Embattled Mike Locksley, Maryland head to Illinois mired in five-game losing streak

Apathy has set in among Maryland fans as the Terrapins are mired in a five-game losing streak for the second straight season. And as soon as coach Mike Locksley has been able to get one thing fixed on his leaking ship of a season, another leak springs.

“When you coach an inexperienced group, you find yourself plugging holes because the experience and the time is not in your favor,” Locksley said Tuesday.

The latest fix was in the run game, where Maryland (4-5, 1-5 Big Ten) accumulated 305 yards rushing last Saturday at Rutgers — easily the best performance of the season for what was the Big Ten’s worst rushing offense and the most in a game in six seasons.

“A week ago, I said for us to get the run game going, we needed who to run the ball? Malik,” Locksley said of freshman quarterback Malik Washington, who ran for 164 yards, 75 of them on the second play of the game that he took for a touchdown. “And Malik ran the ball, and then the normal run game got going.”

Terrapins running backs Nolan Ray and DeJuan Williams combined for 141 yards rushing themselves against a Scarlet Knights defense that is a conference worst in that department. The problem? Those gains came at the expense of anything working through the air.

“So we’ve plugged that hole, and then we throw for 98 [yards], and we actually throw an interception before the half. And so we’re going to constantly be coaching, teaching, plugging holes with an inexperienced team until they can kind of do it on their own.”

Statistically, Washington excelled on the ground, had his worst game through the air as a Terrapin in the 35-20 loss. His 15 completions on 28 attempts for 98 yards were all season lows, and his third interception in the last two games comes after only having three in Maryland’s first seven games combined.

“It’s really just my coaches staying on me about little things that we can clean up that will help our team as a whole,” Washington said, “whether it’s footwork or being able to do cadence drops and time it with the reads and stuff like that. So just things that my coaches have presented to me that I need to work on, and also trying to win games at the same time.”

An embattled Locksley has switched his verbiage as Maryland’s season has plodded along for more than a month and a half without a victory, consistently referring now to his team as not “young,” but “inexperienced.” He has also lowered his own standard, admitting following the Rutgers loss that his team should now be playing for each other and its group of seniors, hedging that a bowl appearance may be out of reach.

“Some of these younger players that have been thrust in there because of some of the attrition that goes along with being in the Big Ten are taking more reps, and now you’re starting to see that,” Locksley said. “I can’t say we’re young anymore. We’re just inexperienced because we’re this far in the season where younger players now have game opportunities.”

Additionally, the seventh-year coach has become curtly defiant about his standing amid calls from many fans and the student body for his firing. Asked if he was coaching for his job the rest of the season, Locksley simply answered “No.” Asked if he felt he deserved to keep his job, he replied with a straightforward “Yes.” 

“I’m a big boy. I’ve been a big boy a long time. I’ve done a lot harder things in my life than deal with a five-game losing streak and have to answer questions about what I’ve done,” Locksley said.

Maryland’s opponent this week, Illinois, is its inverse. The Fighting Illini (6-3, 3-3) began with a preseason ranking (No. 12) for the first time in 18 years and potential playoff aspirations in Bret Bielema’s fifth season after a 10-win 2024 campaign.

Reaching that level again is out of reach after losses to No. 2 Indiana, No. 1 Ohio State and previous No. 23 Washington. But Illinois QB Luke Altmeyer has been one of the Big Ten’s best, leading the conference’s No. 5 scoring offense and ranking among the league’s top five quarterbacks in yards (2,255), touchdown passes (19) and passer rating (165.03).

“Altmeyer is a veteran guy, man. He’s played a lot of football,” Locksley said. “And you look at his toolbox, he’s got a lot of mileage, and he’s faced a lot of fronts, and a lot of coverages and a lot of things. He can lean on the experience that comes with being a veteran quarterback in the Big Ten.”

Locksley’s familiarity with Illinois might be a bit of a reprieve compared to the swords that have been drawn against him around College Park. Some of his most formative coaching years came in Champaign from 2005-08, where he became a coordinator for the first time under coach Ron Zook.

“I spent time at Illinois as a young coach, first place that I got a chance to call plays. And so for my family, outside of this area, it’s the one area if you were to ask my two younger kids where they’re from, they say they’re from Champaign, Illinois,” Locksley said. “So obviously, a place that is near and dear to my family.”