Maryland fires Mike Locksley as Big Ten losing streak reaches 12 games

Maryland has fired head coach Mike Locksley, ESPN reported, citing sources. His eight seasons in College Park end with a 39-54 record, and the Terrapins have now lost 12 straight games against Big Ten opponents.

The move came days after a 37-30 home loss to Rutgers dropped Maryland to 2-5. The season started well enough, with a 62-0 win over Hampton and a 38-14 win at UConn. Then the losses piled up. Virginia Tech won 35-26 in College Park, UCLA won 54-3 at Maryland, and road trips to Nebraska and No. 5 Ohio State ended in 48-23 and 45-16 defeats. Rutgers was the latest.

The numbers show why the school acted in the middle of the season. Maryland has been outscored 184-72 in four conference games, an average margin of 28 points. It has given up at least 35 points in all five losses and is allowing 43.8 points per game during the slide. A defense that held Hampton and UConn to 14 points combined has not held anyone under 35 since. The offense hasn't kept up either: Maryland scored 30 against Rutgers, but it managed three against UCLA and 16 in Columbus.

The Terrapins have five games left, so whoever takes over runs the team the rest of the way while the school looks for a permanent hire. The ESPN report did not say who that will be.

What it means for Illinois on Oct. 31

Maryland has an open date before it hosts Illinois on Saturday, Oct. 31, on FS1. That gives the new staff two weeks to settle on a plan, and the most urgent job is the defense. The schedule doesn't get much easier. The Terrapins have lost every conference game this fall by at least seven points, and three of the four by 29 or more. At this point, a competitive game against Illinois would count as progress for a team still looking for its first Big Ten win of the season.

Rutgers, the team that handed Maryland its last loss under Locksley, is 2-4 and travels to No. 24 Northwestern on Saturday, Oct. 24, on Peacock. Northwestern is a big favorite on the board. Novig lists the Wildcats at -700 on the moneyline and Rutgers at +614. The best Rutgers price among the 11 venues is +650 at Polymarket. On the spread, Novig has Northwestern favored by 16.5 at -108, and BetMGM's -16 at -110 is the best Northwestern number anywhere. The total sits at 58.5 on Novig, with Pinnacle at 58. Sportsbook hold ranges from 3.0% to 7.0% across the markets, so the venues are within half a point of each other on the spread and total, and the moneyline prices are close too.

For Maryland, the next two weeks start a new era. The record Locksley leaves behind is 39-54, and the last 12 conference games were all losses.