Jim Smith leaned back in his seat in a box high above the playing field at the Rose Bowl, looking increasingly frustrated. The first-year Maryland athletic director leaned back in his chair after failed plays, looking discouraged.
It’s hard to blame him. Maryland football’s season, on the verge of becoming special a few weeks ago the final quarter started against Washington, has done a 180. Those familiar October blues have arrived for Mike Locksley, whose team has fallen apart late in three straight games after a cushy opening-month schedule. The familiar pattern of the season, building up hope before a fall crash, has fans up in arms. So does the nature of the losses; Maryland led in the fourth quarter of all three games, including a 20-3 fourth-quarter lead over Washington, along with advantages over Nebraska with 68 seconds left and UCLA with less than five minutes left.