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There is no free lunch in the Big Ten.

But for UCLA defensive coordinator Colin Hitschler, that’s what makes it fun.

While Maryland has not compiled a winning conference record since 2010, UCLA will face one of the most refined pure passers in the Big Ten when the Bruins and Terrapins face off Saturday at SECU Stadium in College Park, Md. If the Bruins prevail, Bob Chesney will be the first UCLA head coach to start his tenure 4-0 since Henry Russell “Red” Sanders in 1949.

Maryland signal-caller Malik Washington is the fourth consecutive returning starting quarterback the Bruins have faced, with five left on the schedule, and his play could pose problems for the UCLA defense.

“You can’t leave any stones unturned because he can make all the throws, and he’s got the ability to extend plays with his feet or make plays with his feet,” Hitschler said.

While Washington tied for third in the conference last season in interceptions with nine, the signal-caller set school records for freshman completions and passing yards, throwing for 2,963 yards and 17 touchdowns.

With new Maryland offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Clint Trickett at the helm, the Terrapins’ quarterback has taken a leap in Year 2 running the offense.

Through three games, Washington has thrown for 892 yards and six touchdowns with no turnovers.

UCLA defenders bring down San Diego State running back Lucky Sutton at Rose Bowl on Sept. 12.

(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)

“He’s an entirely different quarterback right now,” Chesney said. “He’s an exciting-to-watch player, and he’s got some legit dudes out at receiver right now that are phenomenal. The offensive line is stout. They’ve been playing together for a little while. There’s a lot of things that they do to protect him, and he has a chance to deliver footballs. He’s getting hit sometimes, and just flicking this ball out there. He has a giant arm, and he’s as accurate as can be.”

Washington has benefited from a revamped receiver group after Maryland ranked among the national leaders in drops last season. Maryland coach Mike Locksley added Chris Durr Jr. and Na’eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding, who have become Washington’s top targets.

“Na’eem can play inside, he can play outside. He’s got the ability to separate,” said Hitschler, who faced Gladding when he played for Old Dominion last season against James Madison. “He’s got the ability to run, great routes, get in and out of breaks, and he’s got great hands. And now he’s making plays in the return game too.”

Hitschler’s secondary will be challenged by Washington, who led the conference in pass attempts last season with 473 and leads the Big Ten thus far with 116.

Maryland’s reliance on the passing game could pose problems for a secondary that was picked apart by Purdue quarterback Ryan Browne last week and is still without free safety Tao Johnson.

“There’s obviously plays you would love to have back, obstacles that you overcame and throughout the game they improved and started to figure it out,” Hitschler said of the UCLA defense. “But at the same time, we can’t put ourselves behind the eight ball in moments and we have to execute at a higher level. This game’s fun because you have the opportunity to lose every week. If it was easy, it wouldn’t be fun.”

Offensively, the Bruins have the chance to build off their most productive game yet, scoring 52 points and accumulating 645 yards against the Boilermakers. But, UCLA will have to work to protect senior quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who was hit often and battled multiple injuries against Purdue.

Maryland edge rushers Zahir Mathis and Sidney Stewart combined for 13 sacks last season. And though Mathis was ruled because of an injury, the Terrapins can turn to five-star edge Zion Elee, the highest ranked recruiting prospect in program history.

Given Iamaleava’s fearlessness with his legs and the Terrapins’ effective pass rush, it may be difficult to keep the signal-caller on his feet.

Repeated blasts at military sites expose the risks facing Syria as it rebuilds its army and consolidates weapons after years of war.

A series of explosions at weapons and ammunition sites across Syria this month have exposed the difficulties facing the country’s military in storing and moving munitions, as the armed forces rebuild after more than a decade of war.

The latest blasts injured at least four people in the early hours of Monday morning at an arms depot in al-Eis, south of Aleppo.

On Friday, a blast in Ayyash, west of Deir Az Zor, killed 11 soldiers. Another on September 9 killed 14 defence ministry personnel in Sarmada, Idlib. Also in Idlib, five people were killed when a vehicle carrying ammunition exploded in the town of Binnish on September 1 .

According to a tally by the Reuters news agency, at least 16 similar explosions have hit arms storage facilities since the fall of long-time President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024 after an opposition offensive.

Some have been attributed to poor storage conditions. The Syrian Defence Ministry said it is investigating the causes behind the recurrent explosions to prevent future incidents.

Long-time neglect

Security analysts are divided on the root causes, with some pointing to a lack of professional infrastructure and others highlighting the potential for foreign interference – although there is as yet no hard evidence for that.

Omer Ozkizilcik, a nonresident senior fellow for the Syria Project in the Atlantic Council’s Middle East Programmes, explained to Al Jazeera that the Syrian military is undergoing a period of huge change. It is reorganising from what it was under al-Assad, consolidating weapons from different sources and integrating various forces. All of that could be putting pressure on Syria’s storage infrastructure, which was already creaking after the long war and international isolation.

“The explosions could have happened due to neglect, Ozkizilcik said. “The Syrian army is receiving much more military aid than ever before. It gained control over the stockpiles of the former regime and the formerly US-backed [Syrian Democratic Forces]. The increase in quantity coupled with the need to protect weapons from potential Israeli airstrikes may have pushed the Syrian army to store weapons in inadequate places.”

Ozkizilcik emphasised that Syria’s military is still in a transitional phase. The former army was dissolved after the fall of the al-Assad regime and fighters from armed opposition groups were integrated into a new military structure. Damascus has also been working to integrate territory and forces previously controlled by the Kurdish-led SDF.

“The Syrian army has yet to become a professional army,” Ozkizilcik added. “These explosions are not the first that happen in Syria. Before the fall of al-Assad, similar things happened many times in Syria. [but] I don’t think these explosions will affect Syria’s military capabilities in any visible way. It’s merely a loss of some stockpiles that can be replenished.”

Weapons and ammunition, by their nature, need to be handled extremely carefully and stored properly. Storing large quantities of ageing ammunition for years in poor conditions, such as high temperatures or humidity, can accelerate their deterioration and lead to them becoming unstable.

“The current warehouse infrastructure suffers from severe ageing; most of it dates back decades and does not meet international safe storage standards,” said security expert Ismat al-Absi. “Storing ageing munitions in open or semi-closed environments without controlled cooling and humidity systems creates what we call a thermal runaway chain reaction.”

Possibility of sabotage

The repeated explosions have led to some fears of sabotage, particularly in light of repeated Israeli attacks against Syria since the fall of al-Assad, many of which have targeted the military, including the August strikes on the Abu al-Duhur airbase in Idlib.

Ozkizilcik noted that there was “no public information about possible sabotage” being behind the weapons depot explosions, and no evidence of any direct Israeli links. But the repeated explosions, coupled with Israel’s attacks in Syria and past intelligence operations against groups like Lebanon’s Hezbollah, mean it cannot be totally ruled out.

“Considering that the Israeli media recently wrote about the growing military capabilities of Syria, suspicions grow,” he said.

Al-Absi told Al Jazeera that the wide geographic scope of the explosions nevertheless meant that deliberate interference should be investigated.

“The main loopholes that [could have allowed sabotage operations] are the absence of smart surveillance, relying on traditional human guarding instead of remote sensors and thermal movement detection; weak securing of transport lines and administrative fragmentation,” al-Absi said. “The weakness of security discipline during the restructuring phase of the military institution has made some sites vulnerable to penetration or internal manipulation.”

Two points from three matches is ⁠their worst start since the ​2007-08 season, when PSG came close to relegation.

Paris Saint-Germain ‌have not had as poor a start to a league season ⁠for 19 years, ⁠with Friday’s home loss to Monaco leaving them winless after three matches in the Ligue 1 season.

Days before they begin the defence ⁠of their Champions League title, however, the Parisians have handed coach Luis Enrique a contract extension until 2030.

“There is no reason to be concerned. I ⁠say that honestly. How many shots on target did Monaco have? Two. How many goals? Two. We’ll see at the end of the season whether things balance out,” he said after Friday’s 2-1 setback in which they were ahead at halftime ‌but conceded twice after the break.

“What I want to get across is that you shouldn’t look only at the result,” Luis Enrique added.

“We pressed sensationally, much better than in many matches when we did not concede a goal. But luck was not on our side.

“Monaco know that if they play against us like this 10 times, we win eight, there’d be one ⁠draw and we’d lose once. This was that one ⁠defeat,” Luis Enrique insisted as PSG look ahead to hosting Slovan Bratislava on Wednesday in their first Champions League group game, chasing a third successive European title.

Two points from three matches is ⁠their worst start since the 2007-08 season, when PSG came close to relegation, finishing 16th. In that campaign, Paul ⁠Le Guen’s side had to wait until their ⁠sixth league game to record a victory and ended up only three points above the relegation places.

This time round, the Parisians are already seven points off the pace.

“It is incredible motivation for my ‌players, for the team and for the club. If you want to bet on who will be champions at the end of the season, we can ‌place ‌a bet. Seven points? OK, we will try to make up that deficit as quickly as possible,” the coach added.