Terps Leave The Big House Stunned With Upset Of the Season
Marcus Washington // Terpsville • Published: September 14th, 2028
For the first time since 2014—the Terrapins' inaugural season in the Big Ten conference—the Maryland Terrapins have knocked off the mighty Michigan Wolverines with a 28-20 victory at Ann Arbor to hand the 5th-ranked Wolverines their first loss of the 2028 campaign.
After a promising Wolverines' drive stalled at the 5-yard line to open the contest, the Terps wasted little time answering back. On just the third play from scrimmage for Malik Washington and Co., the dynamic quarterback found burner Emanuel Ross on a drag route, and the senior took care of the rest with a 64-yard house call that gave the Terps a lead they would never relinquish.
Michigan would once again drive in an attempt to answer the lightning strike, but once again were forced into a field goal. The 7-6 score would hold until halftime, with the Terps coming dangerously close to scoring a second touchdown late in the half, but Malik Washington's 4th-down attempt from the 4-yard line was dropped by TE JT Taggart as the Terps took the slim 7-6 lead into the break.
Taggart would make up for the gaffe as the Terps took the opening drive of the second half right into the red zone, aided by a 35-yard catch-and-run by Ross, before Taggart slipped behind the defense on an RPO for the 8-yard score.
Three plays later, AJ Brand did exactly what Leon preached his own team could not, try and force a big play. Brand launched a deep ball to Jordan Malau'ulu that was intercepted by Braydon Lee, who then turned upfield and slashed through the Wolverines offense to score the 77-yard pick six.
The Big House was stunned into silence until Eli Owens finally scored the first Wolverines' touchdown, grinding in from 3 yards out on 4th-and-goal to make it a ball game again.
A promising Terrapin drive followed the Michigan score, but would eventually flounder after back-to-back incompletions by Malik Washington. Then things took an even nastier turn for the Terps as Donald Byler's 51-yard field goal clanged off the uprights.
It would be Leon's defense's turn to make a play, forcing three straight incompletions by AJ Brand to seal the quick three-and-out. After coming up short on their last drive, Iverson Howard–in for the injured Zymear Smith who left the game after two carries and did not return—churned out 62 of the 76 yards on what would be the deciding touchdown, slashing into the end zone and waving at the disgruntled Michigan crowd as the Terps took a commanding 28-13 lead.
To their credit, Michigan and AJ Brand didn't quit battling, with Brand converting a 4th-and-6 on the ensuing drive before firing a 23-yard touchdown to Kristian Everson to pull the home team within eight points. But when the onside kick was recovered by the Terps, the last of the Michigan hopes were snuffed out as the Terrapins salted away the 28-20 victory.
In just his third game, Coach Leon managed to do what only one other coach before him could claim, beat the Wolverines. He acknowledged the weight of the win in his post-game press conference.
•••
Question One - Aisha Thompson (Terp Magainze): "First off, what a win, Coach. To storm into the Big House and outphysicaled the Wolverines isn't something most coaches can accomplish in their careers, let alone their 3rd game as head coach. Were you aware going into the game that Maryland had only one previous win over the Wolverines?"
Armando Leon: "I wouldn't be doing a very good job learning my community if I didn't know the last win came in 2014, our inaugural season in the Big Ten, and came on this same field in a 23-16 win. The irony is not lost on me, Aisha. We came into this game with the plan to stay physical and try and wear them out, knowing we'd both be tired by the quick turnaround. We've got a bye next week and the boys earned every minute of rest they're going to get after this lunchpail victory."
Question Two - Dave Portner (The Michigan Daily): "Both you and the Wolverines had some key players leave this game with injury, Zymear Smith and AJ Brand among others. Do you think that is a direct result of the quick turnaround and does the program plan to petition the Big Ten to eliminate these going forward?"
Armando Leon: "If I counted right, both clubs had a combined 12 players leave the game at one point for various injuries. Most returned to the field, one did not. Before we go any further, let's commend Zymear Smith for getting out there and battling. We had to remove him from the sideline to keep him from putting his helmet back on. I don't know the significance of his leg injury yet, just that it was bad enough the team doctors wanted him to get some testing done. But for anyone questioning his toughness, he was willing to put it all on the line to get this win. To finish answering your question, yes. The program, along with Michigan from what I've been told, have reached out to the Big Ten to figure out why this happened, and how we can keep it from happening again. You see this a lot at smaller schools, and sometimes in those situations it's unavoidable. This is the Big Ten. There is no reason why we should be playing a marquee matchup on a Thursday night."
Question Three - Ryan Parker (Big Ten Network): "You mentioned Zymear Smith leaving the game, but Iverson Howard looked more than prepared to go as he powered to 159 total yards in relief. What about his work ethic had him ready for this moment, despite being behind a seemingly healthy Zymear Smith?"
Armando Leon: "Iverson is a gamer, period. He was one of the first guys I was able to talk off the ledge so to speak and not hop in the portal. He was also the first one I called when we got word Zymear was returning to Maryland. I simply told him that bringing in Zymear didn't diminish what we thought about him and his abilities. And credit to him, he never let it get him down, never pouted for more playing time. He showed up, executed, and prepared. You saw that tonight, he was ready to step into the limelight because he's prepared all season like it was inevitable."
•••
That might seem small to those on the outside, but for fans that have followed this program over the last few years, that final statement speaks volumes.
This team entered Michigan Stadium prepared to win. You saw it in the execution, you saw it in the calmness they had in the 4th quarter, and you saw it in how they celebrated. There was no rushing the field, no dramatic Gatorade dump despite one of the biggest wins for the program since joining the Big Ten.
This team entered Ann Arbor expecting to win, not hoping. And the preparedness of Iverson Howard reflects well on the entire team, all the way up to Coach Leon. How many other coaches would point to losing their star running back two plays into the game and make an excuse for a loss? Leon simply looked at Iverson Howard and said 'Go get 'em."
I'm not going to wax poetic and think we'll win every game with grit and moxie. But it got us our second win all-time against the Michigan Wolverines. For tonight, and I think I speak for all Terrapin faithful, that's good enough for me.
•••
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
| Maryland | 7 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 28 |
| Michigan | 3 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 20 |
| Q | Team | Time | Play | Maryland | Michigan |
| 1st | Michigan | 5:48 | Stuart Blake, 20 Yd FG | 0 | 3 |
| 1st | Maryland | 3:42 | Emanuel Ross, 64 Yd Pass From Malik Washington | 7 | 3 |
| 2nd | Michigan | 9:51 | Stauart Blake, 43 Yd FG | 7 | 6 |
| 3rd | Maryland | 6:56 | JT Taggart, 8 Yd Pass From Malik Washington | 14 | 6 |
| 3rd | Maryland | 5:30 | Braydon Lee, Returned Interception 77 Yds | 21 | 6 |
| 3rd | Michigan | 0:34 | Eli Owens, 3 Yd Run | 21 | 13 |
| 4th | Maryland | 2:52 | Iverson Howard, 11 Yd Run | 28 | 13 |
| 4th | Michigan | 1:09 | Kristian Evensen, 23 Yd Pass From AJ Brand | 28 | 20 |
Maryland Michigan Passing | Stats Passing | Stats ----------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------ Malik Washington | 12/21, 171 Yds, 2 TD AJ Brand | 28/47, 338 Yds, TD, INT Rushing | Stats Rushing | Stats ----------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------ Zymear Smith | 2 Att, 11 Yds Greg O'Reilly | 9 Att, 48 Yds Iverson Howard | 20 Att, 159 Yds, TD Eli Owens | 4 Att, 11 Yds, TD Receiving | Stats Receiving | Stats ----------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------ Emanuel Ross | 4 Rec, 120 Yds, TD Jordan Malau'ulu | 7 Rec, 54 Yds JT Taggart | 1 Rec, 8 Yds, TD Emmett Adkins | 6 Rec, 108 Yds Za'Ron Collins | 1 Rec, 23 Yds Alex Olesh | 6 Rec, 59 Yds Defensive | Stats Defensive | Stats ----------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------ FS Byron Baldwin Jr | 9 Tkl, 3 TFL LB Roman Satele | 6 Tkl, 3 TFL, 2 Sacks CB Braydon Lee | 6 Tkl, INT, TD CB Tevis Metcalf | 5 Tkl, TFL CB Jayden Shipps | 6 Tkl, TFL, Sack DE Connor Dailey | Tkl, TFL
Big Ten Week Three Results
41 Illinois (3-1) @ Rutgers (2-1) 10
17 Purdue (1-2) @ #8 USC (3-0) 42
45 #15 Oregon (3-0) @ Oregon State (1-2) 3
38 Michigan State (2-1) @ TCU (1-2) 35
10 Northern Illinois (1-1) @ #2 Ohio State (3-0) 70
31 #12 Washington (3-0) @ Washington State (2-1) 20
17 #19 Cal (2-1) @ Minnesota (3-0) 20
13 Colorado State (2-1) @ #17 Penn State (3-0) 41
17 FCS @ Northwestern (3-0) 56
31 Wisconsin (2-2) @ #22 Nebraska (4-0) 34
48 Iowa (2-1) @ Rice (1-2) 14
31 Indiana (3-0) @ Utah (2-1) 26
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