After a disastrous season, can the Terrapins be okay at football again? 2025 Maryland season preview with breakdowns, top players and transfers, what will happen, and projected win total.
What was more real, the 4-8 clunker of last season or the 23-16 three-year stretch with three winning seasons and three bowl wins before it?
You can only play who’s on your schedule, and Maryland did play a Big Ten slate from 2021 to 2023 – that came after six straight losing seasons – but over those 23 wins during that time, how many came against FBS teams that finished with a winning record?
Four, and one was against a 2023 Rutgers team that went 7-6, two were against Group of Five programs, and the other was a 16-12 uggo of a 2022 Duke’s Mayo Bowl over an NC State team missing a slew of parts.
It’s not like the success under Mike Locksley came with giant victories over Ohio State, Penn State, and Michigan.
But it’s not all about the schedule. Last year’s version lost to mediocre Michigan State and Northwestern teams, but it destroyed a UConn team that finished with nine wins, and it snuck by USC.
This year’s schedule isn’t a total breeze, but no Iowa, Minnesota, Oregon, Penn State, USC, or … Ohio State. That’s not bad. In Year Seven, though, under Locksley, not bad isn’t good.
To be fair, the 2024 team was really, really young. It was a growing pain season, there were some nice gap-fillers from the portal, and the Terps should be better, but …
