Maryland Football lost 38-28 to Michigan State on Saturday, finishing its season with a 4-8 record.
Facing the then 3-8 Spartans, Maryland fell behind 24-7 at halftime.
The Terps rallied back in the third quarter to set up a 31-28 game in favor of Michigan State.
However, in the final quarter, a season-long story continued as Maryland’s offense faltered, failing to capitalize on several chances to tie or take the lead, despite the defense holding strong.
On their first fourth-quarter drive, kicker Sean O’Haire missed a 27-yard field goal that would’ve tied the game.
Maryland’s ensuing fourth-quarter drives proved futile, as the Terps turned the ball over on downs and Malik Washington threw two interceptions, cementing the loss and seven straight losses to close the year.
Throughout the season, fan frustration grew over Mike Locksley as the team struggled in Big Ten conference play, finishing with a 1-8 record. Since taking over at Maryland, Locksley holds a 16-43 record in the Big Ten and has yet to secure a true statement win against a ranked team.
Those outcries peaked on Nov. 22 in the final home game of the season. The Maryland student section chanted to fire him in the third quarter of the Terrapins’ 45-20 loss to Michigan.
The game featured a promising start, as the Terps scored on a 4th-and-goal pass from freshman QB Malik Washington to strike first.
However, after Michigan quickly answered, Maryland hit a roadblock offensively.
After the first quarter, the running attack virtually disappeared; over the final three quarters, the Terps amassed just 35 rushing yards.
Offensive inconsistencies have been nothing new for the Terps this season, creating frustration among fans like Riley Bomgardner, a junior journalism major.
“The connection on our offense is lacking…[Malik] Washington can definitely throw the ball, but half the time it’s not in the right place and we seem to drop balls a lot,” Bomgardner said.
While the offense sputtered, the defense didn’t fare any better. Michigan gashed the Terps with 228 yards on the ground and four rushing touchdowns to the Terps’ zero. This marks the fourth straight game where the Terrapins have allowed an opponent to rush for more than 200 yards.
Despite being out-rushed, Maryland out-passed Michigan with a total of 276 yards through the air, compared to the Wolverines’ 215.
3rd-down efficiency differentiated the two squads: the Wolverines went 12-14, while the Terps were only 5-14.
In a sense, these final two games perfectly summed up Maryland’s 2025 season, hope of what could possibly be on the horizon, only for a dose of reality to kick in.
Before the season, hype had been building on the freshman class, specifically homegrown four-star recruit Malik Washington.
Fans like Christopher Blaisdell, an aerospace engineering graduate student, entered 2025 expecting better results after last year’s tumultuous season.
“My expectations coming into the year [were] that Maryland gets more wins,” Blaisdell said.
The season started out with the standard wins against lower competition to jump out to a 4-0 start, including a dominant 27-10 win against Wisconsin in Madison, where Malik Washington stepped up.
Against the Washington Huskies, Maryland looked to be heading to another dominant win, leading 20-0 mid-way through the third quarter.
That’s when it all came crashing down for the Terps, as Washington scored 24 unanswered points, with 21 coming in the fourth quarter alone.
Maryland’s next two games showcased more late-game collapses: against Nebraska at home, and against UCLA on the road; a game where Maryland gave up 68 yards in 33 seconds, allowing the Bruins to record a game-winning field goal in the waning seconds.
Fourth-quarter collapses have been an unfortunate theme for the Terps this year. In the fourth quarter alone this season, Maryland has been outscored a staggering 95-24.
Homecoming weekend against No. 2 Indiana became a season low-light for the Terrapins in a 55-10 drubbing, as Maryland was dominated in the trenches, giving up 367 rushing yards.
Despite atrocious results and growing calls from fans for his removal, Maryland Athletic Director Jim Smith announced on Nov. 16 that Mike Locksley will remain the Terps’ head coach in 2026. Smith has additionally pledged to significantly boost financial support for the football program.
“We are working to strengthen our NIL support for 2026 and beyond and have already seen success for next year,” Smith told ESPN. “We are prioritizing roster retention, recruiting and competing in the transfer portal.”
Even with additional funds and further unwavering support from the athletic department, a Maryland football season that began with a sense of hope and optimism has once again concluded with disappointment.
