Does the 2025 schedule set up a bounce-back season for Maryland football?
The Terps have three nonconference home games, four Big Ten home games and five conference road games in 2025.
The Maryland football team is in the midst of a tough season.
The Terps (4-6, 1-6 Big Ten) have lost three in a row and five of their last six games. Barring back-to-back upset wins over Iowa at home and fourth-ranked Penn State on the road, Maryland will not become bowl eligible – likely snapping a streak of three straight bowl game appearances (and three straight bowl wins).
Life was different for head coach Mike Locksley and company after the departure of Taulia Tagovailoa, the Big Ten's all-time leading passer. Billy Edwards Jr. has done a mostly reliable job stepping in at quarterback, ranking as the Big Ten's second-leading passer with 2,855 air yards through 10 games. The Terps have the second-worst scoring defense and third-worst total defense in the Big Ten, but the hope is that plenty of young players have developed and will take a major step forward in 2025.
Locksley said earlier this week that Edwards will be back next year "for a second starting season, possibly," though there is a chance he could be competing with incoming four-star freshman Malik Washington for the job.
It is anyone's best guess as to what will happen with arrivals and departures via the transfer portal, but this upcoming offseason and the 2025 season are crucial for the program. Could the 2025 schedule be conducive for a bounce-back campaign? Let's take a look.
Unlike this season with a Big Ten matchup against Michigan State in Week 2, Maryland opens with three nonconference home games: FAU (Aug. 30), Northern Illinois (Sept. 6) and Towson (Sept. 13). FAU is 2-8 and does not have a coach after firing Tom Herman. Northern Illinois had a program-altering 16-14 win at Notre Dame in Week 2 this season but is now 6-5. Towson is an FCS foe that Maryland is 3-0 all-time against. All three games should be wins, and Maryland should be 3-0 heading into Big Ten play.
The Big Ten opponents and locations are set, but the actual schedule with dates is not. Maryland will have four home games and five road games.
The Terps' home slate has no freebies, with Indiana, Michigan, Nebraska and Washington visiting SECU Stadium.
Indiana is 10-0 and knocking on the door of its first College Football Playoff appearance, and head coach Curt Cignetti just got an eight-year extension. Indiana beat Maryland, 42-28, in September. Michigan is having a down season in its first year under Sherrone Moore, sitting at 5-5 with two weeks remaining. But the Wolverines just landed quarterback Bryce Underwood, the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2025, and are just a season removed from winning the national championship. Maryland is 1-11 all-time against Michigan.
Nebraska is 5-5 in its second season under Matt Rhule, but it is trending upwards and has a quarterback that could be elite in Dylan Raiola. Things have changed a lot for Washington since making the national championship game last season, but it is 6-5 this year under new head coach Jedd Fisch. Maryland and Washington have met just once – the 1982 Aloha Bowl – and the game is reminiscent of USC coming to town this fall.
Maryland's road opponents are Illinois, Michigan State, Rutgers, UCLA and Wisconsin.
Maryland had recently been operating at a higher level than Rutgers, which also joined the Big Ten with Maryland in 2014. But that trend was reversed this season, with the Scarlet Knights exiting College Park with a 31-17 win. Maryland came into this season with two straight wins over Michigan State, but that also changed the season. The Spartans beat Maryland, 27-24, on the road, handing the Terps a heartbreaking home loss.
Illinois is 7-3 and checked in at No. 25 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings. Maryland is 2-1 all-time against Illinois, most recently losing 27-24 at home in 2023. The Fighting Illini program has been solid under Bret Bielema. Maryland and UCLA have met twice, splitting meetings in 1954 and 1955. The game against the Bruins, who are also 4-6 this season, will be the Terps' first Big Ten trip to California. Wisconsin is consistently a very good-to-great program, having gone to 22 straight bowl games. Luke Fickell has yet to get the program back to a Rose Bowl-caliber level, but a road trip to Madison remains a tall task.
Given the awaiting chaos with the transfer portal, and the fact that the 2024 season is still ongoing, it would be a fool's errand to predict how Maryland does in each conference game next year. No one knows just how complete the Terps roster will be in 2025, let alone who their quarterback will be. But it is certainly an important season ahead next fall.
