After An Homecoming Loss To Struggling Rutgers, Where Does Maryland Football Stand?

Apparently, if you're going to bet on two things in life, it's Maryland football losing to Rutgers and squandering a first-half lead. Yesterday, the Terps fell to Rutgers in their homecoming matchup, 37-30, before a lightly filled SECU crowd.

Not only does this mark the third straight season Maryland has lost to Rutgers, another Big Ten program that's struggled to put up winning results on the gridiron, but it usually sits near the bottom like Maryland.

During Saturday's contest, the Terps led 23-13 at halftime, but quarterback Malik Washington threw two passing touchdowns.

However, as happened last year in multiple games against Big Ten foes, the second half told a different story.

Rutgers rallied off 24 straight points and seemed to convert explosive play after explosive play on its way to a comeback victory.

Maryland began the season 2-0, defeating two non-conference foes, Hampton and UConn, before falling into a five-game skid. In the 2020s, the Terps have a trend of starting fast: 2022 (3-0), 2023 (5-0), 2024 (3-1), and 2025 (4-0), before fizzling out against the Big Ten.

Head coach Mike Locksley may have just used up the final straw, putting his job security at risk despite continued backing and support from Maryland athletic director Jim Smith before and during the season.

The point is plain and simple: you can't field a team that can't compete, looks unprepared at times, can't adjust during games, or can't finish closely contested games. It's a broken record in College Park, which has consistently provided fans with no hope or belief that this program can turn a corner and climb to the top.

Now speculation will heat up over whether the Terps relieve Locksley of his duties during the bye week or let him finish out the rest of the 2026 season. If Maryland decides to move on from Locksley during the bye week, his buyout would be around $9.2 million.

The rest of the 2026 schedule looks like this:

Oct. 31st vs. Illinois

Nov 7th at Purdue

Nov. 14th vs. Wisconsin

Nov. 21st at No. 19 USC

Nov. 28th vs. Penn State

Among that stretch, only one team is ranked, but all of them carry at least three wins in the season. As harsh as it sounds, Maryland will not be favored in any of those contests and could go winless during that stretch.

What you would hope to see is the team continuing to compete and trying to put forth their best effort when out there despite a season that has quickly spiraled the wrong way.

You still have talented pieces who are key contributors every week, such as Washington, DeJuan Williams, Dorian Fleming, Chris Durr Jr., Daniel Wingate, Sidney Stewart, Zion Elee, and many more.

A big question in the program's back of mind should be: if Locksley is on his way out, how many current players on the roster could be part of the rebuild? There's a lot of guys on the team who love Locksley and wanted to play at Maryland because of his recruitment.

#Maryland QB Malik Washington on the possibility of the school firing Mike Locksley after the #Terps' lose to Rutgers:

"If the scenario arises, the scenario arises. We'll deal with it. If it doesn't arise, it doesn't arise. We'll deal with it either way. Regardless, it's about… pic.twitter.com/W9VLbzJURH
— Avi Carr-Gloth (@avicarrgloth) October 17, 2026

Does his departure signal a change of heart for those players after the season ends, with a transfer portal at their disposal?

Things are not going well at College Park, and the only path forward seems to be an inevitable change that will reset the program and usher in a new era.

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