Maryland football has entered the fourth quarter of its year with dimming hopes of sending the 2025 season to overtime.
The Terps need two wins across their final three games for bowl eligibility, something they’ve only done once in the Big Ten — in 2023. Winning the fourth quarter in-game has also been a struggle for Maryland, as the Terps have only done so once this year — a 7-0 frame against Northern Illinois.
Overall, Maryland has been outscored 82-27 across the fourth quarter, with its 3.0 points
per fourth quarter 131st in Division I. The Terps could desperately use a turnaround in that metric on their road trip to Illinois.
“Our team is excited about the opportunity [to be] able to put the last four or five weeks behind us and get back on the right side of the ledger,” head coach Michael Locksley said. “By Saturday, our guys are going to be prepared, physically, mentally, emotionally, to go play well.”
Maryland’s game against Illinois will begin at 3:30 p.m. ET and air on FS1.
Illinois Fighting Illini (6-3, 3-3 Big Ten)
Fifth-year head coach Brett Bielema led Illinois to new heights in 2024, as the team earned 10 wins for the fifth time in school history and won the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl in its first New Year’s action since 2011. Bielema convinced his top players to return for one more year, and the Illini came into the 2025 season flying, placing as high as No. 9 in the Associated Press’ rankings.
But everything came crashing down in a 63-10 defeat at then-No. 19 Indiana. That loss looks somewhat better as the season has progressed, as did Illinois — until the team dropped two of three October contests, against No. 1 Ohio State and at Washington.
While two of three losses have come against the top two teams in the country, Illinois’ overall record has all but barred it from the College Football Playoff. A comparatively easy end-of-season run-in — its last four opponents are Rutgers, Maryland, Wisconsin and Northwestern — will prepare the Illini to try to win a bowl in consecutive years for the second time ever.
Players to watch
Luke Altmyer, senior quarterback, No. 9 — The ceiling of this team is as high as Altmyer is able to go. Through his career, the highs have been high, and the lows have been low — but so far this season, it’s been mostly high for the Mississippi native.
Altmyer is top-20 in the nation in passing yards (15th, 2,255), passing touchdowns (14th, 19) and completion percentage (11th, 70.0%) in his third season as the starter in Champaign. He’s also developed as a ground threat, with 136 rushing yards and a score over his last two games.
Hank Beatty, senior wide receiver, No. 80 — Illinois’ Swiss Army knife, Beatty — whose name rhymes with his number — is the only player in college football to have a passing, rushing, receiving and punt return touchdown on the season. Out of everything he does, though, Beatty is most at home in the slot. He has 49 receptions for 730 yards, the 21st-most in the country.
JC Davis, senior offensive tackle, No. 74 — A huge part of Altmyer’s success comes down to the player manning his blindside. Davis began his collegiate career flipping from defensive tackle to offensive tackle at JUCO Contra Costa College, with a pit stop at New Mexico coming before his arrival in Champaign. Davis has been steady throughout his career, allowing just three quarterback hits over the last two seasons.
Gabe Jacas, senior linebacker, No. 17 — Jacas’ stock has only risen since he was a 2022 Freshman All-American, with the four-year Illini now a projected day two pick in the NFL Draft. He is the undisputed star of this defense, a pure edge rusher who consistently requires double-teams.
Jacas gets close to the quarterback often, with 14 hurries and five quarterback hits to his name. When he gets home, his impact is notable — eight of Jacas’ 31 tackles on the season have been for a loss, and he has 6.5 sacks and two forced fumbles.
Strength
Experience. The Fighting Illini start sophomore Tanner Heckel at nickelback. Every other starter across Illinois’ offense, defense and special teams has played at least three seasons of college football. It’s a team-building composition that’s the antithesis of what Locksley has attempted to do at Maryland, and it’s worked out well — at least offensively.
Weakness
Pass defense. As good as Altmyer is at slinging the ball, opponents are having almost as much ease doing the same, turning many of Illinois’ games this season into shootouts. The Illini allow an average of 247 passing yards per game and lack splash-play potential on defense: they have just two interceptions on the year, 15 fewer than the Terps and the least in the conference.
Three things to know
1. Malik Washington has to recover. Locksley has insisted that the Terps cannot rely entirely on their true freshman quarterback to carry the team. While that remains true, they’ll certainly need him to throw for more than the 98 yards he mustered against Rutgers. Washington has seemed to regress over the last month, but the Illinois secondary gives him a chance to bounce back.
2. Can Maryland win the late downs? One of the biggest issues for Maryland since the bye week has been staying on the field — and getting opponents off it. In games against Indiana and Rutgers, the Terps are a combined 7-of-24 on third downs, a paltry 29% conversion rate, while allowing a 64% success rate.
While Illinois’ 44% third-down conversion rate is middling among their Big Ten counterparts, the Illini are 11-of-14 on fourth down attempts, the most efficient in the conference.
3. Locksley around a little longer. In a conversation with Jim Smith, Taylor Lyons of the Baltimore Sun was told that Maryland’s head coach will remain in his post through the end of the season. Beyond that, the athletic director was noncommittal.
“He’s gonna coach against Illinois, then he’s gonna coach against Michigan, then he’s gonna coach against Michigan State,” Smith said. “We got a chance to win three games and go to a bowl game. We can’t make a decision right now. That’d be silly.”
