Frustration grows as Maryland Terrapins limp into conference play

Maryland Football Head Coach Mike Locksley had a familiar opening line for Terps football fans at Tuesday’s press conference.

“Obviously we didn’t play well enough to win, and as the head coach, I own that,” he said.

Accountability is expected from Locksley following the team’s 35-26 defeat at the hands of the Virginia Tech Hokies last Saturday. But when is accountability not enough for College Park?

Fan attendance has been a big topic of discussion, but on Saturday Night, Maryland fans packed into a sold out SECU Stadium to support the Terps in their second home game of the season, and their first real test.

“[The fans] brought the type of energy that we want to create,” Locksley said. “They’ve earned a better performance from us than what we gave them.”

For Locksley, the only way to get the fans back is results, and that starts with the work they put in during the week and continues into the team’s BIG 10 Conference opener against the 3-0 UCLA Bruins.

Specifically, the head coach noted that the team’s run game needs to improve, an issue that the team had last year. The Terps only run the ball at 38% efficiency, while Locksley says they need to be in the 60s. He said the inefficient run game on first and second downs repeatedly leads the team into 3rd and long situations.

Sophomore Quarterback Malik Washington finished his third week in a new offensive scheme with Offensive Coordinator and Quarterback Coach Clint Trickett. Following the loss, Washington said that he’s finally settling in and getting comfortable with the new system.

“He understands the plays that I favor, the plays that I don’t, and what situations we like them in. That’s something you can’t really know until you get into a game atmosphere and a game environment.”

Senior Linebacker Daniel Wingate, who led the team with 12 tackles on Saturday, said it was disappointing letting down the fans but the team is excited to get back to work, noting that one loss or win doesn’t define this team.

Last year, following Maryland’s 24-20 defeat at the hands of the Washington Huskies, the Terps went on to lose seven straight games, all against conference opponents. When asked how the team is better equipped to answer adversity this year, Locksley said he can understand why people ask the question, answering with another familiar line.

“I own 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 to Friday, the mental work, and showing up and getting it executed.”

Sophomore Linebacker Sidney Stewart had a different response.

“The outcome is going to be different, we’re not going to allow one game to trickle into many, and that’s just being echoed throughout the locker room,” he said.

Locksley said in his Tuesday press conference that the fans have earned the right to feel frustrated, but stressed that words can’t mend those feelings, only the work the team puts in during the week. The biggest emphasis this week at practice for the Terps will be tackling.

When a reporter asked if the team wasn’t putting an emphasis on tackling before, Stewart addressed an issue with the question itself, using the statement “I like chocolate chip cookies” as an example.

“That wouldn’t be me saying in the past I didn’t like [chocolate chip cookies],” he said. “We do tackle every practice and we make sure to do better at it, but emphasizing it doesn’t mean that it wasn’t important in the past.”

For Washington, things are still looking up despite the loss.

“At the end of the day we still get a chance to breathe, talk and walk, and that’s something that a lot of people take for granted.”

He ended by saying we should all be thankful for having opportunities to go out and show what we can do no matter the outcome, emphasizing how a football game shouldn’t blind you from your blessings in life. It’s poignant insight from the sophomore leader who hopes to offer optimism to Terps fans.

The Terps are back in action this Saturday at SECU Stadium playing the UCLA Bruins at 1:30 p.m.