It’s bad.

Maryland football doesn’t look good. At all. 

After back-to-back 4-8 seasons and heavy roster retention from 2025, it seemed like the Terps were due for some positive regression. 

On top of the roster retention, one could argue there were around six possible wins on the schedule before the season. 

Well, that was before the season. 

Now, Maryland football finds itself at a “checkpoint” heading into its Saturday duel with Rutgers, according to head coach Michael Locksley. 

“Rutgers is the most important game for us this year. We are at the checkpoint. This is probably the longest I think I’ve had before we’ve gotten into a bye week,” Locksley said.

A tougher star than anticipated.

In hindsight, Maryland’s schedule has been a nightmare. The Terps have faced the 10th-hardest strength of schedule nationally, and the hardest schedule outside the SEC and ACC. 

Teams are getting better around the Terps. Everyone knows Ohio State’s college football prowess, but Maryland’s other three losses, Virginia Tech, UCLA and Nebraska, held a combined record of 13-24 last season. Nebraska was the only team in the positive, at 7-6 with a bowl loss. 

This season, those three teams are 14-3 combined. The difference is obvious. Games that looked like possible wins for Maryland in the preseason, like UCLA or Nebraska, which outscored Maryland by six points last season, are no longer winnable.

Maryland players and staff talked extensively about how much roster retention and experience would help it finish close games, and of course the team isn’t doing that. 

Naturally, games like home games against Virginia Tech or UCLA, and even a potential upset at Nebraska, came to mind. But those aren’t the games the team is thinking about now. They were never realistically winnable games. 

“I believe we played some really good teams in the first half of our year,” head coach Michael Locksley said on Tuesday. “I think we’ve learned some great lessons playing these really good teams.”

Imagine if the AP’s preseason No. 2 Oregon came to College Park in Week 4. No one would give Maryland a shot at winning that. Maybe it wouldn’t be 54-3, but UCLA has proved it is a better team than Oregon with its 17-15 win in Eugene in Week 6. 

That’s the point. Maryland is in a brutal spot: fans expected results against teams that are now on the fast track to the AP top 25, or the top 10 in UCLA’s case. That was never going to happen. 

On the field, struggles.

The argument is that the team fails the eye test. 

It also fails the numbers test. 

The Terps have looked terrible, and it’s important to understand that they look bad regardless of the opponent. Even in Maryland’s wins, there have been obvious issues. 

Quarterback Malik Washington missed throws against Hampton, and his accuracy and confidence have only looked worse since.

The run game looked bad against UConn, and continued to look bad against Virginia Tech and UCLA. 

Washington’s play has been specifically bad in Maryland’s losses. Compared to losses in 2025, he is averaging fewer completions per game, attempts per game, completion percentage, yards per attempt, passing yards per game, rushing yards per game and passing touchdowns per game. His interceptions per game in losses are higher than a season ago. 

“I think it’s the same mindset we had weeks before. It doesn’t change. I don’t think it’s a must-win more than the other games were.” Edge rusher Sidney Stewart said when asked about the importance of the Rutgers game. 

But Maryland hasn’t lost any games it was supposed to win. Maybe the Virginia Tech game could have looked better, but James Franklin’s coaching prowess alone gives the Hokies the big edge in that matchup regardless of talent discrepancy.

Every loss is predictable in hindsight. Yes, Maryland is supposed to be better, but not top-25 better. Just bowl game better. 

Against Indiana, Washington threw two interceptions while the rushing attack mustered 37 yards. 

This season, Washington was also terrible against Ohio State, but he didn’t turn it over, and the rushing attack showed signs of life against one of the best fronts in the nation. 

Just based on the score of the game, Maryland at Ohio State was closer than when Maryland hosted Indiana last season. Both times, everyone knew Maryland was going to get demolished, but it’s still a step in the right direction. 

The rest of 2026.

Obviously, fans are calling for Locksley’s head, and for the most part rightfully so. This is season three, and he’s promised results but delivered none.

But the team is still hopeful. 

“Just the small victories and things that we’re seeing, whether we got some run lanes and offense that opened up, we found some abilities to give guys different touches, different dudes rotating in and not losing a beat as a team,” Washington said when questioned about how the strength of schedule prepares them for future weeks. “Really just getting a bunch of people, you know, time to play, giving them some experience that can help us moving forward.”

Maryland has the No. 55 strength-of-schedule outlook for the rest of the season.

The Terps face a weak power-conference opponent in Rutgers at home on Saturday. They also face some mediocre conference opponents like Illinois, Penn State and Purdue, all with records of .500 or worse before Week 7. 

Wisconsin and USC both look good, but not elite. Those teams seem like a similar level of competition to Nebraska. Still, if Maryland can pull some wins out of a hat against its mediocre upcoming competition, things could be looking up in Terpsville. 

“I think the biggest one for me is to continue to have patience while allowing these things to grow and get fixed,” Locksley said when asked about lessons he has learned so far this season.

It’s certainly an uphill battle for a team that has looked awful thus far. But if there was ever a time for Locksley’s patience to pay off, this is the week. 

Don’t write off the season quite yet. 

If Maryland finds a way to 1-4 Rutgers, go ahead.