Maryland coach Locksley cites line of scrimmage and time of possession as keys to loss against Virginia Tech

Maryland fell to Virginia Tech 35-26, with head coach Mike Locksley pointing to a lack of control at the line of scrimmage and poor time-of-possession as primary factors. > "The two things that jump out to me, obviously, is time of possession and the run game, the line of scrimmage, and our inability to control the line of scrimmage," Locksley said. He added that the team had no indication before the game that the defense would perform as it did, noting Virginia Tech’s dominance on third down, converting eight of nine attempts in the first half and setting the game’s tempo. Locksley addressed concerns about the program’s recent home losses, acknowledging the pattern of defeats in high-profile games. > "It's a great question for the fans, Michael. I think for us, I'm going to go back to we deal with the things that we can control, and we've got to own what we put out on the field. Our fans have shown up, continue to show up. We got to do our part," he said. He emphasized that the team must not let the loss define them as they prepare for their first Big Ten matchup against UCLA next week. > "Can't let this one game define us with us entering into Big Ten play next week. We'll look at the film, it's our mirror," Locksley said.