Illinois heads into Saturday’s trip to College Park with momentum, but also with a warning label attached. After knocking off Oregon 21-10, the Illini are suddenly riding a two-game win streak and looking at a chance to make it three straight against a Maryland team that has been ripped apart from the top down.
The Terrapins’ season has gone off the rails fast. Maryland opened 2-0 with blowout wins over Hampton and UConn, then watched everything collapse in a five-game losing streak that included a 54-3 home loss to UCLA and lopsided defeats against Nebraska and Ohio State. The latest blow came Oct. 17 against Rutgers, when Maryland blew a 23-13 halftime lead and lost 37-30 at home.
That loss ended Mike Locksley’s run in College Park. He and the program parted ways on Oct. 21 after eight seasons, and co-defensive coordinator Aazaar Abdul-Rahim will make his debut as interim head coach against Illinois.
Maryland has had a bye week to reset, which makes this one a little less predictable than the record might suggest. A coaching change can jolt a team, and the Terrapins will at least get to try to salvage something from a season that already looks lost.
Offensively, Maryland has enough pieces to create problems. Sophomore quarterback Malik Washington has thrown for 1,615 yards, nine touchdowns and six interceptions through seven games.
His numbers have been uneven, but he did post 263 yards and two touchdowns against Rutgers. His top target is Chris Durr Jr., who leads the Terrapins with 52 catches for 580 yards and four touchdowns.
The run game has been more ordinary than explosive. Maryland is averaging 133 rushing yards per game, though DeJuan Williams has flashed some pop when healthy, piling up 281 yards and three touchdowns on just 38 carries. As a team, the Terrapins are putting up 28.3 points per game, but a lot of that came in the early non-conference stretch.
The bigger issue is on the other side of the ball, where Maryland has been leaking points all season. The Terrapins are giving up 33.3 points and 366.6 total yards per game, and they have allowed at least 35 points in all five losses. UCLA hung 54 on them, Nebraska scored 48, and Rutgers finished the job after the halftime collapse.
That kind of defensive slide led to another change in the staff, with defensive coordinator Ted Monachino dismissed after the Rutgers game and before Locksley’s exit.
There are still a couple of names Illinois has to account for. Freshman edge rusher Zion Elee has been one of Maryland’s few bright spots, producing 2.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. Sidney Stewart has also helped generate pressure up front.
Even so, Illinois should see an opening to keep its offensive rhythm going. True freshman quarterback Michael Clayton II is fresh off his first career win as a starter, and running back Aidan Laughery just rushed for 123 yards against Oregon. Against a Maryland defense that has struggled to contain anyone for long, both should have chances to make plays.
The Illini can’t afford to stroll in thinking the script is already written, though. Maryland will be playing under a new coach, at home, with nothing left to protect. That makes this more than a simple mismatch on paper.
For Bret Bielema’s team, the mission is straightforward: don’t let a huge win over Oregon turn into a flat follow-up. Illinois has a real shot to keep building, but it has to do the work first.
In Other News...
Marylands Coaching Search Just Landed A Name Fans Can Dream On
A familiar name has entered the conversation around Marylands coaching search, and it is one that carries real weight because of both pedigree and local roots. Jason La Canfora, the NFL insider and Maryland native, publicly endorsed Giants defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson as a top candidate for the job, a nod that immediately gives the search a different kind of buzz. Wilson has built a respected coaching rsum in the NFL, and the kind of rise he has made tends to put him on the radar for bigger opportunities.
For Maryland, the appeal is obvious: Wilson represents a blend of credibility, connection and upside that is hard to ignore in a search that needs the right long-term fit. The question is whether a coach with his standing in the pro game would be willing to step back into college football, even for a program that knows him well and could present the chance to lead at home. [Read more 🡒]
Marylands Backcourt Suddenly Looks Deep Enough To Change Everything
Buzz Williams spent the offseason rebuilding Marylands backcourt, and the early signs suggest he may have given the Terrapins a much different kind of flexibility than they had a year ago. Five guards arrived to deepen a group that already featured Andre Mills, who stepped into a bigger scoring role last season after Pharrel Paynes injury changed the rotation. The mix now includes a transfer in DJ Wagner, plus pieces such as Mike McNair Jr. and Bishop Boswell, giving Maryland a collection of guards with different strengths rather than a lineup that has to lean on the same few options every night.
What makes it interesting is how quickly the group has started to look functional in preseason exhibition games. Wagner is expected to handle the offense, while McNair brings shooting and Boswell supplies defense, all of which gives Williams more ways to shape lineups and cover for foul trouble or off nights. For a program that needed more dependable guard play, the bigger question now is not whether Maryland has added depth, but how much that depth can raise the ceiling once the games start to count. [Read more 🡒]
Maryland Footballs Reset Just Entered Its Most Important Phase
Marylands football reset has reached the point where the focus shifts from broad disappointment to a very specific task: finding the next person to lead the program. Athletics director Jim Smith is working with university leadership as the school begins a confidential national search, a process that now carries the weight of deciding what comes next for a program trying to move forward with purpose.
The search is being run with help from executive search firm TurnkeyZRG, a sign that Maryland intends to cast a wide net and take its time rather than rush into the first familiar name that surfaces. The job figures to draw interest from across the sport, and the quiet nature of the process suggests the Terps are trying to keep their options open while they sort through the kind of candidate who can stabilize and elevate the program. [Read more 🡒]