thought our preparation was good, but as you can see it was not.”
Javon Leake was unstoppable for Maryland (5-3, 3-2 Big Ten), rushing for 140 yards and three touchdowns on only five carries and returning a kickoff 97 yards for another score.
Terps quarterback Kasim Hill was removed from the game late in the third quarter with the score 49-19. He went 11-for-19 for a career-high 265 yards, and his three touchdown passes tied a personal best.
“The locker room, we’re in there singing that (fight) song, those guys are excited,” Maryland interim coach Matt Canada said. “We found a way to win. We played good on offense, good on defense, good on special teams.”
Reggie Corbin ran for 155 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries for the Illini (3-5, 1-4).
Freshman M.J. Rivers II started at quarterback for Illinois after three straight starts from senior AJ Bush Jr.
Rivers completed only 3 of 13 passes for 45 yards before he left the game after a big hit from Maryland linebacker Tre Watson, who is a graduate transfer from Illinois.
Watson was ejected for targeting, and Bush replaced Rivers. Bush completed 11 of 19 passes for 216 yards, including two long, late touchdown passes to Dominic Stampley, and an interception.