Maryland football, shorthanded but back in action after outbreak, is routed by No. 12 Indiana

After a lackluster first half, with both offenses struggling, Indiana surged ahead as Tagovailoa’s afternoon unraveled. During the 27-11 loss in Bloomington, Ind., Maryland’s sophomore quarterback threw three interceptions. In the second half, Indiana sacked Tagovailoa three times and he completed only five passes, four of which came on the game’s final drive.

Tagovailoa is still a young player, and — like the rest of the team — he entered this game after a long hiatus, but once his mistakes began, they continued to accumulate. Maryland’s offense was depleted against Indiana — it was missing two starting offensive linemen, Johnny Jordan and Marcus Minor; two of its top wide receivers, Rakim Jarrett and Jeshaun Jones; and its lead running back, senior Jake Funk.

“It’s my job to have us ready to play,” Coach Michael Locksley said. “I didn’t think I did a good job of that this week, obviously, with the way we didn’t execute [on offense].”

This patchwork crew of players, including some who hadn’t been listed on Maryland’s depth chart this season, had to face a solid Indiana defense that has now posted more interceptions (16) than any other team in the country. Maryland finished with 300 yards, but the Terps made mistakes throughout.

“It’s just frustrating for me not to take what we do in practice on the field,” said Tagovailoa, who completed 17 of 36 passes for 241 yards. “I take total responsibility for that.”

Maryland canceled its past two games, against Ohio State and Michigan State, after 23 players and seven staff members, including Locksley, tested positive. Players cannot participate for 21 days after they test positive, so the Terps are still navigating an abundance of absences. Maryland does not identify which players are held out because of the virus.

Miscues plagued the Terrapins and kept them from jumping to an early lead. On the opening series, the Terps executed an efficient drive but sputtered once they neared the end zone. Tagovailoa overthrew wide receiver Dontay Demus Jr., who was open in the end zone on third down, forcing Maryland to attempt a 29-yard field goal, which Joseph Petrino missed.

On back-to-back possessions, Tagovailoa threw interceptions from inside the Indiana 30-yard line. The Hoosiers’ Jaylin Williams fumbled on his 39-yard return after an interception, and Demus recovered, but the Terps still had to punt a few plays later. Tagovailoa missed some early throws, and Locksley said he seemed “unsettled.”

Three of Maryland’s first four drives reached at least the Indiana 25-yard line, but the Terps had no points. Maryland struggled offensively through the rest of the first half but eventually notched a 38-yard field goal from Petrino in the second quarter. Demus scored a consolation touchdown late in the game on a 43-yard completion, and Tagovailoa converted the two-point attempt with a pass to Carlos Carriere.

“On offense, we kind of kept starting and stopping,” Locksley said. “I’ve got to figure out what’s going on with our quarterback and make sure that we’re clean with everything that we’re asking him to do and make sure he is very knowledgeable of exactly where we want him to go with the ball in certain situations.”

Maryland trailed only 7-3 at halftime, and the Terps’ defense, playing without four players who have started this season, contained Indiana quarterback Michael Penix Jr., who only completed 6 of 19 passes before he left the game with an injury. Senior safety Antwaine Richardson said the secondary focused on limiting explosive plays and forcing Indiana to run the ball, an area in which the Hoosiers have struggled.

Indiana’s offense improved after halftime, and the Hoosiers opened the second half with a 71-yard drive. Facing fourth and two from the Maryland 5-yard line, they attempted to convert, and Maryland managed to stop running back Stevie Scott III short of the marker. However, on the first play of the next drive, Tagovailoa misread an option play, and Indiana dropped him in the end zone for a safety.

“It definitely was disappointing to give away points like that after our defense did a good job of anchoring down inside the red-zone area there,” Locksley said. “We got the stop. We got the ball back. And it was just a tremendous buzzkill for our team to give up points there.”

With the early passing struggles and Penix’s departure from the game, Indiana had to lean on its running game far more than it has at other times this season. Scott rushed for 80 yards with three touchdowns, including one just after Penix left the game and another while backup quarterback Jack Tuttle guided the offense. When Tuttle entered the game, he completed all five of his pass attempts with the Hoosiers’ win never in doubt.

As Indiana’s performance improved, Maryland continued to have trouble. The Terps leaned on a pair of freshman running backs, Peny Boone and Isaiah Jacobs, who combined for 67 yards in the absence of Funk. The Terps had eight penalties for 55 yards and converted only 4 of 14 third downs.

“When you turn it over three times and you score points for the other team with the safety and you have eight penalties — just bad, poor execution all game long,” Locksley said. “We didn’t give ourselves a chance.”