Where Maryland football landed in annual preseason Big Ten rankings

Jun 12

2 min read

Maryland football saw multiple players tabbed as NFL Draft prospects by Phil Steele after releasing his annual preseason magazine earlier this week, but there was also a dive into preseason expectations for a team ranked second nationally in returning production.

Maryland ranked 39th nationally in strength of schedule, which graded as the fifth-easiest among Big Ten teams ahead of only Washington, Illinois, Penn State and Iowa, though there was slight reason for optimism. Steele also tabbed Maryland among the teams expected to best-improve the pass rush in 2026, while also pointing to Maryland as one of four Big Ten teams with an 80% chance or better to improve from their 2025 record alongside UCLA, Penn State and Wisconsin. Maryland will face all three teams in 2026 with the latter two opponents serving as the last two home games, but there may be reason for optimism heading into this year's season finale with new head coach Matt Campbell and his staff preparing for the shift into the Big Ten.

Steele picked USC to round out his projected top four alongside Indiana, Ohio State and Oregon.

While the preseason projected win total remains at 4.5 for the second straight year, Maryland didn't see their preseason standing fare much better than 2025 after being picked to finish 15th in the conference in 2026 ahead of Rutgers, Michigan State and Purdue. Steele added that five of his nine power ratings called for Maryland to return a bowl for the first time since 2023 while one of his models called for eight wins.

Maryland's quarterback room led by Malik Washington also anchored the unit rankings across the roster, maybe the biggest surprise was the special teams unit ranking 106th nationally - seventh worst among Power Four teams and tied with Minnesota, Illinois and Purdue for the worst among Big Ten teams. Bryce McFerson and Sean O'Haire give reason for confidence that the duo gives Maryland arguably its strong specialist tandem of the 2000s.

Unit rankings (national/conference)

QB: 28th/6th

LBs: 39th/12th

DBs: 44th/9th

WRs: 46th/8th

DL: 51st/13th

OL: 56th/10th

RBs: N/A/16th (T-worst)

ST: 106th/15th (T-worst)

Coaching: N/A/11th

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