FanDuel releases preseason win total for Maryland football ahead of 2026 season

Ahmed Ghafir
2 hours ago
2 min read

Spring football is officially less than two weeks away for Maryland football, inching closer toward a make-or-break season for Mike Locksley in his eighth season as head coach. After suffering consecutive four-win seasons, the pressure is on to mount a bowl season, at a minimum. Whether that happens is up for debate with one sportsbook bearish on the chances of Maryland doing so.

FanDuel has released its preseason win totals across the Big Ten with Maryland drawing a 4.5 total. If that sounds familiar, it’s because it should. It’s the same win total as the 2025 season that started out great with a 4-0 start into the first bye week fueling optimism that head coach Mike Locksley would be able to crush preseason expectations, let alone eclipse the preseason projection. But that would be the last of the optimism after Maryland ended the 2025 regular season on an eight-game losing streak.

The difference between 2025 and 2026 is the upcoming non-conference slate is much tougher with a road game against UConn in week two before hosting Virginia Tech in week three. Though Howard serves as the season opener on Sept. 5, the week three matchup could be the most electrifying atmosphere in College Park since the 2021 season opener against West Virginia. The Hokies’ decision to roll with James Franklin as the next head coach adds additional flavor to the matchup given the last time Franklin and head coach Mike Locksley met, it ended with a tense exchange at midfield.

Maryland will also kick off its conference opener against UCLA in an intriguing matchup with the Bruins preparing for year one under former JMU head coach Bobo Chesney. Maryland also has road trips against Ohio State, USC and Nebraska while hosting both Wisconsin and Penn State in November. Maryland will also host Rutgers and Illinois to end the October slate before traveling to Purdue, marking a trio of potential toss-up games with all eyes on the program getting back to bowl eligibility for the first time since 2023.

Michigan State and Purdue are tied with the lowest projected win total (3.5), per FanDuel, while Maryland and Rutgers are tied with the second-fewest among Big Ten teams.

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