Despite 4th Quarter Scare, Terps Keep Shuffling Along
Marcus Washington // Terpsville • Published: November 18th, 2028
The Minnesota Golden Gophers were supposed to be steamrolled by the Maryland Terrapins on their quest for the program's first ever College Football Playoff berth and after a 24-0 1st half, it seemed like the truck would keep on trucking right through St. Paul. But credit to the Gophers, they kept fighting.
It started small, forcing a long field goal to open the 3rd quarter that Donald Byler missed. Then a fourth-down stop on the next drive as Malik Washington was drilled just in time to alter the pass to Emanuel Ross. But it was a red zone interception on the third drive of the second half for the Terrapins that finally sparked the Gophers.
They marched down the field following the interception and Jackson Kollock found tight end Julian Johnson for an 8-yard score. After another three-and-out by the Terps offense, Kollock again led a scoring drive capped by Johnson—who trucked safety La'khi Roland on his way to the score.
Suddenly, it was 24-14 and Huntington Bank Stadium was rocking.
Freshman Paul Colon silenced it with a 24-yard rushing touchdown, then Malik Washington put it out of its misery with a 44-yard dart to Emanuel Ross as the Terrapins rallied for the 38-14 victory.
In his post-game press conference, Coach Leon was less than thrilled about the lack of second-half execution, but praised the Gophers team and fans for never giving up.
•••
Question One - Erick Leifson (The Minnesota Daily): "Despite the lopsided score at the half, the Gophers seemed to give you more than you bargained for out of the break. What adjustments did Coach PJ Fleck make to counter what had been working for you, and what adjustments did you need to make to keep it from snowballing?"
Armando Leon: "We came out of the second half flat and the Gophers came out physical. It seemed they decided at the half that if we were going to get points, we'd have to endure being mauled up and down the field. And credit to them; they took care of business. It felt like we were just out there going through the motions, while the Gophers were plotting an upheaval. Once they got some momentum, the stadium started rocking, these passionate fans were back in it, and we were in some trouble. We decided as a team to take the air out of the ball for a minute, our receivers were just getting hammered anytime the ball was near them, and rely on the big boys up front to plow the highway. They did, Paul took advantage, and once we struck back it broke their spirit. But if we hadn't rallied after they made it 24-14? Whole different story."
Question Two - Aisha Thompson (Terp Magazine): "Emanuel Ross and Malik Washington have been on fire lately, combining for seven touchdowns over the last four games. Is there any concern that the offense is becoming too focused on Ross, who had more than half of Malik's passing yards today?"
Armando Leon: "I think that's a fair point you could make, if it wasn't working. It's not like we've been relying on Emanuel to get explosive plays and we're struggling outside of that; I think it's the contrary. We have generally been very balanced offensively with who catches balls. JT Taggart, Za'Ron Collins, Bryce Randolph, and our running backs all get involved regularly. I think that has actually opened up more room for Emanuel to get into space and make some magic happen. I have full confidence in Malik as a quarterback and Coach Shanahan as a play-caller that if a team doubles Emanuel to take him out of the game, we'll make the necessary adjustments."
Question Three - Ryan Parker (Big Ten Network): "Your defense gave up over 200 passing yards alone in the second half, and over 300 on the day. Despite that, you still were able to total six sacks, multiple TFLs, and an interception. Is that an acceptable balance for you with how this scheme is orchestrated?"
Armando Leon: "You don't want to give up 300 passing yards, but to give you a blunt answer, we don't mind it in the grand scheme of things. We play aggressive, we get sacks, we force turnovers. You can't win every battle and on occasion, the offense is going to make a play. Before their first touchdown, Isaiah Toner made a gorgeous leaping grab over Brayden. That's a ball I think Brayden wins most of the time, he won on a jump ball later for an interception to prove my point; so those are plays you have to live with. I'd much rather be aggressive and make moves to actively impact the game, than to sit passive and hope they make a mistake. Proactive, not reactive."
•••
Coach Leon defended the high-usage rate—to use a basketball term loosely—of Emanuel Ross, but when he and Malik weren't clicking in the third quarter is when the wheels started to fall off. I'm not saying it's a concern right now, but I don't know if I 100% share in Coach Leon's assessment that the team is prepared to pivot should things get hairy.
However, that is a problem for a different day. For now, we're 9-2, marching towards uncharted territory, and moving Fearlessly Forward.
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
| Maryland | 14 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 38 |
| Minnesota | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 14 |
| Q | Team | Time | Play | Maryland | Minnesota |
| 1st | Maryland | 6:58 | Emanuel Ross, 60 Yd Pass From Malik Washington | 7 | 0 |
| 1st | Maryland | 1:25 | Malik Washington, 7 Yd Run | 14 | 0 |
| 2nd | Maryland | 3:42 | Donald Byler, 50 Yd FG | 17 | 0 |
| 2nd | Maryland | 0:39 | Emanuel Ross, 21 Yd Pass From Malik Washington | 24 | 0 |
| 4th | Minnesota | 9:17 | Julian Johnson, 7 Yd Pass From Jackson Kollock | 24 | 7 |
| 4th | Minnesota | 5:56 | Julian Johnson, 18 Yd Pass From Jackson Kollock | 24 | 14 |
| 4th | Maryland | 4:37 | Paul Colon, 24 Yd Run | 31 | 14 |
| 4th | Maryland | 1:39 | Emanuel Ross, 44 Yd Pass From Malik Washington | 38 | 14 |
Maryland Minnesota Passing | Stats Passing | Stats ----------------------|-------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------ Malik Washington | 25/44, 337 Yds, 3 TD, INT Jackson Kollock | 24/43, 308 Yds, 2 TD, INT Rushing | Stats Rushing | Stats ----------------------|-------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------ Paul Colon | 7 Att, 96 Yds, TD Johann Cardenas | 10 Att, 37 Yds Malik Washington | 6 Att, 41 Yds, TD Jackson Kollock | 10 Att, -36 Yds Receiving | Stats Receiving | Stats ----------------------|-------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------ Emanuel Ross | 7 Rec, 182 Yds, 3 TD Isaiah Toner | 6 Rec, 107 Yds Za'Ron Collins | 4 Rec, 44 Yds Jalen Smith | 5 Rec, 101 Yds Maurice Strong | 2 Rec, 35 Yds Julian Johnson | 3 Rec, 30 Yds, 2 TD Defensive | Stats Defensive | Stats ----------------------|-------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------ MLB Keyshawn Flowers | 5 Tkl, 3 TFL, Sack FS Kollin Collier | 14 Tkl MLB Gordon Paul | 5 Tkl, 2 TFL, 2 Sacks DE Adam Kissayi | 6 Tkl, 3 TFL, Sack CB Braydon Lee | 3 Tkl, INT CB Ron Warmack | 3 Tkl, INT
Big Ten Week Twelve Results
21 Delaware (5-6) @ Michigan (6-5) 34
21 Rutgers (4-8) @ #5 Ohio State (9-2) 28
26 Iowa (5-6) @ #7 Penn State (9-2) 45
41 Indiana (5-6) @ Wisconsin (6-5) 36
42 USC (7-4) @ #21 UCLA (7-4) 45
65 Nebraska (7-4) @ Purdue (3-8) 14
23 Northwestern (7-4) @ #10 Washington (8-3) 42
24 Illinois (5-6) @ #3 Oregon (11-0) 28
Notable Week Twelve Results
23 #18 UConn (8-3) @ Ole Miss (7-4) 41
27 #20 Duke (7-4) @ #8 Miami (10-1) 14
38 Boise State (7-4) @ #23 Oregon State (8-3) 35
38 #1 LSU (10-1) @ Missouri (7-4) 14
24 #13 Clemson (9-2) @ Florida State (6-5) 45
Additional Media
► Show Spoiler
win and we're in
