Maryland Football Drops Conference Opener To UCLA

Saturday, September 26

SECU Stadium

1:30 PM

Maryland

2-2 , 0-1

UCLA

4-0 , 2-0

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
UCLA	0	20	14	20	54
Maryland	0	3	0	0	3

Book Your Tailgate!

Dorian Fleming takes a reception up the field against UCLA

9/26/2026 1:30:00 PM | Football

Box Score Buy Rutgers Tickets!Photo Gallery

The Terps take to the road to face Nebraska next weekend.

COLLEGE PARK, MD — Maryland lost 54-3 to UCLA in its Big Ten opener at SECU Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Terps fell to 2-2 (0-1 Big Ten) on the season in their fourth all-time meeting with the Bruins.

Following a scoreless first quarter, UCLA (4-0, 2-0 Big Ten) punched in three rushing touchdowns in the second frame to open the scoring and take a commanding lead. The Bruins finished with 266 rushing yards as they stayed unbeaten in 2026.

Uniform nirvana 🤝 @UCLAFootball pic.twitter.com/rkylGS6Z4s
— Maryland Football (@TerpsFootball) September 26, 2026

Chris Durr Jr. pulled in 56 of Malik Washington's 142 passing yards on seven receptions. Durr Jr. now has 312 receiving yards in 2026. Carlton Smith led the Maryland defense with a season-high nine tackles on a day where the Terps forced two fumbles.

Daniel Wingate forces a fumble and Lavain Scruggs recovers! 💥

📺 @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/VbuWKAyquC
— Maryland Football (@TerpsFootball) September 26, 2026

A series of mistakes cost Maryland as the Bruins scored 24 points off Maryland Turnovers. Maryland will head on the road to face Nebraska next Saturday.

Sporting green ribbons for something bigger than football 💚

For today's mental health awareness game, we're proud to help break the stigma around mental health and promote the resources and research that support our community. pic.twitter.com/xkh19XwjTV
— Maryland Terrapins (@umterps) September 26, 2026

How it Happened:
1st Quarter:

Wingate forced a fumble on the Bruins' opening drive, giving Lavain Scruggs and the Terps the first turnover of the game.
Iverson Howard powered forward for an 11-yard gain for the Terps' first 1st down.
Durr Jr. picked up 18 yards to move the chains with his second reception.
Zion Elee sacked Nico Iamaleava on 4th down to turn the Bruins over in Maryland territory.
Washington hit Dorian Fleming for a 13-yard completion.
The Bruins snagged an interception to reclaim possession.
The game was scoreless after the first 15 minutes of action.

2nd Quarter:

UCLA's Wayne Knight opened the scoring with a 45-yard touchdown run early in the frame.
The Bruins' Anthony Woods punched in their second rushing touchdown with 9:53 left in the half.
UCLA extended its lead on its next drive with a three-yard touchdown run from Jaivian Thomas.
Maryland responded with a 37-yard field goal from Sean O'Haire before the end of the half.
The Bruins led the Terps 20-3 at the break.

3rd Quarter:

Maryland forced a 3-and-out on the Bruins' opening drive.
UCLA's Ta'Shawn James returned an interception for a touchdown to build to its lead early in the third quarter.
Another Bruins' pick-six from Scooter Jackson put the game out of reach midway through the third quarter.
Maryland turned the ball over on downs late in the quarter.
UCLA led 34-3 with 15 minutes to play.

4th Quarter:

The Bruins added a 40-yard field goal to its lead in the opening seconds.
UCLA's Aiden Mizell took a reception 83 yards for a touchdown with 11:35 left.
Another Maryland interception set up another Bruins' field goal with under nine minutes to play.
UCLA's Troy Leigber broke off a 63-yard touchdown as the Bruins surpassed 50 points.
Keyari James forced a Bruins fumble, which was recovered by Sean Johnson.
The Bruins closed out their road win.

THE SHELL ❤️#FearTheTurtle 🐢 pic.twitter.com/0VJQKobhKd
— Maryland Terrapins (@umterps) September 26, 2026

Malik on the Charts:

Washington threw for 142 yards against the Bruins on Saturday.
Washington continues to stand eighth on the career completions list with 374.
Washington moved to 12th in career passing yards with 3,997. He passed Perry Hills (2012-16) with 3,887. Next on the list at No. 11 is Brian Cummings (1994-97) with 4,080.
He also sits 12th in career touchdowns with 23. Next on the list is No. 11 Dan Henning (1985-87) with 24 and No. 10 Neil O'Donnell (1987-89) with 26.

Michael Locksley's Notes:

"Very disappointing result. Just wasn't good enough. Period. We didn't play well enough in any of the three facets for us to win."
"We've got a long Big Ten season ahead of us, so now's not the time for us to hang our heads."
"They made a couple of plays in the run game where the explosives showed up."
"We've got to find ways to create explosives on the offensive side of the ball, which we didn't get today."
"We didn't run, block, or throw the ball well on offense today. Not sustaining drives, you don't give yourself a chance to win."
"We have to take a hard look at where we are and what we need to do to get back on track. I still have a lot of belief in this team and the guys in the locker room. I won't stop fighting or coaching for them."

Washington's Words:

"I think we were kind of pressing to make a play because we couldn't really find a rhythm on offense."
"We got into some unfavorable situations on 3rd down."
"One game hasn't defined anybody, ever, so we have the opportunity to come back."
"We've still got a bunch of conference games left to play. We didn't start this year the way we wanted, but there's still an opportunity there, and we're grateful for the opportunity."

Numbers to Know:

1: JT Taggart and Liam Willson pulled in their first catches of their careers.
2: Maryland held UCLA to 2-10 on 3rd down.
2: The Terps forced two fumbles.
4: Maryland and UCLA played for the fourth time ever on Saturday.
8: The first quarter was the Maryland defense's eighth shutout frame of the season.
9: Smith tallied a season-high nine tackles.
19: Maryland has now scored on 19 of 21 red zone drives this year.