Three things Maryland football needs to fix during the bye week

Chase King
1 day ago
4 min read

After three brutal close losses in a row, the Terps will enter their second bye on a three-game slide with a conference record of only 1-3.

After the Terps' most recent loss, head coach Mike Locksley made it clear that going forward that he and his team aren’t victims and don’t have that mindset.

“I'm not gonna ask why. Why is a victim question. And I'm not a victim. I'm gonna ask what we need to do,” Locksley said after Saturday’s 20-17 loss vs. UCLA.

“That's what my job will be next week, with the bye week coming upon us, is to not say ‘why.’ We're not victims, but what we can do. And me, I've always been about growth mindset.”

But what can the Terps fix on the field during this bye week?

Finding more balance on offense

With Malik Washington nearly throwing 50 passes in two of his last three games, the answer on offense is clear: find a way to run the ball more consistently. The Terps are currently averaging only 103.3 rush yards a game with longest run of 28 yards, one of just three 20+ yard runs in 2025. Both of those are the worst numbers in the Big Ten and are also both in the bottom 15 of any FBS teams.

The Terps' run game has been a big part of their failures on offense in their last three games. Most of the time, when up in the fourth quarter, the Terps are relying on the passes to move the ball. After going up 20-0 in the third quarter against Washington, they ran the ball one more time and would end up losing.

The Terps have run the ball up to the outside at a high 41.71% of designed run plays, according to PFF. On these outside runs, the Terps are only averaging 3.9 yards per carry to the right and 3.5 yards per carry to the left. Locksley has previously pointed to offensive balance as the ability to both run and pass the ball, but for the third consecutive year, Maryland is struggling to show the ability to consistently pose that threat on the ground.

Earlier in the year, Locksley talked about how he wanted to see the tight ends block better in the run game, yet they haven’t strayed away from running it to the outside. The Terps have found some better success running up the middle, especially to the right side of the line, but with limited attempts.

“We got some talented skill on the outside. Our guys have to make the plays that are there to be made, and I expect us to do that,” Locksley said ahead of the Nebraska home game. The Terps would finish that game with 130 yards on the ground and 4.3 yards per carry.

Whether it’s by changing the way they approach the run game or it's with better execution from the players including a struggling run blocking offensive line, the Terps will need to create a glimmer of a run game for the Terps offense to really start clicking.

Finishing better

In Big Ten play, the Terps are losing in the fourth quarter 51-14, and despite that, they are 10 points away from being 7-0. If the Terps were able to finish out on those three games, there would be a completely different conversation about this team.

A lot of the fourth-quarter troubles can also be attributed to the offense stalling and leaving the defense constantly on the field.

“Part of it is getting all three phases to play complementary to where we complement each other. That helps us,” Locksley said after the loss to UCLA.

‘Headbutting the finish’ has been something the Terps have continued to emphasize.

“Ever since I stepped foot at Maryland in work outs and practice, we put a huge emphasis on headbutting the finish, whether that's a workout, a run, whatever we’re doing, we've got to headbutt the finish,” said grad transfer Cam Rice after the loss to Washington.

In their last bye week, Coach Locksley focused on giving players more of a rest, rather than continuing physical practice for the week of the bye like he had done years prior.

After the bye week and the loss to Washington, Locksley reflected on the bye week and said he "didn't think we did a great job of" handling success.

Fixing mental errors

The Terps have been plagued by the small things all year, and it has really started to rear its ugly head against higher-tier Big Ten opponents.

For example, the Terps have been dropping balls consistently all year. True freshman QB Malik Washington has thrown the second-most dropped passes in all of FBS this year with 21, according to PFF.

The Terps have also struggled with tackling, especially against Nebraska, when they allowed Emmett Johnson to run for 89 yards after contact due to consistently missing tackles.

After the Nebraska game, Locksley said, “Missed tackles… There were just too many explosives in the run game. I think they had a 177-yard rusher, which, for us, we've played the run really well, but the missed tackles again showed up in critical parts of the game.”

The Terps are also responsible for eight personal fouls in the last three games, including four against Nebraska and three different targeting calls in the games against Washington and UCLA.

Maryland tried addressing by playing more of its depth vs. UCLA in an effort to keep the defense fresh, but that proved to be a meaningless strategy after the Bruins scored on each of their final three drives to score 13 points over the final 3:33.

The Terps still have a chance to finish the season strong and make a bowl game, but they will need to fix these crucial mistakes that have dragged down their season so far.

Maryland will host No. 2 Indiana at 3:30 p.m. EST on Saturday, Nov. 1st, following their bye, where head coach Mike Locksley is still looking for his first win in games post-bye with an 0-8 record since 2019 (excluding 2020).

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