The Maryland football team’s performance was anything but clean Saturday afternoon against visiting Villanova. Yet despite multiple turnovers, careless penalties and an offense that lost steam in the third quarter, the Terrapins managed a 38-20 win at SECU Stadium in their final nonconference tuneup before taking on the heart of their Big Ten schedule.
Maryland (3-1) won its 15th consecutive nonconference game, extending the second-longest streak in major college football behind Georgia. The Terrapins also improved to 17-1 in nonconference games under Coach Michael Locksley, who owns the program’s best nonconference record over the past 40 years.
But the Terrapins also turned the ball over twice against a Football Championship Subdivision opponent after entering the weekend first in the country in turnover margin (plus-nine), and they committed eight penalties for 89 yards ahead of their Big Ten road opener next Saturday against undefeated Indiana, which is averaging more than 50 points per game.