The Maryland Rutgers homecoming game on Saturday in College Park may be the most important game of the season for Mike Locksley. The Terps are 2-4 and 0-3 in the Big Ten. They have lost four straight and are still looking for their first conference win in more than a year.
Locksley has been blunt about where things stand. “My job as the head coach is to evaluate each week the things that show up on tape,” he said after last week’s 45-16 loss at No. 5 Ohio State. “I’ll keep showing up tomorrow.”
He also made it clear what he sees in this weekend. “We’ll be back next week at home against Rutgers,” Locksley said. “Very winnable game for us at home for homecoming.”
How Maryland got here
The Terps opened with wins over Hampton and UConn, then the bottom fell out. They lost by 51 to a top 15 UCLA team and by 25 at Nebraska before the trip to Columbus. Maryland has now lost 12 straight games to Power Four opponents, according to 247Sports.
The offense struggled badly at Ohio State. Quarterback Malik Washington completed 12 of 25 passes for just 64 yards.
A struggling opponent
Rutgers comes in at 1-4, with its only win over Howard. Both programs need this one. For Maryland, a loss at home to the Scarlet Knights would only add to the pressure on Locksley heading into the bye week.
