The best predictor of future behavior isn’t past behavior, at least for Maryland coach Mike Locksley, whose Terrapins begin Big Ten play trying to not let one loss in a big spot again spiral into another wayward season.
“I can understand why people ask that question,” Locksley said Tuesday. “I own that, that we have not finished very well after we’ve lost games, and I’ve got to own that. But it’s not going to be fixed here at the podium. It’s going to be fixed with the work that we do Monday through Thursday, Friday, the mental work, and then showing up and getting it executed.”
A frenzied, sold-out crowd last Saturday night against Virginia Tech left SECU Stadium with an unfortunately familiar feeling following a 35-26 loss — a loss that wasn’t as close as the score may indicate. In a similar position last season, a sellout crowd watched Maryland blow a 20-point, second half lead in a loss to Washington, the first of eight straight to end the year.
“The thing I do want to do is thank our fans, because if anyone that was there saw that environment, these guys have shown up for us, and they sold the place out. They brought the type of energy that we wanted to create. They’ve earned a better performance from us than what we gave them,” Locksley said.
The road to earn that trust back begins with conference foe UCLA, which comes to College Park for the first time in 71 years Saturday (1:30 p.m., BTN).
“Sunday [after a game] is kind of a mirror day for us. It’s the day that we come in, and we got to look ourselves in the mirror and find out what we have done well and what we need to do better. I like the way our guys handled it. The veteran group of guys showed great maturity the way they came in. There was no finger pointing.”
In a bit of irony for Maryland fans, for the second-straight week, the opposing sideline might also feel like looking in a mirror. Last week, it was James Franklin, who famously spurned a coach-in-waiting offer at Maryland 16 years ago.
This week, it’s first-year coach Bob Chesney’s Bruins, who are 3-0 with wins over two Power Four teams, California and Purdue. The 49-year-old Chesney, who replaced now-Indiana coach Curt Cignetti at James Madison in 2023, was a popular rumor mill pick last year if Maryland had moved on from Locksley.
“We try to take the opponent out of the mix for us,” Locksley said. “We have to worry about the things we can control, and the way we prepare doesn’t change going into conference play. I like the way our schedule was set up. I like the fact that we were able to build into conference play.”
UCLA boasts the league’s best rushing attack featuring Anthony Woods, with 228 yards and three touchdowns this season, and Wayne Knight, the Big Ten’s leading rusher with 345 yards and 8 TDs on the ground. Both average better than 7.9 yards per carry.
“I think the best thing about UCLA and where we’re playing them now is that we just faced two heavy-handed runners like the two we saw a week ago up against Virginia Tech,” Locksley said of Hokies Marcellous Hawkins and Jeffrey Overton Jr., who combined for 124 yards against the Terrapins. “UCLA is very much like that … It’s going to come back to us being better at tackling, which we we didn’t do a great job of on Saturday, and getting more hats to the ball.”
As for Maryland’s ground game, it may be hampered again this week. RB DeJuan Harris’ status will be available for the first time when the conference’s mandated availability report is released Wednesday night.
He appeared to injure his knee on a screen pass early in the second quarter Week 1 against Hampton and didn’t return. He and Locksley said everything was fine after that game, but he has not dressed for each of the last two weeks, and Locksley wouldn’t take any questions about his status.
“He’s a great athlete, great running back,” said offensive lineman Isaiah Wright. “We also still have a lot of other great running backs in the room, and different weapons with the offense as a whole. So, just continue to highlight those guys and the different people that we have in that room, and just work around it.”
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