Takeaways: Maryland football's non-conference win streak snapped in humbling fashion

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Maryland’s defense falls apart under the bright lights of SECU Stadium as Virginia Tech handles business against the Terrapins.

The Virginia Tech Hokies offense scored five touchdowns as they beat the Maryland Terrapins 35-26 on Saturday night.

The Maryland defense could not handle Virginia Tech’s quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer. He was 31-for-39 for 314 yards and four touchdowns. He led the Hokies to go 10-for-16 on third-down conversions, including an 18-yard scramble for a touchdown in the second quarter that gave the Hokies a 13-0 lead.

For the second week in a row, Maryland faced a team with a first-year head coach. James Franklin joined Virginia Tech during the offseason after 12 years at Penn State.

Franklin and Maryland head coach Mike Locksley had a heated exchange following their last matchup, when Franklin was with Penn State. The Nittany Lions scored a last-second touchdown while already up 38-7. Franklin coached at Maryland from 2000-2004 and 2008-2010.

Franklin now moves to 7-1 in his career against Locksley.

Mike Locksley lost what felt like a must-win game.

Locksley has not been in fans' good graces after going 8-16 in the last two seasons. After exceeding expectations in their Terps first two games of 2026, he lost another big matchup.

“We own what we put out on the field,” said Locksley when asked why fans should keep backing the team. “Our fans continue to show up. We got to do our part.”

Maryland is now 38-45 since Locksley took over in 2019. They are 9-36 as underdogs, and just 3-16 as home underdogs.

The last nine games of the season will be important for Locksley and the Maryland football program, which entered 2026 with more developed talent and higher expectations.

Maryland’s defense could not hang with Virginia Tech

After allowing just 14 points through the first two weeks, Virginia Tech’s offense moved the ball at will against Maryland. They finished with 445 total yards and held the ball for over 36 minutes.

“There were no indications for me that we would play defense the way we played, in terms of not being able to get off the field or stop the run,” said Locksley.

Virginia Tech dominated the time-of-possession battle from the start. They held the ball for 12 minutes and 25 seconds of the first quarter.

The Hokies had just three drives that didn't end in a touchdown, and Grunkemeyer was the main reason.

“They were giving him the ball on crucial downs, and he was just capitalizing on those plays,” said senior linebacker Daniel Wingate.

Virginia Tech was also dominant in the run game. They finished with 131 rushing yards, largely thanks to Marcellous Hawkins Jr. and Jeffrey Overton Jr.’s ability to break tackles.

“The missed tackles part to me is what really jumped out,” said Locksley. “Our guys got to make those plays, especially on third downs.”

Maryland’s run game continued to stagnate

After Virginia Tech scored a touchdown on the first drive of the game. Maryland responded with a five-play drive with three rushes that combined to lose a yard.

Maryland’s run game looked reminiscent of last year’s team against their first Power Four opponent of the season. They had the 12th-lowest rushing yards per game in FBS and ran the ball at the lowest rate in 2025.

It was an area for improvement for first-year offensive coordinator Clint Trickett, but for a second week in a row, Maryland finished with less than four yards per carry.

“When it comes to the run game, it's about angles, double teams, hand placement, all that stuff, which the [offensive line] did really well,” said sophomore quarterback Malik Washington. “There were opportunities for some plays to be made, so execution could have been better on everybody’s part.

Iverson Howard finished with 11 carries for 22 yards. Redshirt freshman Harry Dalton III finished with 6 carries for 26 yards.

Starting running back DeJuan Williams missed his second straight game. He had three rushes for 116 yards in the season opener against Hampton before suffering an injury in the second quarter.

The Terrapins will stay home as they turn to conference play, starting next week against the UCLA Bruins. They’ll kick off against the Bruins at 1:30 p.m. EST on Saturday, September 26.

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