Trailing 35-14 early in the fourth quarter, the Maryland football team was making one last push against Virginia Tech in College Park on Saturday night. Terrapins quarterback Malik Washington was their best player on the field offensively, making throws to give his team a chance to win.
Maryland closed the gap to 35-26 with just over five minutes remaining in the game, but never saw the ball again as the Hokies were able to close out the nine-point win. However, there was one decision early in the fourth quarter that was very head-scratching and opened the door for the Terrapins to lose a big thing in the game: momentum.
Mike Locksley explains mind-blowing decision against Virginia Tech
Momentum was slowly turning in the Terrapins' favor, and they cut the deficit to 35-20 with 12:36 left in the game when Washington connected with Dorian Fleming for a 2-yard touchdown pass. Kicking the extra point would have cut the deficit to 14 points. Instead, Locksley decided to go for two points and failed to connect. Instead of chasing 14 points, they were chasing 15. After the game, the eighth-year coach explained his decision.
"We were playing to win," said Locksley. "Obviously, I'm not going to step in and say it's just analytics because I also make the decision."
What was he doing? Seriously, what was he doing? Maryland's defense stopped the Hokies on their next drive, and Washington led the Terrapins down the field for a 13-yard touchdown pass to Chris Durr Jr., cutting the deficit to 35-26. That forced Maryland to go for a two-point conversion again. They once missed it. It remained a two-possession game.
So here's the thing. If you kick the extra point, it's a 14-point game after the first touchdown. Then you kick the extra point after the next touchdown, and it's a seven-point game. You don't need to be a math major to figure this out.
Did it have a direct effect on the outcome? No; however, it kept Maryland from gaining momentum. If it's a seven-point game after Durr Jr's touchdown, there is very little room for error for the Virginia Tech defense. In the second half, the defense was bending and close to breaking. Instead, going for the two-point conversion after the first touchdown of the quarter and missing was a mind-blowing mistake.
Would Maryland have come all the way back and won the game? We'll never know, but what we do know is that because of Locksley's decisions, they didn't have a fighting chance. A nine-point lead instead of a seven-point lead on Virginia Tech's final drive is HUGE. Locksley didn't do much to take the heat off himself and his job status. Momentum is real in football, and Locksley took it away from his team on Saturday night.
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