COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- The end of September is often when hope is peaking for Maryland football. That's not the case this year, which is a big reason why Mike Locksley's days as coach could be numbered.
Locksley was already in the hot-seat discussion before the season started, and after two straight losses to teams with new coaches -- Virginia Tech and UCLA -- the Terrapins are reeling at a time when they were supposed to be making progress. Last weekend's Big Ten opener at home was a 54-3 shellacking by the Bruins, the type of defeat that can put a coach past the point of no return with his bosses.
Still, Monday's weekly meeting between Locksley and athletic director Jim Smith apparently came and went without much drama. At least, that's what the coach said at his Tuesday news conference previewing Saturday's matchup at Nebraska.
"It was a typical weekly meeting where we discussed the program, where it is," Locksley said. "It was a standard meeting, personnel matters like we always talk about."
Locksley was asked if he's been assured of anything regarding his status.
"My focus has been on getting us ready to play up at Lincoln," he said. "No need for assurances."
Locksley is in his eighth season as Maryland's coach, not counting a stint as interim coach back in 2015. His first full season in charge was 2019, and the Terrapins did have a stretch from 2021-23 in which they won three straight bowl games, which they'd never done.
Since then, though, the decline has been significant. Maryland went 4-8 in 2024. The Terps then started 4-0 last year behind freshman quarterback Malik Washington, but they blew a big fourth-quarter lead at home against Washington, then a smaller one at home against Nebraska. Maryland would not win another game that season.
The Terps have now dropped 17 of their last 19 Big Ten games. For a while, Maryland at least could point to a lengthy winning streak in nonconference games, but that 20-game run ended when former Terrapins assistant James Franklin came in with his Virginia Tech team and thumped the Terps two weekends ago.
Then Washington threw four interceptions against UCLA, and that game turned into a total debacle for the Terrapins. Now a program that's become known for starting fast and fading must try to do the opposite.
With teams increasingly willing to fire coaches during the season, every game feels crucial for Locksley.
"To address the fans, I understand the frustration our fans have. They care and expect to win, just like we do," Locksley said. "I know our team is disappointed in the way they've played the last couple of games. But just like I expect, just like I've modeled for them, we know that the only way to get it fixed is to play better."
This week's trip to Nebraska is no easy task. The following week's game at Ohio State figures to be even harder. Can Locksley survive as coach until the Oct. 17 home game against Rutgers? Would winning that one even matter, with the open date afterward providing a natural break in the schedule that could offer time to regroup after a coaching change?
Locksley certainly seems aware of all the talk about his future, even if he tries to avoid it when possible.
"I'm 56 years old," he said. "I know how to insulate myself. I know how to put my phone down. I know how to not read or indulge with things that aren't going to help prepare the team for the next opponent, which is Nebraska. What I've tried to do is model that for some of our players. I know that they are bombarded by a lot of the things that go on outside of the building."