Maryland coach Mike Locksley is feeling the heat entering his team’s Big Ten opener against UCLA on Saturday afternoon in College Park, Md.
The pressure ramped up last weekend when Locksley’s squad fell at home to Virginia Tech and its first-year coach, James Franklin.
The Terrapins (2-1, 0-0 Big Ten) face a similar challenge on Saturday, facing another first-year coach in Bob Chesney, who already has led the Bruins (3-0, 1-0) to as many wins as they had last season.
After closing last year with eight straight Big Ten losses, Maryland is in desperate need of a victory as Locksley battles the perception that the program has regressed.
“I understand why the fans are frustrated. They’ve earned the right for us to play better than we have,” Locksley said. “It won’t get fixed here at the podium. It will be fixed across the street with the work we do.”
Meanwhile, UCLA is flying high behind Chesney and a diminutive running back he brought with him from James Madison.
Wayne Knight, all 5-foot-7 and 193 pounds of him, has rushed for 345 yards and eight touchdowns, averaging a gaudy 8.8 yards per carry.
“He is patient, waiting for something to open,” Chesney said. “I think he hides behind a lot of the offensive linemen and then all of the sudden, when something opens, he’s at full speed within two or three steps.”
The emergence of Knight, who splits carries with Anthony Woods (228 yards rushing), has helped provide balance to an offense that was heavily dependent last year on quarterback Nico Iamaleava.
Last year, UCLA ranked 85th in the Football Bowl Subdivision in rushing at 139.7 yards per game. This season the Bruins rank fifth at 286.7 yards per game.
Iamaleava also has been more productive as UCLA is producing 203.7 yards per game through the air, which is up from 180.3 last season.
Maryland will counter Saturday with Malik Washington, who threw for 359 yards and three touchdowns without an interception in the Terrapins’ 35-26 loss to Virginia Tech.
Maryland will have to account for UCLA linebacker Sammy Omosigho, who had two sacks and two forced fumbles last week in the Bruins’ 52-38 win over Purdue.
