Maryland football closes out the season 4-8 with a loss to Michigan State, Mike Locksley ready for 2026

jmcconn3
6 days ago
3 min read

For Maryland football's final bow this season, they fall to Michigan State late in the game 38-28, as they captured their eighth loss of the season (4-8, 1-8). The Terps' now settle their season with four wins in back-to-back seasons.

A season of little highs and multiple lows for this Maryland squad is finally over. The Terps' will have to wait until late next August to try and get into the win column. They had the chance today to do just that, a goal this team has been trying to accomplish for 70 days now.

“Obviously, there was no progress in terms of wins and losses but if you peel back the layers of the program, we played a lot cleaner, we created turnovers, got some young players valuable experience that will lay a foundation that I think we'll be able to build upon," head coach Mike Locksley said. "But the end results are we didn't win enough games. So no, we did not meet the expectation.”

Maryland played from behind all game, from being down double digits to getting within a field goal, just did not have enough fuel in the tank to get across the finish line for a last valiant effort.

The Terps' had a chance just under eight minutes in the fourth quarter to finally tie the game up, however, the unthinkable happened for their most reliable scorer. Kicker Sean O'Haire missed his first field goal inside 30-yards of the season after a very promising drive, which summed up their fourth quarter struggles all season in one kick.

The fourth quarter collapses were really a massive Achilles heal for this team, and it was on display again against the Spartans. A chance to get the ball back down three with two minutes to go on a fourth down, ended up giving up a touchdown to stretch the lead back to double digits.

"First of all, it wasn't a clean game at all," Locksley said. "Here's one thing that I've learned about this team, they don't quit. One of our pillar words is relentless, and this team for four quarters, they returned the kick, so what, they got a big play, so what. So what these guys keep continue to fight, so to have that foundation gives me the hope that if we keep the right guys and we bring the right guys in and we do a better job of coaching, leading, giving them the ability to play to their abilities, we'll see this program transform.”

On a positive note, quarterback Malik Washington did his part and more to try and claw out a win. Washington threw for 459 yards and zipped in three touchdowns, two going to wide receiver Jalil Farooq, who made his presence on the Ford Field turf known, with 10 receptions for 110 yards. This was the first time Washington threw for 400+ yards all year, objectively his best statistical performance of his young career, which also marked him to have the second-most passing yards in program history. His 2,963 passing yards also moved him to sixth-most in program history, just ahead of current Wisconsin QB Billy Edwards who departed last offseason.

Although this season is over, Locksley is already looking to attack the 2026 season. Locksley wants to get a complete turnaround in terms of improving this program into next year.

"The first thing on my mind, didn't coach well enough, didn't play well enough, and now it's my job to figure it out, quality control," Locksley said. "I promise you, I will leave no stone unturned to get it figured out."

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