Maryland’s first game since Michael Locksley’s departure ended the same way too many of its Big Ten Saturdays have gone this season: with a loss that stings a little more because it was there to be taken.
On a Halloween afternoon at SECU Stadium, the Terrapins fell 20-17 to Illinois and dropped to 2-6 overall and 0-5 in conference play. The game also marked Aazaar Abdul-Rahim’s first as interim head coach after taking over on Oct. 21, and he spent the week of the bye trying to steady a team dealing with a sudden transition.
“This team could have gone a lot of ways the last two weeks with all the craziness they had to deal with and the uncertainty,” Abdul-Rahim said. “I wanted to let them know how appreciative I am to be the head coach.
I think they showed some of the new things that we talked about. I’ve seen great mental toughness.”
Maryland gave itself a chance late. The Terps erased the deficit and tied the game at 17 with 10 minutes left, but they couldn’t turn that momentum into a go-ahead drive on the next possession.
That opened the door for Illinois, which took over at its own 26-yard line with just under six minutes remaining and methodically worked its way downfield. The Illini needed only one third-down snap on the drive before setting up the finish.
Ethan Moczulski ended it with four seconds left, drilling a 26-yard field goal for the winning points.
Even with the result, Abdul-Rahim said he saw a defense that did enough to win for most of the afternoon, despite Illinois showing some looks Maryland didn’t necessarily expect.
“I would have to really analyze what we did defensively and what they were looking at,” Abdul-Rahim said. “I thought our defense played well.
Take away a few plays in the run game, I thought we dominated the run game if you really watched the game. They got into [two-tight-end sets] to throw the ball more, and that’s not their M.O.
That’s not who they are.”
He also pointed to the energy level as a point of encouragement, saying the team’s effort held up beyond the opening series.
“We’ve stressed energy, and I felt like our energy was really good,” Abdul-Rahim said. “I thought it was sustained energy.
It wasn’t just the first play. We usually start fast and then kind of fizzle out.
The proof is in the product that was out on the field. I’m not a big talker.
I’m ready to go back to work right now and start working on Purdue and go 1-0.”
Maryland’s next shot comes Nov. 7 in West Lafayette against Purdue, which enters the matchup on a two-game losing streak.
In Other News...
Maryland's New-Look Opener Gave Terps Fans A Reason To Dream
Maryland opened its 2026-27 basketball season with a lopsided 96-67 win over Bucknell, a result that did more than just extend a streak. It gave the Terps their highest-scoring season opener since 2010 and pushed their run of opening-night victories to 13 straight, a strong first step in a year that already carries extra meaning as the program marks the 25th anniversary of its 2002 national championship.
Andre Mills set the tone for the new-look Terps, finishing with 22 points and 11 rebounds in a performance that helped make the opener feel less like a tune-up and more like an early statement. For Maryland fans, it was the kind of debut that invites bigger questions about how far this group can go, even if there is still plenty of season left to answer them. [Read more 🡒]
Andre Mills Helped Maryland Answer An Early Concern Fast
Marylands slow start against Bucknell could have lingered as a concern, but Andre Mills helped make sure it didnt last long. The Terrapins settled in and rolled to a 96-67 win, with Mills providing the kind of inside production that steadied the offense while Kaden House chipped in 14 points and two steals.
By the second half, Maryland had turned the game into the sort of comfortable finish that can matter early in the season, especially after an opening stretch that looked a little shaky. The Terrapins answered the initial concern quickly and then kept stretching the margin, leaving the bigger question now on how much of that early response can carry into the next step up in competition. [Read more 🡒]
Maryland Football Rankings Just Shook Up Flowers' Playoff Path
The latest High School On SI Maryland football Top 25 brought a fresh wrinkle to the state playoff picture, with Charles H. Flowers making its debut at No. 22. The rankings still have Saint Frances Academy at No. 1, while several familiar powers such as Quince Orchard, Linganore and Paul Laurence Dunbar are set to begin title defenses this weekend, adding another layer of urgency as the postseason race takes shape.
For Flowers, the bigger development is tied to a shakeup elsewhere in the standings. Henry A. Wise has been pushed out of the Top 10 after forfeiting four victories because of MPSSAA and Prince Georges County athletic rule violations, a move that has altered playoff seeding across the board. The ripple effect reaches the Falcons too, since one of those forfeited results came against Flowers, leaving the path ahead a little clearer but the bracket picture still very much in flux. [Read more 🡒]