COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — When Washington settled for a field goal late in the third quarter, it at least put the Huskies on the scoreboard. Still, their margin for error was essentially gone, since they were down by 17 points with just under 19 minutes to play.
“Our guys just kept believing, kept competing,” Huskies coach Jedd Fisch said.
The Huskies needed a dominant fourth quarter and got it, storming back to a 24-20 victory over Maryland on Saturday. What was remarkable was they did it without forcing any late turnovers. Washington simply shut down the Terrapins and then capitalized against a Maryland defense that wilted late.
Washington's final five drives: 45 plays, 298 yards, 24 points and a game-ending kneel-down.
Maryland's final four drives: 19 plays, 52 yards, no points.
“You have to learn to put people away,” Terrapins coach Mike Locksley said. “Especially a good team like Washington when you have them here at home.”
Jonah Coleman scored on a 1-yard run with 3:21 remaining, capping Washington's furious rally from a 20-0 third-quarter deficit.
Washington (4-1, 1-1) won on the road in Big Ten play for the first time since debuting in the league last season. It took a while for them to produce much of anything offensively, and Coleman finished with just 57 yards on 18 carries, but the Huskies scored on four straight possessions when they had to.
Maryland (4-1, 1-1) hadn't trailed all season before Coleman's touchdown, and it didn't look like the Terrapins would on this day either after freshman Malik Washington threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to AJ Szymanski on the first possession of the second half.
The Huskies then settled for a field goal and a 20-3 deficit at the end of a 16-play drive, but after that, Maryland's offense had no response. The Terps seemed oddly uninterested in running the ball with a big lead, and they went three-and-out on their next two possessions.
“We just did what we're supposed to do,” Fisch said. “We played sound football. We covered, we rushed the passer, we tackled really, really well when the opportunities were there. They didn't get any leaky yardage.”
Demond Williams Jr. threw touchdown passes of 3 yards to Denzel Boston and 34 yards to Dezmen Roebuck to make it 20-17. After one more Maryland punt, the Huskies drove 80 yards for the winning touchdown.
Maryland had one last chance on offense, but Jalil Farooq dropped a pass near the Washington 15, and the Terps turned the ball over on downs on the next play.
After an early interception led to a Maryland field goal, the Terps' Washington ran for a 4-yard touchdown to make it 10-0. They led 13-0 at halftime.
Washington: The Huskies could be second-guessed for not using Coleman more early, but once they started stopping Maryland on defense, they began to roll on offense. It's a big win after a cross-country trip.
“Just having our backs against the wall, and knowing that if we didn't do what we had to do, then we knew the game was over," Williams said. ”Just going out there with that mindset — take it one play at a time. Don't try to force ourselves back into the game, and I felt like the game just came to us."
Maryland: It was a huge missed opportunity for the Terps, who were coming off a big win at Wisconsin and had a good crowd on hand for this one. The coaching staff failed to come up with plays that would help Maryland keep the ball a bit when the defense began to weaken.
This game was the continuation of a bizarre trend in which Maryland has not won a game coming out of a regular-season bye week since 2016.
Washington hosts Rutgers on Friday night. Maryland hosts Nebraska on Saturday.
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Washington safety Makell Esteen (24) intercepts a pass intended for Maryland wide receiver Jalil Farooq (1) during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025, in College Park, Md. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
LONDON (AP) — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was meeting the French, German and British leaders in London on Monday as Kyiv’s European allies try to strengthen Ukraine’s hand in thorny talks on a U.S.-backed plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer was due to gather with Zelenskyy, President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the British leader’s 10 Downing St. residence.
Zelenskyy said late Sunday that his talks with European leaders this week in London and Brussels will focus on security, air defense and long-term funding for Ukraine’s war effort. The leaders are working to ensure that any ceasefire is backed by solid security guarantees both from Europe and the U.S. to deter Russia from attacking again.
U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators completed three days of talks on Saturday aimed at trying to narrow differences on the U.S. administration’s peace proposal.
Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram that talks had been “substantive” and that National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov and Chief of the General Staff Andrii Hnatov were traveling back to Europe to brief him.
A major sticking point in the proposal is the suggestion Ukraine must cede control of its eastern Donbas region to Russia, which illegally occupies most but not all of its territory. Ukraine and its European allies have balked at the idea of handing over land.
In an exchange with reporters on Sunday night, President Donald Trump appeared frustrated with Zelenskyy, claiming the Ukrainian leader “hasn’t yet read the proposal.”
“Russia is, I believe, fine with it, but I’m not sure that Zelenskyy’s fine with it," Trump said before taking part in the Kennedy Center Honors in Washington. "His people love it, but he hasn't read it."
Trump has had a hot-and-cold relationship with Zelenskyy since riding into a second White House term insisting that the war was a waste of U.S. taxpayers’ money. Trump has also repeatedly urged the Ukrainians to cede land to Russia to bring an end to the nearly four-year conflict.
The European talks follow the publication of a new U.S. national security strategy that alarmed European leaders and was welcomed by Russia.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the document, which spells out the administration’s core foreign policy interests, was largely in line with Moscow’s vision.
The document released Friday by the White House said the U.S. wants to improve its relationship with Russia after years of Moscow being treated as a global pariah and that ending the war is a core U.S. interest to “reestablish strategic stability with Russia.”
The document also says NATO must not be “a perpetually expanding alliance,” echoing another complaint of Russia’s. It was scathing about the migration and free speech policies of longstanding U.S. allies in Europe, suggesting they face the “prospect of civilizational erasure” due to migration.
Starmer’s government has declined to comment on the American document, saying it is a matter for the U.S. government.
As diplomatic efforts continued, Russian forces continued to assault Ukraine over the weekend. At least four people were killed in drone and missile strikes on Sunday, while Moscow continues to target Ukrainian energy infrastructure as winter sets in.
Meanwhile, Russian air defenses destroyed 67 Ukrainian drones overnight, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said Monday. The drones were shot down over 11 Russian regions, it said.
Novikov reported from Kyiv, Ukraine.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gestures while speaking as he takes part in a joint news conference with the Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin in Dublin, Ireland, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
FILE - French President Emmanuel Macron, right, welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on Dec. 1, 2025 before a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Services on Monday, Dec. 8, 2025, a rescue worker puts out a fire of a residential building damaged by a Russian strike in Sumy region, Ukraine. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Services on Monday, Dec. 8, 2025, a rescue worker puts out a fire of a car in front of a residential building damaged by a Russian strike in Sumy region, Ukraine. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
