Maryland football notebook: B1G improvements, UCLA's RBs, preventing a spiral

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puCrCU05EiY

Maryland football coach Michael Locksley praised fans for their passion during Saturday’s game against Virginia Tech. He appreciated that the fans showed up. The Terps did not.

“[The fans] brought the type of energy that we want to create,” Locksley said. “They earned a better performance from us than what we gave them.”

Virginia Tech was in control for virtually all four quarters of its 35-26 win, dominating time of possession and at the line of scrimmage. The Hokies controlled the ball for 36:39 — over 13 minutes more than Maryland did — and held the Terps to a season-low 64 rushing yards.

Beyond those issues, Locksley highlighted room to improve in all three facets of the game.

Improving In All Three Phases, Starting with Missed Tackles

Maryland’s offense turned in a solid performance overall, though that was largely powered by sophomore quarterback Malik Washington and the Terps’ pass catchers. Maryland averaged 3 yards per attempt between Iverson Howard, Harry Dalton III and Washington’s 21 combined carries.

“I think our run game, we were 38% efficient when we ran the ball, and our numbers have to be in the 60s,” Locksley said. “We’re going to see a very similar defense when you talk about UCLA … so we’re going to have to get it fixed quickly.”

The Terps failed to create explosive runs, not least because of who they were missing on Saturday. Running back DeJuan Williams, the team’s most explosive back, was inactive for a second straight game after suffering an injury in Maryland’s season opener. Williams’ absence has left the Terps’ run game lacking burst and straight-line speed.

“You guys all saw the first game, [Williams is] a great athlete, great running back,” graduate offensive lineman Isaiah Wright said. “We also still have a lot of other great running backs in the room … so just continuing to highlight those guys and the different people that we have in those room, and just work around [the injury].”

The special teams unit also committed a pair of puzzling mistakes. Two of Maryland’s kickoffs landed out of bounds, which drew a penalty that advanced Virginia Tech’s starting field position to the 35-yard line.

Maryland’s defense had a litany of issues to address after Saturday as well.

One of the first Locksley pointed to was a lack of execution in man coverage, which Maryland deployed for most of Saturday.

“Defensively, besides the tackling piece, we had opportunities to because we played a lot of man coverage,” Locksley said. “And we didn’t make any plays on the ball.”

Missed tackles also plagued Maryland and were a point of emphasis for Locksley, senior linebacker Daniel Wingate and sophomore edge rusher Sidney Stewart. All three mentioned that the Terps’ tackling performance was uncharacteristic.

They can’t afford to repeat that showing against UCLA.

Containing UCLA’s Backfield

The Bruins have featured the Big Ten’s most productive run game this season, leading the conference in rushing yards (860), touchdowns (14) and carries (123), while ranking second in yards per carry (7).

Running backs Wayne Knight and Anthony Woods are the only teammates to both rank in the Big Ten’s top 10 in rushing yards. Knight is tied for the most rushing touchdowns in the FBS with eight.

“They’ve got two heavy-handed guys that are very talented,” Locksley said. “As I said in my opening comments, it’s going to come back to us being better at tackling.”

“It’s definitely going to be a good challenge, which is something we want,” Stewart said. “We get a chance to show that we really are a good tackling team.”

Preventing the Team from Spiraling

A decisive loss in a game as anticipated as the matchup against Virginia Tech was certainly deflating — especially after a strong start — but Maryland is determined to prevent a repeat of last season.

The Terps started 4-0 in 2025, before a blown fourth-quarter lead in a 24-20 loss to Washington that seemed to derail their season. Maryland lost all seven of its remaining games that season. Wright believes this year’s team is different.

“We were a younger team last year. Guys have more experience now, so we shouldn’t look at this loss as bad luck or anything like that,” Wright said. “It’s up to us to stop that bad mojo feeling that we feel right now.”

When questioned about the long-term outlook of this season, Locksley repeatedly emphasized that the team’s play will be improved through the work they put in during practice. The matchup with UCLA is the Locksley and the Terps’ first chance to show it.

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