Mired in the longest losing streak since his first full season as Maryland’s football coach in 2019, Michael Locksley revealed a different approach to moving on from this past Saturday’s result.
Maryland
Maryland football vows to ‘keep pushing’ amid four-game losing streak
Maryland (5-4, 2-4 Big Ten) seeks to end a four-game slide and collect its first win since late September when it faces Nebraska (5-4, 3-3) Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln. The Terrapins have dropped the only two meetings in the series by an average of 34 points, including a 54-7 loss in College Park in the most recent matchup in 2019.
“I challenged each person to look within themselves, first and foremost, and ask the question, ‘What can I do better?’” Locksley said Tuesday afternoon during his weekly news conference at SECU Stadium. “For me as the head coach, and for me as the leader, that’s always where I start, and we’re not as far away as some people might think.”
The performance against the Nittany Lions, who are 10th in this week’s College Football Playoff rankings, might suggest otherwise. Among the myriad breakdowns included rushing for minus-49 yards, committing four turnovers and surrendering six sacks.
A stark reminder of where the program stands with three games remaining to salvage bowl eligibility for a third consecutive season is an 0-33 record against ranked conference opponents since joining the Big Ten in 2014. The Terrapins also are 2-21 at home in November and December since 2011 and draw No. 3 Michigan in two weeks in the final game of the year at SECU Stadium before closing at Rutgers.
“The biggest thing is just keep going,” said quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa, whose 17 consecutive completions to begin the game against Penn State matched the longest such streak this season in major college football. “We’ve got to keep working on getting things set with the little details and not hurting ourselves, so I think it’s just a matter of us keep pushing, keep sticking together and never lose sight of who we’re playing.”
Tagovailoa was responsible for turnovers on consecutive offensive plays against the Nittany Lions, with the first coming early in the fourth quarter when the redshirt senior threw his seventh interception of the season. Nittany Lions linebacker Dominic DeLuca secured the ball at the Penn State 45 and reached Maryland’s 20 before being tackled, leading to a field goal.
On the Terrapins’ ensuing possession, Tagovailoa lost control of the ball while being sacked, and Penn State defensive tackle Jordan van den Berg fell on it at the Maryland 26-yard line with 7:32 to play. Penn State converted that turnover into another field goal to expand the lead to 41-15, much to the delight of the thousands of white-clad Nittany Lions fans who far outnumbered Maryland faithful in the stands in the closing minutes.
It marked the fourth game in a row in which Maryland committed multiple turnovers. The Terrapins committed only three turnovers total during their five-game winning streak to open the season.
Tagovailoa, along with other members of the team’s leadership council, met with Locksley for a second straight week to discuss ways to get the season back on track. Locksley indicated that the conversation focused primarily on preventing turnovers, producing chunk yardage and finishing games.
“Ball security, getting the ball out quick and knowing where to go with the ball, being on the same page with receivers,” Tagovailoa said about the improvements he has been fine-tuning during practices. “For me, learning how to move in the pocket, being good with my pocket awareness: Those are the things I have to continue to work on in order for us to win games.”
Locksley also has pledged to examine the play-calling to get the ball in the hands of his most dynamic offensive players with greater frequency. Against Penn State, for instance, starting running back Roman Hemby had only seven touches, including five carries for zero yards.
Wide receiver Kaden Prather, meanwhile, was targeted just four times. The graduate transfer from West Virginia leads the Terrapins and ranks sixth in the Big Ten with five touchdown receptions this season.
“Everything we get we’ve got to take, we’ve got to fight for,” Locksley said. “It was great to start out 5-0, but we also know we’re in the reality of a four-game losing streak, and the only people that are going to get us out of it will be the people in [our facility], and we ain’t quitting. Quitting is not an option, and that’s the part, this team, I love about them.”