Maryland football couldn’t have scripted a more dominant start to the 2025 NCAA football season.
Fueled by a groundbreaking performance from freshman quarterback Malik Washington, and a swarming, turnover-hungry defense, the Terrapins rolled to a commanding 39-7 victory over the Florida Atlantic University (FAU) Owls on Aug. 30 at SECU Stadium.
“I think today was so much better than what I had envisioned,” said Washington. “Just you know that feeling, like the energy that you get from everyone around you is something you can’t kinda replicate so just getting out here and feeling that energy from everybody was really good.”
Although the Terps got off to a sluggish start with Washington completing just three of 11 passes in the first quarter, the freshman quarterback didn’t stay quiet for long. He caught fire in the second quarter, throwing 258 yards, and three touchdowns in 15 minutes, igniting a 26-point Maryland surge before halftime.
But Washington didn’t just shake off early jitters, providing quarterback efficiency, he made history. His three-touchdown debut was the most by a true freshman in a Big Ten Opener since 2009, and the most in a Power Five debut since Jaguar’s Quarterback Trevor Lawrence college breakout in 2018.
Washington kicked off Maryland’s scoring a 29-yard touchdown strike to senior wide receiver Shaleak Knotts, then kept the momentum going with scoring throws to redshirt junior wide receiver Kaleb Webb and redshirt sophomore tight end Dorian Fleming.
The freshman quarterback spread the wealth all afternoon, connecting with 10 different players caught passes and the offense thrived off distribution and depth despite a relatively quiet day from the run game, which tallied just 112 rushing yards.
On a day when all eyes were on Maryland’s revamped offense, it was the defense that ultimately stole the show in the end.
Junior linebacker Daniel Wingate unleashed a wave of dominance, returning an interception for a touchdown in the first quarter, which set a tone for a fierce defensive Terps unit. Maryland racked up six interceptions, its most in a single game since 1998, turning the FAU’s passing attack into a turnover clinic.
Wingate, who added 10 tackles to his stat sheet, was one of six Terrapins to pick off FAU’s quarterback Caden Veltkamp.
Washington was not the only freshman that showed tremendous promise, as Zahir Mathis and Sidney Stewart also turned heads, making prominent debuts along the defensive line. Mathis delivered a crushing hit that led to Wingate’s pick-six, while Stewart notched Maryland’s first safety since 2019 with a second quarter takedown in the end zone.
“I’ve been talking about the freshman all camp for a long long time,” said Head Coach Michael Locksley. “The Sidney Stewarts, the Zahir Mathises, the Malik Washingtons, and as I’ve said they’ve played as advertised, and they’ll only get better.”
Despite several early penalties, including multiple offsides, the Terps defense showed no cracks. After allowing a score on FAU’s opening drive, Maryland slammed the door shut, holding the Owls to just 142 passing yards in the first half and they never scored again after their opening drive.
The win extends Maryland’s non-conference win streak to 16 games and Locksley’s 14th consecutive season-opening victory. More importantly, it signals the arrival of a new era under center for Terrapin Football and the defense is ready to set the tone again.
“I’m happy and proud of this team for them to get back on the winning track after a long, hard camp where I really think these guys worked their tails off,” said Locksley. “Obviously with that said, we still didn’t play our best. The things we can correct, you know you always see your biggest strides usually between game one and game two. So the things that need to get corrected, I expect us to get them corrected.”
The University of Maryland Terrapins are set to take on the Northern Illinois Huskies under the Friday night lights at SECU Stadium on Sept. 5. Kickoff will be at 7:30pm.