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Illinois Football: 4 observations from the Illini loss to Maryland

By Rees Woodcock

COLLEGE PARK, MD - OCTOBER 27: Head coach Lovie Smith of the Illinois Fighting Illini walks off the field after being defeated by the Maryland Terrapins at Capital One Field on October 27, 2018 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images)
COLLEGE PARK, MD - OCTOBER 27: Head coach Lovie Smith of the Illinois Fighting Illini walks off the field after being defeated by the Maryland Terrapins at Capital One Field on October 27, 2018 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images) /
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COLLEGE PARK, MD – OCTOBER 27: Anthony McFarland #5 of the Maryland Terrapins runs past Del’Shawn Phillips #3 of the Illinois Fighting Illini during the second half at Capital One Field on October 27, 2018 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images)
COLLEGE PARK, MD – OCTOBER 27: Anthony McFarland #5 of the Maryland Terrapins runs past Del’Shawn Phillips #3 of the Illinois Fighting Illini during the second half at Capital One Field on October 27, 2018 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images) /

The Illinois football team went to Maryland on Saturday and just got pounded into the ground.

This was an ugly game from the start. Illinois tried to keep it close, but they were matching Maryland’s touchdowns with Chase McLaughlin field goals. That math just doesn’t add up. There were very few bright spots for this Illini team throughout the game.

At the end of the first quarter, Illinois was still in striking distance only down 14-3. They even scored a field goal to start the second quarter to bring the deficit to eight points. But, that is the closest they would get to the Terrapins the rest of the way.

Maryland would score two more touchdowns and Illinois would add a field goal to bring the score to 28-9 at halftime. This was not the Illini team that I thought we would see. Illinois wasn’t competing, and the score wasn’t getting better.

Illinois tacked on 10 points in the third quarter only to be outscored by 11 points as Maryland put up three touchdowns. The score was then 49-19 entering the fourth quarter. Illinois did match the Terrapins in the final quarter and finished the game losing 63-33.

Here are four observations from the Illini loss to Maryland.

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