Maryland football makes debut in 2025 bowl projections ahead of first bye week

Ahmed Ghafir
Sep 22
2 min read

Conference play will kick off again for Maryland once the calendar turns to October as they prepare to host Washington and Nebraska for consecutive home games inside SECU Stadium. But the 4-0 start has started to change the tune of national pundits with Maryland now viewed as a potential bowl team through four weeks.

ESPN’s updated FPI gives Maryland a 92.1% chance to secure bowl eligibility, marking what would be the fourth bowl appearance in five seasons under head coach Mike Locksley, with several outlets including the Terps in updated bowl projections.

We take a look at where Maryland landed across various outlets heading into the bye week:

CBS Sports: Frisco Bowl vs. Rice, Dec. 23

ESPN, Bonagura: Rate Bowl vs. Houston, Dec. 26

ESPN, Schlabach: Pinstripe Bowl vs. Clemson, Dec. 27

On3: Rate Bowl vs. UCF, Dec. 26

Maryland and Houston have squared off just once, a 30-21 Houston win in the 1976 Cotton Bowl, while a matchup against Clemson would mark the first since Maryland left the ACC as the Tigers hold a 34-26-2 all-time series lead. Maryland and Rice have never squared off while Maryland and UCF have met just twice, first a 30-24 overtime win in 2016 thanks to a game-winning touchdown by QB Tyrell Pigrome before the Knights dominated the next year, 38-10, as the Terps lost Kasim Hill to a season-ending injury suffered during the game.

But with so much season left to be played, securing bowl eligibility is the first step as head coach Mike Locksley now manages keeping his young, revamped team focused ahead of the rest of conference play.

“Be interested to see how we manage having a little bit of success on the road this bye week. Get some things cleaned up, get back home and start prepping for Washington,” Locksley said to close his postgame press conference.

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