IOWA CITY, Iowa _ At the end of the first quarter against No. 19 Iowa on Saturday at Kinnick Stadium, Maryland had run a total of five plays from scrimmage and trailed the Hawkeyes by a field goal.
Midway through the second quarter, the Terps had still barely touched the ball but had kept Iowa without a touchdown, most impressively on a 17-play drive that lasted more than nine minutes.
But the much-improved Maryland defense could bend only so much without breaking. Suffocated by Iowa's defense and swirling winds which gusted to more than 30 mph, Maryland's offense got worse over the course of the game, its defense tired and the result was a disheartening 23-0 defeat.
After picking up 46 yards in the first half, including just 18 rushing, the Terps (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten) finished with 115 yards overall and 68 on the ground on 23 carries. Redshirt freshman quarterback Kasim Hill was 6-for-15 for 47 yards and an interception.
Maryland did not get over 100 yards until less than a minute was remaining on a 16-yard carry by sophomore Javon Leake, his only carry of the game. He was the team's leading rusher.
It was arguably the worst performance by a Matt Canada offense in the 46-year-old interim head coach's career. Iowa (6-1, 3-1) earned the first shutout by a Big Ten team this season.
It marked the first time the Terps had been shut out since a 28-0 home loss to Michigan in 2015.
As much as Hill has struggled with his accuracy this season, he wasn't helped this time by his receivers, who dropped four passes, including one early by freshman Dontay Demus on what would have been about a 40-yard gain with the Terps down 3-0.
On the interception that set up Iowa's first touchdown, freshman receiver Brian Cobbs appeared to run the wrong route, allowing safety Amani Hooker to sneak in front of him.
After redshirt sophomore Tyrrell Pigrome replaced Hill early in the second half, with the ball deep in Maryland territory after Taivon Jacobs botched a punt return, Cobbs inexplicably ran into his quarterback.
The ball ricocheted into the end zone, where it was recovered by Hawkeyes defensive end Anthony Nelson for a touchdown. Hill then came back in, but after making a couple of throws to get near midfield took a sack.
Still needing two wins to become bowl eligible, Maryland returns home to College Park for its next two games, Saturday against Illinois and Nov. 3 against Michigan State.
The Terps could also have some unwanted distractions.
The University System of Maryland's Board of Regents will meet Tuesday in Baltimore to discuss the findings of an eight-person commission looking into allegations of a toxic football culture under third-year coach DJ Durkin, who remains on administrative leave.
In a statement Thursday, the Board of Regents said it could release those findings within a week.
