Four storylines to watch as Maryland football opens Big Ten play vs. UCLA

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMzIy60EcVA

Maryland football is set to host the UCLA Bruins this Saturday for their Big Ten season opener in what is a must win game for Mike Locksley’s team at SECU Stadium for a 1:30 PM kickoff on the Big Ten Network. Maryland enters this contest as a 1.5-point underdog, per FanDuel, with a chance to bounce back after a disappointing loss to Virginia Tech and get off to a 1-0 start in Big Ten play.

UCLA will look to remain perfect to begin the Bob Chesney era after taking down Cal by three touchdowns before cruising by San Diego State then topping Purdue in a Big Ten shootout. But what should be known about the Bruins when they make the cross country trip to College Park? Let’s dive into it the rematch of last season's last-second loss.

Year One Under Bob Chesney

When Chip Kelly left UCLA and became the offensive coordinator at Ohio State, the Bruins quickly shifted into naming DeShaun Foster the 19th head coach in UCLA football history. Foster didn’t make it two years into the job before being fired after having a 5-10 record in Los Angeles. Many close to the Bruins’ program thought that Foster was a lazy and cheap hire as it didn’t seem like the university was as invested in football as they should’ve been.

That changed on December 6th, 2025 with the hiring of James Madison coach Bob Chesney. It was a unique hire as Chesney comes from primarily a northeast background, in fact the most west Chesney had ever coached was in Harrisonburg, Virginia at James Madison. Despite that, there was little doubt about the Chesney hire at UCLA. Bob Chesney has won essentially everywhere that he has been as six of Chesney's last seven teams have won a conference championship. His head coaching career journey started at Salve Regina where he posted a 23-9 record before being hired at Assumption where he boasted a 44-16 record. This led to Chesney being hired at Holy Cross and his 44-21 record in Worcester would lead him into taking the James Madison job where he went 21-6 as well as leading the Dukes to the College Football Playoff in 2025, before departing for UCLA. Since Chesney’s arrival in LA, there has been a revival of football spirit within the fanbase and the donor base. While retaining quarterback Nico Iamaliava, Coach Chesney also brought in a handful of his Dukes including star running back Wayne Knight. Chesney has led the Bruins to a 3-0 start thus far and he’s looking to get the Bruins a conference win when they travel cross country to College Park.

While UCLA looks for their first 4-0 start since 2022, Maryland is looking to prevent Chesney from becoming the first UCLA head coach to begin his tenure 4-0 since 1949.

Emergence of RB Wayne Knight

Bob Chesney brought over a handful of guys from James Madison, one of them being star running back Wayne Knight, and he has gotten off to a hot start in 2026. The fifth-year back has set a UCLA record with eight rushing touchdowns through the first three games of the season. With his eight rushing touchdowns, Knight is one shy of tying his career high for a season with nine in 2025 while marking the most in program history since 1997. He also leads the country in rushing touchdowns, total touchdowns, points per game, total points scored and rush yards per carry (8.85).

What makes Knight dangerous is his versatility. He has also been reliable in the pass game for UCLA as he’s caught 5 passes for 53 yards through the first three games this season. UCLA also uses Knight on special teams as a return specialist as he has accumulated for 105 return yards so far this season. The question for the Terps’ defense isn’t how can they stop Wayne Knight because he is going to get his. The question is how well can they contain him.

Knight isn't the only one with Utah transfer and fifth-year senior Anthony Woods averaging 76 yards per game on 7.9 yards per carry, while the Bruins lead the country in rushing touchdowns, rank third among FBS teams in net rushing yards and fifth in both yards per carry and rushing yards per game. For a defense that registered 19 missed against Virginia Tech, it will be very crucial for Maryland to not allow any large chunk plays from Knight and the Terps will need to be better and stronger at tackling the ball carrier than they were last week if they don’t want to let him take the game from them.

Success Through the Air

Through the first three games, UCLA has found success through the air thus far. This is something that could be a problem for a Maryland defense that struggled in pass coverage versus Virginia Tech a week ago. After only returning one receiver from the previous season, the Bruins receiving room has been led by Michigan transfer Semaj Morgan. While productive at Michigan, the senior has put together the top two receiving performances of his four-year career over the last two weeks. Morgan paces the Bruins with 158 receiving yards and 12 catches, including two TDs, on the season. In UCLA’s most recent victory against Purdue, Morgan led the way with 4 catches for 72 yards. Behind Morgan, sophomore Brian Rowe Jr. has been a pleasant surprise for the Bruins. After turning heads during spring ball, Rowe ranks second on the team with 10 catches for 156 receiving yards. Two of those catches have gone for 40+ yards, which is the most on the team. That kind of explosiveness will need to be contained or else it will be a bad outcome for the Terps.

Is the Defense the Weakness?

Despite new head coach Bob Chesney being a defensive guy with a background coaching defense, the Bruins have had some struggles on that side of the ball. The Bruins defense allowed 38 points, including 14 points in the second quarter against a Purdue offense led by quarterback Ryan Browne that is significantly less talented than Maryland’s offense led by Malik Washington. Despite Oklahoma linebacker transfer Sammy Omosigho being an anchor for the Bruins defense, the pass rush is still a work in progress and that is something we could see Malik take advantage of. What provides optimism for Maryland is the fact that UCLA’s defense allowed Purdue to muster up 488 yards of offense so we could expect Clint Trickett’s unit to have a good day. This definitely could lead to a shootout between the Terps and the Bruins on Saturday afternoon.

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